The book that helped Gucci Mane overcome his addiction in prison
Gucci Mane has experienced his share of troubles, but, as a famous rapper, he’s had the rare misfortune of working through them under the glare of the public eye, and that goes even for his addiction issues.
Gucci, who revealed last year in his autobiography that he’d been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, has also struggled with addiction, which he has, at times, been forced to address publicly. In 2013, in the wake of a period of erratic and damaging behaviour, the rapper had to release a statement apologising for what he’d done.
Gucci said he was “embarrassed” and “ashamed”, although he couldn’t actually remember acting out in the troubling ways that had subsequently been brought to his attention, which he claimed at the time was down to the drugs he’d taken.
In a tweet posted on September 22nd, 2013, Gucci admitted that he’d “been drinking lean for ten-plus years”, further stating that his addiction had “destroyed” him.
Lean is not an easy habit to kick, with Gucci later describing withdrawals from the substance to The New York Times as feeling “like death”. Getting clean from lean can be horrendous, while using it can be fatal, so either way, it’s a terrible position to be in.
Gucci, during an appearance on ESPN’s Highly Questionable series, reflected on his struggles with lean, which badly affected his mind and body during the height of his addiction. His life was a “blur” of “violence and paranoia and drugs”, and it was a very difficult thing to handle.
The fact that he had managed to survive this period frankly shocked him, but he felt extremely lucky about it. “I’m blessed, man,” he said, “to even be here today”.
It took an especially dark experience for Gucci to begin to get a handle on his lean addiction, but it happened during a stint in prison. While he was in there, he picked up a copy of As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, a self-help book first published in 1903, which proved crucial.
As a Man Thinketh is explicitly about individuals taking responsibility for their own actions. In the author’s own words, it is a book “that will help you to help yourself”, which has an obvious appeal to someone struggling with addiction, and hence Gucci credits the book with helping him get clean.