Ed and Diane Reed
Ed & Diane Reed: Double Helix – A Memoir of Addiction, Recovery, and Jazz in Two Voices
Ed and Diane Reed tell their compelling life story of resilience and recovery from addiction. They will talk about their new book, Double Helix, a memoir that describes decades of Ed Reed’s life as a Black man, who Ed was as a heroin addict for 40 years as he went through four incarcerations in state prison, including San Quentin and Folsom, and Diane’s struggles to come to grips with how she was enabling Ed’s addiction.
Even though he started singing at the age of five to sweeten the work for his mom and others in her laundry business, 92-year-old Bay Area jazz vocalist Ed Reed did not start his career as a renowned jazz vocalist until he released his first CD at age 78.
In conversation with Ashby Village member and retired journalist Julie Freestone, Ed and Diane Reed will reflect on how the experiences they had, the lessons they learned and the tools they used to achieve sobriety might help them in the new challenges they are facing now as they grow older and they both deal with Ed’s blindness.