Lost in Ghost Town
A Memoir of Addiction, Redemption, and Hope in Unlikely Places
by Carder Stout
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Pub Date Mar 10 2020 | Archive Date Jan 20 2021
HCI Books | Health Communications Inc
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Description
Dr. Carder Stout’s clientele includes Oscar-, Golden Globe-, Emmy-, Tony- and Grammy-winners, bestselling authors, and billionaires. He may not be able to share their dark secrets, but for the first time, everyone will know his.
At the age of thirty-four, Carder would have gladly pawned the silver spoon he was born choking on for a rock of crack. His downfall was as swift as his privilege was vast…or had he been falling all along?
Raised in a Georgetown mansion and educated at exclusive institutions, Carder ran with a crowd of movers, shakers, and future Oscar-winners in New York City. But words like “promise” and “potential” are meaningless in the face of serious addiction. Lost years and a stint in rehab later, when Carder was a dirty, broke, soon-to-be-homeless crackhead wandering the streets of Venice, California. His lucky break came thanks to his old Ford Taurus: he lands a job of driving for a philosophical drug czar with whom he finds friendship and self-worth as he helps deliver quality product to LA’s drug enthusiasts, from trust-fund kids, gang affiliates, trophy wives, hip-hop producers, and Russian pimps. But even his loyalty and protection can’t save Carder from the peril of the streets--or the eventual contract on his life.
From a youth of affluence to the hit the Shoreline Crips put on his life, Carder delves deep into life on the streets. Lost in Ghost Town is a riveting, raw, and heartfelt look at the power of addiction, the beauty of redemption, and finding truth somewhere in between.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
“This is a great read. I was deeply moved and inspired by the story. The writing is rich and poignant. I highly recommend it.” --Gwyneth Paltrow, Academy-Award winning actress, founder of goop
"Carder Stout’s Lost in Ghost Town is a stark reminder that addiction knows no socio-economic bounds. His easy writing style, that seamlessly slips the reader between his childhood and his raging addiction to crack cocaine, reads like a cautionary tale with an emotional index of how to build an addict. It had me at the first hit."--Will Arnett, five time Emmy-Award nominated actor (Arrested Development)
“Lost in Ghost Town is equal parts memoir and thrilling true crime story. Beautifully written, I could not put it down. The interactions with the Seaside Crips and LAPD set my heart racing. For a descent into hell, it gives Dante’s Inferno a run for its money. The most shocking part of Lost in Ghost Town is that Carder lived to write it all down. What a truly amazing story. I give it 5 stars.”--Thomas Lennon, actor and creator of Reno 911!, New York Times bestselling author of Ronan Boyle
“This is a compelling story that provides a unique lens into the dark world of addiction. It is well-written, captivating, and full of surprises. I believe it will have broad appeal." --Jason Blum, Academy-Award nominated producer (Whiplash, Get Out, BlacKkKlansmen)
“I was blown away by this memoir. Carder breathlessly navigates his journey from a posh DC childhood to the Crips and crack subculture of a pre-gentrified Venice. This is a beautiful story about a young man trying to heal the wounds of a childhood born largely without guidance. I was particularly moved by his newfound family in California, tragically linked to a violent gang as well as the prostitute he falls in love with. Unpredictable, exciting, a true peek at a hardscrabble life lived on the streets day to day. I could not put this book down.” --Sam Trammel, Tony-Award nominated actor (True Blood, Homeland)
“I couldn't put it down. I loved the juxtaposition between Carder's desolate but privileged childhood and the dark despair of his life in the hood. The writing is powerful, direct and filled with color. This is a book that will touch so many."--Craig Borten, Academy-Award nominated screenwriter (Dallas Buyer's Club)
“A blistering read and a powerful cautionary tale, Carder Stout has written an unforgettable memoir. It is intensely emotional and brilliantly written.”--Jeffrey Clifford, Academy-Award nominated producer (Up in the Air)
“Lost in Ghost Town is a gripping, haunting portrait of addiction that’s impossible to put down. Carder Stout lays bare his soul as he recounts the privilege he was born into, and the pain that led him into the bowels of hell once crack and heroin had him in its vice grip. The triumph of the book is Carder’s ever-present humanity. It’s an addictive, heart-rending read. This is an astonishing story.” --Jessica Queller, executive producer and writer of Supergirl, bestselling author of Pretty Is What Changes
“With his storytelling Carder brings clarity, humor and compassion to a harrowing personal chapter. It’s a book that many will relate to and all will find difficult to read and remain unmoved. This book is outstanding." --Billy Crudup, Tony-Award winning actor (Almost Famous, Alien: Covenant)
“This incredible memoir is a powerful and heartbreaking look into addiction and everything that comes with it. Dr. Carder Stout crafts a harrowing yet beautiful story and deserves all of the praise it’s received.” --Jennifer Todd, producer of the Academy Awards, executive producer of City on a Hill (Showtime)
“Lost in Ghost Town is a terrifying, hilarious, and ultimately moving cautionary tale. Like a modern-day Icarus, Carder Stout was born privileged, had to escape from a labyrinth, and flew too close to the sun. However, unlike Icarus, the labyrinth Stout escaped from was one of his own creation, and he miraculously survived to share his tale with the rest of us. He covers the distance from the top to the bottom unsparingly in this gripping, upsetting, beautifully written memoir.” --Jonathan Marc Sherman, award-winning playwright (Women and Wallace, Sophistry)
“This book is a must-read for anyone doubting the possibility of personal redemption. Full of psychological insight and expertly told with an entertainer’s instinct for a riveting crazier-than-fiction story.” --Alessandro Nivola, Tony-Award nominated actor (Laurel Canyon, The Many Saints of Newark)
A Hollywood psychologist's account of his drug addiction and poverty and of his clean-and-sober return.From the outside, Stout's early life seemed perfect. Yet behind the privilege was unhappiness: Both of his parents drank excessively, and his father was more absent than present. As a preteen, the author experimented with alcohol and marijuana; before he was a teenager, he became bulimic. After his parents sent him to a prestigious boarding school in New Hampshire, Stout attached himself to a popular older student who introduced him to cocaine. Living in New York after college, reckless and without direction, the author exhausted his trust fund on a penthouse and spent most of his nights drinking and snorting cocaine with A-list actors and celebrities. "We were oversexed, libido-driven twenty-somethings without regular jobs to go to in the morning," he writes. "We drank and laughed and carried on like we were invincible." A few years later, Stout moved to Los Angeles, where he began his slide into crack addiction. By 2003, he was living in a part of Venice called "Ghost Town," named for the addict "ghosts" who haunted the streets. Without a job and almost homeless, he became a driver for a Shoreline Crips drug lord named Flyn who offered Stout the brotherly comfort and support he lacked. The author's situation became even more dire after he became a drug runner for another Crip named Trech. Seeking a way out of the drug life but not sure how to proceed, Stout helped a woman he loved—who also happened to be Trech's favorite prostitute—escape back home to Detroit. After Trech hunted him down and almost killed him, Stout finally left Los Angeles and returned to the East Coast, where he began the long road to recovery. Raw and engaging, this is both a cautionary tale about the hidden costs of privilege and a testament to one man's eventually willingness to change to save himself.A harrowing memoir of addiction and recovery. -- Kirkus Reviews
Marketing Plan
Top tier PR Firm on board
Celebrity Buzz - This is Beautiful Boy meets Boys in the Hood. Everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to Drew Pinskey and a cadre of Hollywood actors and producers have promised to help promote this book.
Incredible Writing -Carder is an award-winning fiction writer and an award-winning producer.
Hot-Button Issues That Impact Millions: Lost in Ghost Town isn't just Carder’s story. It’s a look at the current diseases crisscrossing America, whether it be addiction, poverty, dying economies in the inner city, or race relations. It's about falling from grace, hitting rock bottom, discovering an adopted family in another race and culture, and finding the power to reinvent our lives, no matter how far we have fallen. With deep and wide connections in Hollywood and beyond, Carder Stout has a built-in viewership of 38 million based on social media.
His contacts have guaranteed his ability to promote on the following outlets: Being an expert therapist for Goop and personal friend to Gwyneth Paltrow offers him a huge platform:
A-list celebrity endorsements will help attract attention to the book.Social Media: Carder Stout’s own Instagram account, where he is most active, now has 10.6K followers and growing daily. However, it is the social media of Carder’s close celebrity friends who will sell Lost in Ghost Town like wild fire. The numbers add up to the multi-millions. Names like Gwyneth Paltrow, Jared Leto, Alanis Morrisette, Drew Pinsky, Liev Schrber, Chris Cuomo, and many more. · Author contributes regularly to Gwyneth Paltrow’s mega-popular media channel, Goop (1 million views a month). · Stout retains the services of Rachel Krupa, the in-house publicist utilized by Gwyneth Paltrow for Goop. · Goop’s thriving podcast boasts 100,000 monthly listeners.
Carder will speak on their podcast about addiction, his memoir, and other wellness topics. ·
Lizzie O’Leary, Carder’s dear friend, is a host on NPR and will have him appear on All Things Considered to promote the book. ·
Carder will also appear on Dr. Drew Midday Live with Lauren Sivan on KABC.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780757323546 |
| PRICE | $16.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 256 |
Links
Featured Reviews
Schuyler W, Reviewer
Dr. Carder Stout is a psychologist with a private practice in West Los Angeles, someone one should listen to if they have personal problems. In his memoir, “Lost in Ghost Town,” Dr. Stout is open and frank about his personal struggles and has produced an entertaining and shocking account of a life filled with pain and suffering and the effort needed to get from under drug and alcohol addiction. His lighthearted coping has, indeed, introduced entertainment into an illness that might not be deemed suitable for such an approach. But it is one way to grapple with the affliction that’s not often verbalized. I found it amusing but still unsettling, as it must have been for Stout.
I was struck with the intensity of the addiction that enveloped Dr. Stout. It was insistent and devilishly destructible, although he seemed to cope with the effects without being too disabled. At least that’s the way he portrayed it. He could go about his business after being completely, and painfully, wasted without many adverse effects. Most of his acquaintances were in about the same shape, blurry eyed and stumbling, while regular activities were being conducted. At least, that’s the way he portrayed it. Nevertheless, it was still painful for me, the reader, to experience it. I was never sure what message I should be getting.
I did get the clarity of the writing. Dr. Stout seems to have a way of telling about his adversities while making light of them, perhaps a damaging way to portray them. Other than the surprising lightheartedness, I found his journey to be interesting, although I’m glad I never had the pleasure of being there on the ground floor. I hope others might find his experiences more of a warning than I found them to be.
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