Cathryn Kemp is a world adventurer and successful travel writer.  She has several Lonely Planet books to her credit.  I was held at gunpoint on a Russian train; almost drowned in the Mekong.  I was involved in a botched kidnap attempt by a cab driver in Riga.  But the adventures didn’t stop there.  She was also a drug addict who was on the highest dose of fentanyl ever recorded at the center where she finally detoxed.

Addiction Myth sat down with Ms Kemp for this intimate interview conducted by email.

Addiction Myth: In your book you claim that you were on morphine for 2 years before switching to fentanyl.  But in your interview with the Independent, you claimed you were on morphine for only a few weeks.  Which is it and why did you change your story?

CK:

AM:  You claim that you cannot be trusted around drugs, and you also admit to lying about taking drugs.  Did you lie about your drinking as well?  Did you drink in secret which caused the attacks of pancreatitis?

CK:

AM: Do you have evidence (from blood work) that indicates pancreatitis after the first episode?

CK:

AM: Did you have internet access during the 7 years of your convalescense?  Did you research your disease (pancreatitis and addiction)?

CK:

AM: You claim that the Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction caused your pancreatitis.  But this is a common side effect of gall bladder removal, which was performed years after your first attack.  How do you explain your remission?

CK:

AM: You stayed on drugs for 5 years because you feared the pain of withdrawal.  When you finally did it, your detox was a month of hell.  Did you know that normal medically supervised detox takes only a week, and actually can be done in an hour, under anesthesia?

CK:

AM: Do you still have cravings for fentanyl or are you cured?  Who or what is your Higher Power?

CK:

AM: Did you fake an addiction for attention, for adventure, or as fodder for a book?

CK: