At sixteen years of age I was closer to death than life . For reasons that have substance but which will for purposes of this ommuniucation enain private, I had quixkly progressed in an addictive abuse of drugs to fully quakify as a candidare for
what turned out to be the life saving experience pf a six year stay in Synanon.
It was on April 1, 1968 when I entered Synanon . I was sixteen years od and one of a small group of teengers that had managed to fuck up their lives enough to belong in this hard core drug treatment program .
When I arrived Synanon was a Two to Three year program fron which residents graduated . The recicivisim rate of these "graduates"was high. So high in fact that in 1969 Charles Dederich, the Founder of Synanon declared that Synanon was no longer a two to three year program but, rather was a lifestyle that wasa lifelong for anyone that wanted to enjoy it;s benefits , Thus , an addict that entered Synanon and trhen left would fall into a status of persona non gratis and would be subject to a series of humiliating expewriences to regain a degree of acceptability. These "splitees" never really regained the status of a kind of citizenship which other residents enjoyed ..
For me , I spent the first year or so of my stay trying to adapt to this very strange way of life and attempting to understand where , if at all, I fit in .
That first year was difficult , terrifying and at the same time
a boundless amount of good times and discovery . I spent a large part of my tine in the water of the Pacific Ocean at Santa Monica California surfing . The physical enviornment was centered at a Monolithic beach club called the Club Del Mar (before Synanon took over) It was a grand old Hoyel /;club omplete with Ballroom , several lounge areas and a large living room Their was an iindoor olympic sized pool and a complete health club
My jpob (everyne had a job ) was to teach the children of the older residednts to surf .
I was , for the first time in my life , in the presence of extremely chatismatic people who had risen inb this quirxky placew to positions of lradership . One such figure I came to respewst and admore wasa Jack Hurst. Jack was a natural born leader . He was smart , egocebtric , and zenophobic . Once he believed in sopmething it was diffucult to sway him . He was and remains one of the most decent men I have ever known .He is gone now having died several years ago but I will always remember him with respect , He was a key figure in turning my Synanon Experience into a positive thing . Many of the young men that were in Synanon at the time I was admired Jack . So much so that we would imitate his mannerisims in terms of speech, dress, body language and posture . Odd, but we did .
In my first year I was what was called a rage rat . I and many just like me were full of generalized rage . We cut it loose in the Synanon game ,. So much has been written about the game that I will defer to these other reports rather than trying to re-report about it . Suffice to say that the game sharpened ones communication skills , ability to think fast on your feet and your ability to take punishing attacks without falling apart . It was an uncensored conversation that was frightening and fun , angry and tender , emotive and intellectual .
After the first year I had come to feel generally committed to Synanon's view of the world . I stayed 5 more years , got married and eventually came to work as a kind of valet on Charles Dederich's personal staff , I left in 1974 to pursue a college education and , to eventually attend and graduate law school
I did these things because Synanon gave me a safe enviornment to mature in..
After I left , Synanon shifted into the more radical behaviour that got it in trouble . Several years after leaving I was inviited back to visit . I had become an Attorney and thus a kind of local boy makes good . When I went back the adventure was laced with fond nostqaligia , but also was rich with the realization that you cant go home again . I had grown beyond the limitations of the Synanon Lifestyle . I will never . however . deny the incalcua;able help I received fron having lived that lifestyle for six very important years .
