Lower Road - Paperback

by James A. Scarborough (Author)

On the outskirts of the outwardly-charming Spanish Colonial village of Chimayó, New Mexico, stands the ancient Santuario de Chimayó, a world-renowned shrine conveniently situated a quick drive north of Santa Fe. Thousands of visitors--among them the faithful and curious as well as legions of tourists--explore the quaint community each week, drawn to it by the chapel's "healing soil," nearby shops laden with museum-quality folk art, a converted hacienda offering gracious patio dining, and high-desert scenery straight from an artist's easel. Chimayó and the surrounding Española Valley, have also gained a reputation as the "Black Tar Heroin-Death Capital of the World." The story of these two worlds is told in Lower Road by James A. Scarborough.

Author Biography

The author is a well known criminal defense attorney and former New Mexico Supreme Court Justice. Scarborough tells the true story of a Chimayó drug-dealer's murder and the people in that conflicted community tied to it. The author defended one of the accused. Included in the text are riveting, verbatim accounts of principals in the story, taken from interviews with them conducted by the author or taken from court records. Scarborough's work examines the drug culture in the rural communities neighboring aloof and trendy Santa Fe through the eyes of junkies, traffickers, cops, court personnel, addiction-treatment providers and others.