Remembering Hoffman

 

I was devastated to hear on Sunday about the loss of one of the best, maybe THE best, actor  of our time. A life taken too fast, too soon, by a disease that is relentless and implacable. We were all stunned to hear and sad to know we lost Philip Seymour Hoffman. This article is not about his life. That article has been done in the Times, The Journal, US Weekly and every other magazine and newspaper. I promise I will not be redundant. I am writing this in response to the negative comments I have read and the ill thoughts people have shared.

It is so easy to say drugs kill, right? But what most of you do not know is the devil named addiction. If you read Anthony Keidis’ book, Scar Tissue,

 

you are excused (if you haven’t read his book – pick it up, it’s MEGA as one of my friends would say). Hoffman was sober for 23 YEARS. He had a drug issue in ’89 when he graduated NYU, got clean and stayed clean until May 2013 when he checked into rehab for heroin abuse. He tried to get better, to walk away from the demons but unfortunately the devil won.

We all have addictions. I had an addiction to diet coke. I am sure you are rolling your eyes because how could I possibly compare a drug addiction to a soda addiction but diet soda actually causes cancer and may have killed me sooner than I had wanted to go. I did manage to give it up but I crave it at the weirdest times. I also have a food addiction. Everyday I battle eating the “healthy” food versus the “junk” food. Right now the health food is winning. It is extremely hard for me. My friends think I am nuts but it is a constant struggle and I would do anything to turn my head off from wanting to eat the kitchen sink. I have had and do have friends and family members with bigger addictions. Addictions that could be life threatening. It is painful for me to hear people dismiss Hoffman’s death because he gave up. Gave up what? The man struggled for decades to overcome his addiction. I do not think anybody can judge a man with a heroin addiction unless you actually are or were a heroin user. I have never done heroin. I cannot know how deep and awful his struggle was but I do know it saddens me  because he was robbed of his life by an awful, terrifying disease.

In Keidis’ book (who struggled with drug addiction most of his life) he states clearly how addiction is a MONSTER:

He said,”Scare tactics don’t work because once someone is committed to doing drugs, no one can dissuade them.” Kiedis got to the point where he didn’t care what it took to use, just as long as he could keep using. “If I had to, I’d use a syringe that I found in the street,” he wrote. “Instead of sterilized cotton, I’d use a section of my sock, or more commonly, the filter tip of a cigarette. … I’d pull the back off a toilet or look for a lawn sprinkler or even a puddle” to find water to dissolve the drugs in.

Again, I don’t need to point it out but to those of you who think “Hoffman had a choice”, “he was a deadbeat junkie”, he was “just another Hollywood Celebrity who took for granted that life is forever” has no idea what it means to have an addiction.

The loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman is not just a loss but a tragedy. My heart goes out to his family, his friends and his collegeaus. He was a master on-screen, an ace on stage and maven in his field. He will be forever missed.

Ed Norton set up a charity if you feel like giving….

http://www.crowdrise.com/CelebratingPhilHoffman/fundraiser/edwardnorton