The Crank-Driven Life

It seems the woman who used one of Rick Warren's books to thwart her kidnapper wasn't exactly forthcoming when it came to the details of her experience--until now:

Celebrated Hostage Gave Crystal Meth to Captor

Ashley Smith, who was held hostage in her apartment in March by the man now charged with murder in the Atlanta courthouse shootings, was hailed as a hero after she disclosed how she had persuaded her captor to surrender, partly by reading to him from the spiritual best seller The Purpose-Driven Life.

But in a memoir released yesterday, Ms. Smith also recounts that she gave the kidnapper some of her supply of crystal methamphetamine during her captivity and that she did not tell the police for some time afterward.

In the memoir, Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero, Ms. Smith recalls that Brian Nichols, who has been charged in the death of three people shot at the Fulton County Courthouse and a fourth killed elsewhere in Atlanta soon before her kidnapping, asked her if she had any marijuana. She answered no but said she did have some "ice," or crystal meth.

Apparently, Rick Warren is more persuasive when his readers are under the influence of illicit drugs. That explains a lot.