[3] By the time he was eighteen, Rooks became a troubled substance abuser (alcohol, cocaine, heroin, et al.).
After years of addiction, he traveled to Europe seeking a new "sleeping cure" being offered by a medical doctor at a clinic in Zurich.
Conrad spent much of his life traveling the globe, living abroad for many years in such places as New Delhi and Pattaya, Thailand.
In 1966 Rooks wrote, directed and starred in his first film, Chappaqua, a semi-autobiographical exploration of the perils of drug addiction, the agony of withdrawal, and the author's journey to Europe and success with the aforementioned "sleeping cure."
He was married to the American heiress Zina Rachevsky and the couple had a son Alexander (1958-) and a daughter Rhea (1966-).