'Requiem for a Dream' was first published in 1978. The book tells the stories of four New Yorkers who, unable to bear the difference between their dreams of an ideal life and the real world, seek solace in illusory ersatz substitutes. The author believes that the novel's protagonist is Addiction, and the book itself is a manifesto of Addiction's triumph over the human spirit. It is a requiem for all those who have betrayed their lives for a rosy illusion and lost the Human within. 'Requiem for a Dream' was adapted for film in 2001. The film was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe.