Most individuals who struggle with addiction find it difficult to function normally in day to day life. However, there are some extraordinary individuals who while suffering through addictions managed to produce remarkable literary works of art, even while all the other areas of their lives deteriorated. Mental health difficulties, relationship issues and severe health conditions are all problems that these authors have faced. Some of them died very young, either due to health related issues or by their own hand. The following four American authors are such examples.
Stephen King
Commonly known as the ‘Master of Horror’, Stephen King is one this generation’s best known authors. He has 55 novels and more than 200 short stories to his name. By his own admission, Stephen King has admitted to engaging in cocaine and alcohol abuse during the 80s. In fact, it was so bad that he confesses to hardly remembering anything he wrote during that time. King used to stuff his nose with cotton so that it wouldn’t bleed all over his typewriter while he worked, that’s how much cocaine he was taking. Finally, King’s wife staged an intervention in the late 80s, and that is what set the author on the path to recovery.
Jack Kerouac
A pioneer of the ‘Beat’ generation, Jack Kerouac is most well known for his semi autobiographical book On The Road. The author was addicted to benzedrine, which is an amphetamine early in his career. Later in life he struggled with alcohol and dexedrine. Kerouac died at the young age of 47 due to cirrhosis of the liver which caused a hemorrhage.
Ernest Hemingway
A classically acclaimed American author, Ernest Hemingway is responsible for writing such works of arts as For Whom The Bells Toll, A Farewell To Arms and The Sun Also Rises. He is also well known for being a lifelong alcoholic. Hemingway struggled with alcohol addiction throughout his life, which only became more severe with time. In later age he suffered from serious health issues. Hemingway took his own life at the age of 61 as he was unable to quit drinking.
Scott Fitzgerald
Best known for his book The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald is a literary icon, not just in America, but the world over. His life, as well as the characters in his books, were marked by drinking. Fitzgerald started drinking when he was very young, and was known as the quintessential Irish alcoholic. He did try to quit drinking, but after abstaining from alcohol he discovered he was not inclined to write any longer. In 1940, at the age of 52, Fitzgerald passed away from a heart attack.
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