Drinking: A Love Story
by Caroline Knapp
ISBN: 0385315546
ISBN-13: 978-0385315548
This book was a smooth and enjoyable read with the easy style of a woman who made a living as an editor and columnist. It is also definitely a book about alcoholism from a woman’s point of view. It’s a hard-as-nails memoir of a young woman in her 20s and 30s growing up in America today and her struggles with men, with food, with family and most of all with alcohol.
So often I saw myself in her actions — Hiding bottles of booze. Lying about how much you’d had to drink. Always keeping track of how much booze was left in your glass and in the bottle. Losing things when you’re drunk. Going to work hung over. Her struggles with men and feelings of insecurity. Her very direct language.
I thought sh*t my mother would have an attack if she ever read this book. But then I realized she never *would* read the book, least of all understand it. Because I don’t think anyone who has not been there, done that, and felt that compelling and almost impossible to break grip of alcoholism, of a monster that you know is not YOU but is living in YOUR body using YOUR mouth and brain and limbs to do things that YOU, sober, would NEVER do, would understand the truth of this thing we fight.
Her story of her struggle and escape from alcoholism rang so true to me and was so moving I wanted more the instant I finished the book. I had what I thought was a brilliant idea: I went straight to my computer to search the web to see if Ms. Knapp had a website where I could find out if she had a more recent book about alcoholism and where I might be able to send my thanks for her book.
I can only think of clichés to describe the feeling of frozen dumbfounded disbelief that filled me when the very first link I found from the Boston Phoenix said that Caroline Knapp had died June 06, 2002 at the age of 42. The world has lost both a great author and a terrific example of recovery from addiction.
This book is a must read.
Namaste, Alceon
alceonfree 