A review by takumo_n
Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp

4.0

This is so honest it gets uncomfortable sometimes. She has a great sense of introspection and insight, so you understand what she and a lot of addicts go through. At first you don't like her, because she talks about all the things her family was doing wrong when she was a kid (which was horrible, but still); or what her man was doing to make her cheat, etc. But then she realises, as a lot of addicts that want to stop, that is her fault and the substance that anesthetize the shame and guilt of her self-destruction. Apparently an addict hits rock bottom when they can't medicate that shame anymore, it's not really losing everything (material or relationship wise), which I didn't know. It can happen at any stage of addiction, even when you're barely starting, depends on the person and their psychosocial enviroment. An addiction stalls out your growth, stopping is literally deciding finally to become an adult, so I understand why it is so difficult and scary. My uncle is an alcoholic. He is in his 60s now, and haven't found the will to stop. Undertanding what maybe is going through his head, and what was his childhood like (and he doesn't stop talking about it) makes it even sadder, but what you gonna do.