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Professor Batty
English 101
10 May 2018
The Spiral
Drug addiction in the United States is at an all-time high. Every day people’s lives are
ruined due to substance abuse disorder. The use of any illicit substance by 10th graders has
increased from 30.6% in 1991 to 33.7% in 2016. For 12th graders illicit substance use has gone
up from 44.1% in 1991 to 48.2% in 2016 (Schulenberg et al.). For many people, addiction can
start in these important developmental ages. In the novel “Still Water Saints” by Alex Espinosa,
Shawn’s story of addiction displays the consequences and effects of severe substance abuse.
Although many people can overcome addiction and turn their lives around, I believe that’s
Shawn’s journey illuminates the severity of the consequences that drug addiction can have on
people’s lives, in turn causing them to lose their sense of self through poor judgment and lose
their means of survival which can all begin with adolescent peer pressure.
describing his first time using what he calls “speed” he says, “Here’s what it felt like and why
I’m still doing it. It felt electric. Like volts of energy making my blood boil, turning everything
inside me on all at once…. I felt invincible…I know I’m not doing it no justice…. I came to life
that night, and I didn’t wanna die no time soon.” (Espinoza 142). Shawn’s journey with his speed
addiction unfolds as he loses control of his using and eventually, loses his sense of self. The
DSM, “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”, discusses every diagnosable
mental illness and describes its symptoms and classifications. The DSM-V states, “The essential
feature of a substance use disorder is a cluster of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological
symptoms indicating that the individual continues using the substance despite significant
substance-related problems,” (DSM-V). The substances it goes into great detail are psychedelics,
inhalants, opioids, stimulants, tobacco, as well as other unknown substances. Within the section
other types of stimulants. Shawn’s description of speed would put it in the category of an
amphetamine. Despite this being a fictional novel, Shawn’s purpose is to illuminate the real-
In Shawn’s chapter of the book titled Taking Stock we are introduced to his roommate
Beady. Beady and Shawn are incredibly close, sharing not only the run-down apartment in which
they call home, but a very intimate drug habit. One day Beady invites over another drug addict
named Daisy. She as a two-year-old son named Xavier who she neglects for her drug addiction.
Shawn’s aversion for Daisy begins the moment he meets her. Although he dislikes her, he allows
her to come over because she has connections for more drugs. At one-point Shawn and Beady go
to Daisy’s house to do speed and he meets her child. He describes Xavier saying “His hair’s a
mess. Looks like it hasn’t been combed in weeks… The diaper’s so loose and sagging that when
he starts pissing, it runs straight down the sides of his leg and onto the carpet… What a sorry-ass
situation, I think. All-around sorry.” (Espinoza 147). Daisy’s addiction not only affects her, but
her child as well. In the journal “Child Neglect and the Development of Externalizing Behavior
Problems”, the authors describe in detail the negative effects of children being neglected due to
maternal drug abuse. The older the child becomes during this neglect the higher the possibility of
them “externalizing psychopathy” later on in life (Manly). Many children being neglected at
such a young age also suffer from developmental issues such as delayed speech. Shawn sees this
situation first hand and although he hates daisy he compromises his integrity in the hope of not
only obtaining but consuming more drugs. Both Daisy’s neglectful acts as a mother and Shawn’s
neglect to the situation in its entirety serve as examples of the instability of one’s judgment due
Although Shawn’s life is run by his speed addiction, he still managed to keep a job for
some period of time. While working at an electronics store to make his primary income, he and
Beady also scam the shop in order to earn enough money to fund their speed habits. Beady
would come in and purchase small ticket items while the manager was in his office, and Shawn
would add more expensive items to his bag. Days later Beady would come back to “return” the
higher priced items and get money back. This scam worked for a long time until Daisy got
involved. She pressures Shawn into letting her take a very expensive printer. Although he does
not want to do this because the shop has a very limited stock, he allows her to take it anyway.
After getting fired he thinks back on the situation and says, “I think I’m fucking pissed at myself
for letting it on without doing anything to stop or change it,” (Espinoza 157). Although he thinks
he’s furious with Daisy, he is actually angry with himself for allowing this to happen. Shawn’s
lack of ability to control his life some would call “moderate to severe substance abuse disorder”.
The criteria for diagnosing substance abuse disorder would be relating to two or more of the 11
given criteria. Some of these criteria includes giving up important social or occupational
activities due to substance use, spending an excessive amount of time obtaining and using the
substance, and not managing responsibilities with family, friends, or work due to substance use
(DSM-V). By getting fired he is clearly displaying the lack of life management regarding his job
to scam them in order to fund his speed addiction. Shawn is one of millions of people to lose
their jobs due to drug addiction. Since Shawn lost his job, the next step in his journey would
most likely be homelessness due to the lack of resources he had to fund not only his drug
addiction, but lifestyle as a whole. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration stated that in the 2016 report of national homelessness by The U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development, about 1 in 5 of those living on the street suffered a
substance abuse issue (SAMHSA). Many people believe that those who suffer from
homelessness due to substance abuse are simply living the consequence of their own individual
mistakes, what many people fail to understand is that drug addiction can also be brought on by
Many people believe that peer pressure can cause addiction in teenagers. Although I
don’t believe it can cause it, I do believe it can trigger addiction in many adolescents. Shawn’s
experience with peer pressure would definitely correlate with triggering drug addiction. The first
time he tried speed was at a party in high school. He describes the situation saying “The speed
was cooked good and strong, he told us. Made fun of me and Beady when we said we’d never
done none,” (Espinoza 142). The pressure of impressing peers and feeling included can be a
stimulus of peer pressure. A few years after the incident described Shawn is not only continuing
to use speed but allowing it to rule every aspect of his life. In a study funded by the National
Institute of Drug Addiction, teenagers are more likely to drive recklessly if 2 or more of their
friends were in the car. This was caused by “…heightened activity in the teens’ ventral striatum
and orbitofrontal cortex—brain regions that predict and assess the value of reward,” (NIDA).
Essentially, when a teenager feels that their risk will be rewarded by peers, the risk is outweighed
by the reward. The frontal lobe of the brain, the part that makes decisions and controls judgment,
is not fully developed yet causing adolescents to not think through situations the way a fully
developed adult would. Not only does Shawn experience peer pressure as a teenager he also
experiences it from Daisy. When he and Beady go to Daisy’s house to get high, Beady and Daisy
decide to shoot up rather than snort, the way Shawn usually gets high. After Shawn goes back
and forth with Daisy about not wanting to shoot up she says to him “” Aw …You afraid,
güero?” (Espinoza 146). He decides not to shoot up which is most likely due to his dislike of
Daisy. He sees no reward for impressing someone he dislikes; therefore, it would not give him
Shawn’s struggle with addiction mirrors the experience of millions of people suffering
from substance abuse disorder. At the beginning of his story he is a somewhat functioning addict
with a job and his best friend. By the end, he has lost his job, his integrity by spending time with
someone he dislikes, and his total loss of self. Shawn’s severe addiction paired with
unemployment can only lead to one thing: homelessness. His story embodies the damage
substance abuse can have on someone’s life, how easily it can begin, and the consequences of
“Homelessness and Housing.” SAMHSA - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Manly, Jody Todd, et al. “Child Neglect and the Development of Externalizing Behavior
doi:10.1177/1077559512464119.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Peers Increase Teen Driving Risk via Heightened Reward
increase-teen-driving-risk-heightened-reward-activity.
Schulenberg, J. E., Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., Miech, R. A. & Patrick,
M. E. (2017). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2016: Volume II,
College students and adults ages 19–55. Ann Arbor: Institute for Social Research, The
University of Michigan.