Fueled by the music of revolution, anger, fear, and despair, we dyed our hair or shaved our heads ... Eating acid like it was candy and chasing speed with cheap vodka, smoking truckloads of weed, all in a vain attempt to get numb and stay numb.
This is the story of a young man and a generation of angry youths who rebelled against their parents and the unfulfilled promise of the sixties. As with many self-destructive kids, Noah Levine's search for meaning led him first to punk rock, drugs, drinking, and dissatisfaction. But the search didn't end there. Having clearly seen the uselessness ...
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperOne
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780060008956ISBN:0060008954
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Harper San Francisco
Date Published: 2004-05-01
ISBN-13:9780060008956ISBN:0060008954
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780060008956. read more
Edition: First edition-First printing.
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Harper, New York
Date Published: 2003
Description: Near fine advance reading copy in stiff, glossy, pictorial wrappers. Signed by author on full title page. Dharma Punx bumper sticker laid in book. read more
Description: New. Fueled by the music of revolution, anger, fear, and despair, we dyed our hair or shaved our heads...Eating acid like it was candy and chasing speed with cheap vodka, smoking truckloads of weed, all in a vain attempt to get numb and stay numb. This... read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: HARPERSANFRANCISCO
Date Published: 2003
Description: Published by HarperSanFrancisco in 2003. Paperback. Condition: Very Good. May show some slight signs of wear. uncorrected proof Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
"OK, I bought this book for its cover. I mean 'Dharma Punx' tattooed on the edge of 'praying' hands, how can you not be intrigued by that cover? Well the cover delivered an intriguing book. Dharma Punx is the memoirs of Noah Leivine, child of 60's parents. I am not sure who polices whether something is a memoir or autobiography, but either classification of this book would seem applicable to me. It's the story of his drug and alcohol addicted childhood and his slow rise to Buddhism adult teacher. His life seems far from over.
In the first few chapters the phrase 'so we stole their weed' appears enough to be comical. But, for me it became the key to understanding. Leivine never blames anyone, but himself, for his drug and alcohol abuse. He gently points out most adults' failure of character which left an open path to his abuse. The notable adult that doesn't have 'weed to steal' is his father Stephen Leivine. When Leivine hits bottom the one person he reaches out to is his father. Through out the book his father is the go to guy. Slowly, over the course of the book, Leivine find his greatest and single most important teacher in his father.
The book is written in a very flat style. There is little if any simile or metaphor, to describe things and situations. This style brings a certain charm and believability to the book. He describes shooting up heroine and meeting the Dali Lami with about the same enthusiasm. The description of both encounter's aftermath are described with same style the result is dramatic. This style also prevents the book from get preachy. You learn about how Buddhism and meditation lead him away from his abusive nature. Yet, you would be hard press to explain exactly what Buddhism is after reading this book. The book is more about the possibilities of grace, than the details of grace. Another example of this, is the twelve steps of alcoholics anonymous. Leivine discusses working the twelve steps. What the twelve steps are is never discussed. There is description about the accepting a higher power instead of God, step. There is discussion about making amends step. Never, are the steps outlined and checked off. I don't even think alcoholics anonymous is actual ever explicitly mentioned. There is one exception to this, the basic description of how to start meditating is clearly written out. The simple detailed description stands out making it a key message in the book.
Then there is the Punk rock. Leivine relationship with punk is complex and simple. It is at the root of everything. It is at the escape from rules and hypocrisy of his youth. It is the bedrock of his adult purpose. Punk rock even gets endorsed his Buddhist teachers. There are names of dozen of punk bands. There is even a pretty excellent history of punk rock. If you don't get punk rock already maybe after reading this book you might just learn to understand it.
I am neither a recovering alcholic nor drug user so I can't honestly endorse the book for help with those issues. I can recommend it for a compelling read for anyone interested in a story about struggling to be a better person."
"Noah Levine has a very spare, simple, transparent style that I appreciated. It's not one of those books that delve into the gutter of addiction for the entire book- instead it's about the long path of recovery. I found it very interesting, and he's a smart guy, and again the I really appreciated the simple style. It's odd because he's my age, and I'm really familiar with Santa Cruz, so perhaps the local angle was key, but I'm shocked at the negative reviews here. It's also refreshingly non-hippy journey to Buddhism, that I also really enjoyed. He approaches sideways, basically."
"As an admirer of Buddhist philosophy, I know expectations are almost as bad as attachments. I don't know what I expected this book to be, but it really wasn't that. I expected to see someone who hit a really low low, bounced back, and discovered Buddhism on the way to-- if not enlightenment-- at least a greater appreciation of the intense contrasts in life.
Instead, what I found was less of a memoir (as the book's subtitle reads) and more of a travelogue. The author's descent takes only the first couple chapters of the book and wasn't that far down. I don't mean to minimize the turmoil this man went through, nor his turning it to positive ends. But the subtle deceptions used in telling his story diminish what is already a fairly unremarkable life.
We begin with our narrator/author being admitted to a padded cell to prevent him from harming himself. He describes his wrists as sore, and we are left to infer that he has tried to commit suicide. Only later do we find out that he tried to "cut" himself with a plastic hair comb.
What follows the attempt to "comb himself to death" (as the author himself describes it) is a long a tedious parade of friend who died, friends who recovered, deceptions by supposed gurus, twisted relationships, and...well, pretty much nothing else. This supposed "street kid" somehow has the bread to go on a spiritual quest in India, Sri Lanka, and who really cares where else?
The only possible thing remarkable about the author-- his Buddhism-- turns out not to be so extraordinary after all when it is revealed that his father is a Buddhist, and a fairly well-known author. What the book ends up becoming is a fairly reasonable account of one man's troubled adolescence and ultimate acquiescence to his father's religion.
Kudos to Nathan Levine for working with street youth of the suburbs, but his story is about as engaging as a court-ordered 12-step meeting of angry suburban white kids. Interesting in spots, tragic in some others, but in the end nothing more than word soup. In the words of a famous punk rcker, "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?""
"this was one of the worst books i've read in a while. the author seemed to have no depth or understanding of 'spirituality' as the book was full of judgement of difference and self praise. one part that really bothered me was during one of the trips to thailand, after being denied a place to stay and being verbally abusive to the homeowner, the 'enlightened' author laughed as his friend defaced the thai man's sign to his house. i guess that's punk rock peacefullness, and i hope the children he teaches do not learn this sort of reactionary practice."
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