‘When I saw Lee cook up the paregoric, strap the tourniquet around her arm and put the needle into her vein, I was instantly captivated by a ritual that would eventually come to dominate my existence. But of course I didn’t know that then. I just wanted to try it.’ – Paul Bateman
‘I will never forget that little teaspoon. It was the only remaining item left in Paul’s flat in Durban when I went there with my wife to see what Paul had done. The only thing left. Not even a fork, or a knife or a cup to go with it. A teaspoon. Other than the clothes on his back, it was the only material thing that Paul had left in the world.’ – Mark Bateman
‘When we visited, we could hear him screaming even before we got out of the car. He was going through withdrawal, even in his comatose state, and that is when we first knew for certain that he could never have got clean if this hadn’t happened. He could never have got through that fully awake and aware and in control of himself. He wouldn’t have been able to.’ – Val Bateman
This is the true story of Paul Bateman’s journey from experimentation to drug addiction and beyond. It is also an account of the experiences of the people around him, in their attempts to cope with him, before and after the overdose that almost killed him.
The events are told from multiple points of view, with different chapters narrated by Paul, his girlfriend, his mother and other members of his family. The Million-Rand Teaspoon gives a complete, insightful, honest picture of the effect of drugs on the addict and his loved ones.
