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"This raw and emotional tale is a roller coaster through the depths of addiction, tragedy, hard work, and redemption. It is proof that with hard work, anything is possible."—Sanjay Gupta, MD, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent
Follow Joe Putignano on a harrowing journey from the US Olympic Training Center to homeless shelters to shooting heroin on the job to being declared dead. This story goes beyond addiction. It is about the fragility and tenacity of the human spirit and how that spirit can redeem each and every one of us by helping to push us through the darkness, whether the darkness is from death, divorce, or the disease of addiction.
Acrobaddict is a story about the close relationship between athletics and drug addiction—how the same energy, obsession, and dedication that can create an Olympic athlete can also create a homeless drug addict.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (Starred review)
After reading former Olympic gymnastics hopeful Putignano's sinister yet intoxicating memoir of addiction, recovery, and more addiction, you wind up feeling like one of his closest friends. A more powerful anti-drug missive would be tough to find.
LIBRARY JOURNAL
VERDICT Putignano’s honest memoir of drug abuse is a valuable addition to substance-abuse literature. His status as a successful gymnast and performer helps connect readers, and his impressive, erudite style results in a highly credible addition to this rapidly saturating genre.
"Joey Putignano tells a harrowing story of a life redeemed at great cost. Try as you follow his words to picture the events—for this is a movie and must be seen to be believed."—Twyla Tharp
"A very raw, honest and harrowing account of addiction and survival by gymnast Joe Putignano"—Anderson Cooper
Introduction
Prologue: Fibula
Chapter One: Sacrum
Chapter Two: Lungs
Chapter Three: Digitus Impudicus
Chapter Four: Heart
Chapter Five: Lacrimal Bone
Chapter Six: Blood
Chapter Seven: Phalanges
Chapter Eight: Voice Box
Chapter Nine: Ulna Nerve
Chapter Ten: Muscles
Chapter Eleven: Hair and Nails
Chapter Twelve: Skull
Chapter Thirteen: Ear
Chapter Fourteen: Teeth
Chapter Fifteen: Skin
Chapter Sixteen: Ligaments and Tendons
Chapter Seventeen: Eyes
Chapter Eighteen: Radial and Ulna Bones
Chapter Nineteen: Anatomical Snuff Box
Chapter Twenty: Liver
Chapter Twenty-One: Tongue
Chapter Twenty-Two: Synapses
Chapter Twenty-Three: Calvarias
Chapter Twenty-Four: Plasma
Chapter Twenty-Five: Cell
Chapter Twenty-Six: Adipose
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Innominate
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Pubic Bone
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Cerebrum
Chapter Thirty: Pituitary Gland Part 1
Chapter Thirty-One: Achilles
Chapter Thirty-Two: Fibula
Chapter Thirty-Three: Platelet
Chapter Thirty-Four: Central Nervous System
Chapter Thirty-Five: Umbilical Cord
Chapter Thirty-Six: The Mind
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Spinal Column
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Tibia
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Pituitary Gland Part 2
Chapter Forty: DNA
Chapter Forty-One: Human Body
Chapter Forty-Two: The Soul