The Hummingbird Kiss

My Life as an Addict in the 1970s

Trish Macenulty

$32.95 $29.69

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Prism Light Press
01 January 2024

Individual artists, art monographs; Individual photographers; Individual architects & architectural firms; Autobiography: general; True crime

"Trish spends her time hustling and cheating to score. Heroin, Dilaudids, whatever she can get.

Precisely plotting the slippery slope of a heroin addict's existence, The Hummingbird Kiss paints a bleak picture but still manages to offer a ray of hope. The '70s are young, and 18-year-old Trish is a newlywed. When a Florida judge sentences her junkie husband to ten years for stealing stereos, she immediately seeks out a fix, and before she knows it she's hooked. There follows a long sojourn as she and her friends work small scams to score, head to California in search of better highs, move back to Florida, shoot up and nod off every chance they get - until death gets some of them.

MacEnulty has constructed a gritty and sorrowful book about a young girl with an appetite for the damage done. Trish comes from a broken but still functional family. She's witty, articulate and street-smart enough to know better than to get caught up in this life of self destruction, but childhood abandonment and the ensuing self-loathing are too much for her to manage without medication. Her life unravels as her cross-country wanderings take her from drug dens to rehabs to prison, with a few bleary-eyed months spent scoring drugs in the Tijuana barrios.

The author spares us no detail of her sordid descent, but Trish remains an engaging voice whose innate grain of goodness and interest in humanity keeps the reader on her side. Trish declines to blame anyone for her calamitous state. All she wants is the ""hummingbird kiss of the needle"" - the most wonderful experience she knows - until she inevitably winds up in prison and rediscovers the girl she once was.

""Searingly honest, often funny, always sordid story of a junkie's life in the 1970s.""-Chauncey Mabe, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel"

By: Trish Macenulty
Imprint: Prism Light Press
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 318g
ISBN: 9798987645055
Pages: 260
Publication Date: 01 January 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

"Trish MacEnulty grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, and earned degrees from the University of Florida and Florida State University. For 20 years, she lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was a Professor of English at Johnson & Wales University, teaching writing and film classes. She now lives in Florida with her husband, cat, and two dogs and teaches journalism. In addition to her historical novels, she has written novels, stories, plays, and a memoir under the name ""Pat MacEnulty."" She currently writes book reviews and features for The Historical Novel Review.Check out her website for book club visits, reader guides for her historical fiction, upcoming events, book news and more: https: //trishmacenulty.com."