Was a book written by Jim Carroll

Jim Carroll

James Dennis "Jim" Carroll was an author, poet, autobiographer, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work The Basketball Diaries, which was made into the 1995 film of the same name, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll.-Biography:Carroll was born to a...

, it depicted his life from the years 1971 to 1973. While the book was called the Downtown Diaries, it was not a literal diary, such as the Basketball Diaries. Carroll had stated that most of Forced Entries was written by memory and may or may not been totally accurate.

Most of the entries in the book are about the times of Jim Carroll's artist career taking off, working with the likes of Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol

Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...

 in his Factory, hanging out at Max's Kansas City

Max's Kansas City

Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South, in New York City, which was a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s.-Origin of name:...

, hanging out with the Velvet Underground. It was stated that he changed the names of many people in the book, not so much for the threat of lawsuits, but due to not wanting his book being purchased and successful by name dropping. Such as Jenny Ann was in actuality Patti Smith

Patti Smith

Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....

, D.M.Z was the painter/artist Larry Rivers

Larry Rivers

Larry Rivers was an American artist, musician, filmmaker and occasional actor. Rivers resided and maintained studios in New York City, Southampton, New York and Zihuatanejo, Mexico.-Biography:...

.

The Downtown Diaries also took a look at Jim's heroin addiction

Substance dependence

The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...

, and his desire to get clean. It details his turning to Methadone

Methadone

Methadone is a synthetic opioid, used medically as an analgesic and a maintenance anti-addictive for use in patients with opioid dependency. It was developed in Germany in 1937...

 treatment and leaving New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 for California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and his detox

Detox

Detoxification is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including, but not limited to, the human body and additionally can refer to the period of withdrawal during which an organism returns to homeostasis after long-term use of an addictive substance...

and return to New York with a new life.