New book reveals methamphetamine

By Steve Moyer

Herald-Tribune

Want to get off of meth and turn your life around? Turn to Jesus Christ.

That's the answer the authors of a book, "Ozark Meth: A Journey of Destruction and Deliverance," heard from 28 of the 30 people they interviewed.

"These people didn't know each other, and they weren't all from the same group or organization," Laura Valenti, one of the authors, said. "We interviewed people all over southwest Missouri, and they came from different social and economic backgrounds."

The majority of interviewees said that they feared getting back into meth if they backslid.

"They said that getting away from church and the 12-step programs they were in would put them in jeopardy," Valenti said.

Valenti worked for the Laclede County sheriff for 10 years and ran the jail for three and a half years. She met her co-author, Dick Dixon of Intervention Ministries of Bolivar, at a meeting about meth. The two found they were looking at the problem from different angles.

"I met Dick Dixon at a multi-regional meeting about meth," Valenti said. "We were all together, working on the problem. We realized we were looking at the problem from different angles. That's when we decided to interview 30 former addicts to see what they had in common."

Over the spring and summer of 2005 the two interviewed the 30 meth addicts, who are now in sustained recovery. They told the authors how they got on meth, how they got off meth, and how they stay off.

The woman with the longest recovery, 10 years, highlighted a factor about meth addiction in women.

"It's really a phenomenon," Valenti said. "She got involved with meth with her husband. Nearly all women get involved because of the men they were with."

Valenti said the physical changes wrought by meth addiction are striking.

"I would shower out girls who looked like Auschwitz survivors, they were so emaciated," Valenti said. "The more meth they used and the longer they used it, the worse the conditions were."

Valenti said she used a metaphor to get her point across to teenagers about the dangers of meth.

"When I speak to teenagers about meth, I ask what would happen if you put rocket fuel in a car," Valenti said. "It might streak down the road for a short while, but after awhile it would break down, pistons would come out of the engine, and parts would start coming off. The same thing happens in a human body when someone takes meth. The damage is mainly to the heart and kidneys. Other parts are damaged as well, but those are the two main organs meth attacks."

Valenti will be in Nevada Sept. 19 and 20 to speak to several organizations and schools. She will meet with the Nevada Lions Club at noon Sept. 19 and later that day will speak at the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Sept. 20 she will speak at Nevada R5 schools and at 2 p.m. will be at Cavener's Library and Office Supplies for a book signing.