Harley Loco
A Syrian immigrant, a punk hairdresser, a heroin addict and a survivor, in roughly that order and all at once.
Rayya Elias arrived in the United States at seven, a Syrian immigrant in Detroit, and by her twenties was cutting hair in New York, playing in a punk band, and using heroin. Her memoir moves through addiction, jail, homelessness and recovery without arranging any of it into a redemption arc, and its account of the Lower East Side in the 1980s is closer to reportage than nostalgia. Elias died of cancer in 2018; Elizabeth Gilbert, her closest friend, wrote about that in turn.
Recommended by 1 Person
Elizabeth Gilbert
My new book tells the story of my friendship and love with Rayya Elias, but in this memoir, she tells her own harrowing story of immigration, alienation, drug addiction, music, and recovery. Raw and unflinching, her voice continues to shine long after her death.
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