TOW #16 - The Gilded Razor (Sam Lansky) 2

In Sam Lansky’s memoir, The Gilded Razor, Lansky recounts his almost lifelong struggle of dealing with severe addiction to multiple drugs. A rather talented writer for multiple outlets like Time and the New York Magazine, Lansky tells the reader of his story in vivid and explicit detail in order to show the true horrors of addiction and the devastating effects that it can have on a person. To do this, Lansky utilizes intense personal anecdotes.

In the final pages of the book’s eighth chapter, Lansky tells of a time that he had gone to meet up with an old acquaintance of his at his New York apartment. As he entered he wrote, “a pile of cocaine sat on a silver mirror. ‘Have some candy,’ he said. I did a line. ‘More,’ he said. I did another.” (Lansky 232). At this point in Lansky’s story, he has been struggling for many many years and he is quite aware of his struggles. However, despite this, he is unable to break from the peer pressure that he experiences when entering the apartment. This is only one way that Lansky’s intense addiction is displayed. It becomes more obvious just how affected Lansky truly is when he states that he chose to do another line of cocaine, showing that he could not tell himself no after doing one. He needed more. The struggles of his addiction are highlighted in more detailed images of his past.

Towards the conclusion of the memoir, disaster strikes Sam’s family when his father suddenly has a heart attack. Sam tells the reader how he felt at this time stating “I woke up every morning with a tunnel vision that I found perplexing but didn’t think to question. The only goal was to get high and change the way I felt, which was lonely and afraid.” (Lansky 253). Through this horribly depressing statement, it is clear how desperate Lansky found himself at this point. Because of all that he had experienced, all that he had to endure, he was broken. He did not care for his well being or anything else. All that concerned him was getting high. This truly highlights just how drastically the drugs had affected him.

Thankfully, Sam Lansky did eventually come clean and no longer suffers from the severe drug addiction that he experienced. His memoir not only shows readers how horrible addiction is, but it also shows that it is possible to get help and to improve if one is already struggling with addiction. Overall, I really did enjoy reading this book and would absolutely recommend it to anyone.