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Sacrament in Punta Cabras
Baja, Mexico, April 2004 In Memory of Graham Edward Woody When Graham died, I could think of no place that…
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My Friend Herma
Dear Herma, thank you for being a part of my life. You will always hold a special place in my heart.…
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Remembering Herma
“She walks in beauty like the night, of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright…
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Lewis Yablonsky
From my viewpoint, Chuck Dederich’s creation, Synanon One, is one of the great humanitarian inventions of the past century for preventing…
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The Unimagined
Life divided into before and after. … All that had been, now going dark and quiet….And me somersaulted across town to…
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Remembering David Binns
I always got a thrill seeing him walking toward me or knowing I was going home to him. He was strong,…
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Love Blind Believers
In 1968, the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a terrifying wake-up call. Hells Angels and drug dealers moved…
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Your Synanon Garbage Man
I don’t work for money Oh, I don’t work for cash I just work for the pleasure of taking out your…
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Synanon Was the Granddaddy of All Drug Rehab – and I lived there as a Square
Synanon has rightfully been called the granddaddy of all drug rehab. It was free. How many rehab organizations today are free?…
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My Last Synanon Letter
Well, Morgan is in the school. My gut is wrung tight and aching. I do not know if I have done…
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No Chuck, No Synanon – For Better or Worse
“On more then one occasion I heard the Old Man say one of these days I’ll come up with something that…
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Bill Crawford’s Book About The Children of the Synanon School
As a member of the Synanon School staff he wrote daily observations of what took place. His narrative accounts were always…
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Why We Stayed
All of us who stayed are asked, Why? Philosophy’s therapy is a hard art, and if it brings someone around to…
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One Dopefiend’s Story
… I don’t begrudge or dispute anybody’s bitterness, pain, or suffering. That’s yours. Just let me have my gratitude.
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Rattlesnake
By Hugh Kenny On October 12th of 1978,, Attorney Paul Morantz reached into his Pacific Palisades mailbox and was promptly bitten…
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Born in Synanon
Here is the trailer to Cassidy Arkin’s docuseries to be aired on Paramount Plus on December 12th. My reaction? Gut punch.…
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Miriam (Levine Crawford) Bourdette
Wasn’t that a clever thing to say? I had never met anyone like Miriam…”
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The First Week:
“I never did meet Chuck.”… “Later he said he didn’t know how to talk to Black people. “
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Property Damage – CED & The Game
It’s a game until you game Chuck. And then all bets are off when it comes to truth and consequences.
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Memories of Margo – Celebrating her Life
Bisbee—Four Days, Five Nights By Josh Millstein There are all sorts of love—filial, quarrelsome, starstruck, unrequited, platonic, big. Woven like a…
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