This article presents three vantage points from which to observe the phenomenon of addiction—the professional models of social science; the lay models of popular culture; and the personal understandings of the author, a social scientist, dweller in popular culture, and recovering addict. Throughout the narrative, attempts are made both to humanize the comprehension of addiction and its very frequent companion, mental illness, and to challenge the reader to engage in emotional and moral discourse regarding the nature of this all-too-human and all-too-common malady.
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