The author spent 4 years with crackhouse members to determine how they became disconnected from mainstream society, their hopes and dreams, and their links to each other and family. The author observed the obsessive rituals of crackhouse members, recording the lingo, violence, crime, and sexual patterns. He found that those who wanted to escape crack were usually subsumed by the overwhelming chemical addiction. Further, he was struck by the open sexuality and constant freebase use. The author spent time in 38 crackhouses, trying to discover what kept people compulsively attached to the scene. The research was complicated by the fact that crackhouse members did not always tell the truth about themselves. In the crackhouse where the author spent most of his time, he found that many individuals were in a more or less constant state of intoxication and often changed stories or details about their lives. He also determined that addiction did not take over people's lives because they were irresponsible or had some inherent character flaw. Instead, the behavior of crack users reflected class, race, and economic factors. The author observed immense diversity among crack users, and his inclusion of personal narratives vividly illustrates crackhouse life.