If your son was a drug addict and you booted him out of home would you write a book about it, call it a "true story" and then name him?
That's what novelist Julie Myerson has done. Publication of her book, The Lost Child, has been rushed forward by her publisher Bloomsbury to capitalise on the controversy which hit on the weekend after Myerson's interview in the Bookseller was picked up by the Observer.
As ever, I can see both sides of the argument: Myerson argues that her motives are altruistic, that she wants to get the problem of skunk (not cannabis) addiction discussed in the public realm, but her critics -- and there are many -- believe she's acted immorally mainly by "selling" her son's story to further her own career.
This piece by Ian Jack in today's Guardian gives a good overview of the controversy.
You can read Myerson's view here.
Her husband has also defended her decision to publish the book.
Finally, if you're in the UK you can watch an absolutely fascinating interview with the author justifying her decision on Newsnight via the BBC iPlayer.
