About the Author

Rayya Elias (1960-2018) was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1960 and moved to Detroit in 1967. She was a musician, hairdresser, filmmaker, and also sold real estate to make some extra scratch. She lived in New York City and Little York, New Jersey.

Reviews

“Elias’ spiky, punky memoir takes us from her idyllic Syrian childhood to her plunge into sex, drugs, rock’n’roll, and more drugs in New York City’s East Village.”
—Elle
 
“More than a memoir, Elias’ tale –from Syria in the 1960s to New York in the 1980s – offers a street-level snapshot of some of history’s most critical time periods.  Through her intimate storytelling, we get a glimpse into the highly personal struggles of addiction and the powerlessness of those caught in its grip.” 
—Bust Magazine

“Much more than a recovery memoir, this big-hearted, funny book is a truthful American story.”
—Piper Kerman, author of Orange Is the New Black, in The Week

“Rayya Elias's life reads like Huck Finn on heroin. Her story of fleeing Syria as a child,  growing up in Detroit and spending her young adulthood trolling around the East Village is as American as they come, including as it does immigration, addiction and hard won deliverance. Through it all Elias's voice burns fire hot and is completely engaging.”
—Darcey Steinke
 
“Rayya’s writing doesn’t come out on the page feeling like it was squeezed from a standard-issue literary toothpaste tube. Instead, her stories are like tough little stray creatures, born in the lowest hollows of the dirtiest street corners, which then – as you watch, breath held – fight their way to rapture.” 
—Elizabeth Gilbert
 
 “Rayya Elias's Harley Loco grabs you by the throat on the very first page, and then never stops shaking you -- even after you've closed the book. It's a punk song disguised as a memoir: raw, slashing, gritty, and shot through with all the wild confusion of youth. But it's also wise, unpredictable, and relentlessly affecting.” 
—Jonathan Miles