Shooting Up
A Memoir of Love, Loss and Addiction by Jonathan Tepper
Shooting Up: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Addiction chronicles Tepper’s childhood growing up in Madrid’s San Blas neighborhood, where his missionary parents founded a groundbreaking drug rehabilitation center during the height of Spain’s heroin epidemic. It is a tale of addiction, recovery, and loss seen through the eyes of an American boy navigating between his family’s dedication to helping others and the harsh realities of AIDS during a time of needle sharing. With lyrical prose and sharp-eyed honesty, he delivers an exceptionally powerful story of love and compassion. Shooting Up is a quietly devastating coming-of-age memoir that is unforgettable—a haunting exploration of belief, belonging, and the costs of sacrifice.
ADVANCE PRAISE
"Shooting Up is an extraordinary memoir of a unique childhood among heroin addicts during the AIDS epidemic, but it is a universal story of love and loss that is powerfully moving.... The book is also a tale filled with grace and humor in life's darkest moments." –– George Stephanopoulos, political commentator and Good Morning America and ABC Sunday News anchor
"An astonishing work that opens your eyes—and your heart—to a whole new world, one that is as beautiful and inspiring as it is gritty and harrowing…heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, and joyous." — Amy Chua, Yale Law professor and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and The Golden Gate
“A powerful testament to the redemptive power of faith, friendship, and love. I couldn’t recommend it more highly; I cried, I laughed, I was changed.” – Thomas Webber, author of Flying Over 96th Street: Memoir of an East Harlem White Boy
“Jonathan Tepper’s gut-wrenching, inspiring memoir Shooting Up immerses you so deeply in its characters that you feel as if you’re living—and suffering—alongside them. Set amid the ravages of the AIDS epidemic in Madrid, this gorgeously crafted coming-of-age story is both luminous and profoundly humane. An unforgettable read that’s impossible to put down.” — Joseph Luzzi, author of My Two Italies and In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love
“Shooting Up recounts a young man’s coming of age in the unlikeliest of places, and finds joy, wisdom, and humour in the darkest of moments. Reading this book made me think anew about grace, and gratitude, and the hard roads that take us there. ” — Daniel Swift, author of Bomber County and The Bughouse: The Poetry, Politics, and Madness of Ezra Pound
“Tepper’s story about addiction, AIDS and his parents’ work with addicts in Spain in the 1990s is a one-off insanely entertaining and wild account. In fact it’s the most riveting memoir I’ve ever read.” — Frank Schaeffer, author of Crazy for God
Book reviews
"[An] extraordinary coming-of-age story" — Spectator
"A terrific story . . . You want an evocative account of the missionary experience? Here it is. A bracing social history of Aids in Spain? It does that too. But if it's misery you're after, look elsewhere. This is a memoir full of hope." —The Times
"A remarkable, true-life story about an American family offering salvation in Spain’s slums." "an unadorned coming-of-age memoir rooted in faith and humble acts of service." Our Verdict: GET IT —Kirkus
"Riveting memoir exploring missionary work, addiction, and human kindness... This rousing memoir chronicles Tepper’s upbringing with his missionary parents"— Booklife
"If we had books," Jonathan writes, "we could teach ourselves anything. The world was ours if we could read." This is the book's greatest lesson, powerfully embodied in the author's ultimate success against all odds, a success that makes the final pages read like a latter-day David Copperfield. In an age of declining curiosity and shrinking intellects, Tepper shows us a better way. It's rare to read a book that merits comparison with Alcott, Dickens, and Defoe, but he has done it. This book deserves a place on the shelf alongside those classics. It's one of the year's best books. [Emphasis added] — The US Review of Books
Independent Book reviews
"Told in straightforward, inviting prose, the memoir feels nearly like a conversation. It’s genuine and heartfelt and important." —Virginia Reeves (longlisted for the Man Booker Prize)
"Shooting Up is without question the most compelling memoir I have ever read. There’s so much to think about." — Toby Smith
"If you’re looking to cry in empathy with an author’s grief and hardships yet sense an undercurrent of hope, this memoir might be the book for you... This book should find a wide readership... Above all, it addresses the deep, human question of what to do with too pervasive human suffering. With all these themes coalescing in one tale, I hope the best for its launch." —Scott Pearson
"The writing itself is gorgeous — literary without being pretentious, emotional without being maudlin. Tepper has a gift for the telling detail, the scene that captures an entire relationship or turning point in just a few sentences. And his ability to weave together his personal story with the broader social history of AIDS in Spain, while also exploring deep questions about faith, education, and identity, is remarkable.
...it has the raw honesty of Educated, the lyrical quality of The Glass Castle, and the profound humanity of When Breath Becomes Air. But ultimately, Shooting Up is its own singular achievement and a testament to the transformative power of love and the resilience of the human spirit." — Jophy Lin
"In all honesty, this is one of the best MK [missionary kid] memoirs I have ever read. Why do I say that? The writing is phenomenal... I highly recommend getting this book and reading it. You will be challenged. You will be encouraged. You will learn." —Raising TCKs
"I cannot recommend it highly enough... I found the book to be profoundly beautiful but also deeply sad. It was nearly impossible to put down, and as I usually read after work, it resulted in some very late nights, but it was entirely worth the loss of sleep." —Substack
"I would recommend Shooting Up to readers who care about memoir, about addiction and recovery, about faith lived in messy real life rather than in slogans. It will suit anyone who wants a story that is gripping and easy to read but not easy to shake off, and who is willing to sit with pain, compassion, and complicated gratitude all at once." —Literary Titan
From Goodreads
"I truly have no words for how breathtaking this book is."
"One of the best books I have ever read."
"Nothing short of astonishing."
"This is a book that will stay with me for a very long time."
"Easily the most enthralling memoir I've ever read. I have recommended it to everyone I know."
"Jonathan Tepper has done what few writers can do: he has written a page-turner about something good and beautiful... I knew that this book would give a first-hand account of a unique moment in a unique place; I didn't know that it would tell a riveting family story that moved me to tears.
"This is a most heartfelt story that moved me more than just about anything I can remember."
"An extraordinary read. The finest memoir I've read and probably a top 10-15 most memorable books I've read."
"This beautiful memoir is a real, raw, and honest story about Jonathan’s childhood growing up with his family and their missionary work in Madrid. I found myself crying, laughing, and challenged by the deep love and sacrifice this family displayed to addicts."