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Product Description
Product Description
Fifteen million Americans a year are plagued with alcoholism. Five million of them are women. Many of them, like Caroline Knapp, started in their early teens and began to use alcohol as "liquid armor," a way to protect themselves against the difficult realities of life. In this extraordinarily candid and revealing memoir, Knapp offers important insights not only about alcoholism, but about life itself and how we learn to cope with it.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
53 of 55 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A brilliant first hand description of what it is to be like to be afunctional alcoholic, someone who has a good job, a home, a boyfriend, and on the surface a perfectly normal and respectable life.
Caroline Knapp tells everything just the way it was, from the perspectiveof several years spent in Alcoholics Anonymous, sparing no embarrassing details of what happened along the way. Her aim is clearly to try and helpothers with her story, which is far more common (at around 10% of the population) than most people's impressions of what an alcoholic is ordoes. She doesn't try and glamorise her drinking, and the book is sobrutally honest that I felt I almost knew her by the end of it!
Sadly a few years after writing the book the author died from another addiction (lung cancer as a result of smoking), which make her mother's final words on her death bed to Caroline (as revealed in the book) particularly prophetic.
Caroline Knapp tells everything just the way it was, from the perspectiveof several years spent in Alcoholics Anonymous, sparing no embarrassing details of what happened along the way. Her aim is clearly to try and helpothers with her story, which is far more common (at around 10% of the population) than most people's impressions of what an alcoholic is ordoes. She doesn't try and glamorise her drinking, and the book is sobrutally honest that I felt I almost knew her by the end of it!
Sadly a few years after writing the book the author died from another addiction (lung cancer as a result of smoking), which make her mother's final words on her death bed to Caroline (as revealed in the book) particularly prophetic.
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Quite simply one of the most eye-opening books I have ever read. It is not a "self help" book, nor an advertisement for AlAnon, but a frank and very insightful glimpse into the world of the "high functioning" alcoholic.
Apart from those who have never touched a drop in theirs lives, I guarantee that there won't be a single person who doesn't at least identify with some parts of this book.
Caroline Knapp doesn't just tell us that the road she traveled is bad, what she does so well is to shine a light on that road, so we can see where we are, and where we are going, and make our own minds up. And she manages to do all this with great humour, and of course sadness.
I have never been able to say "That was a bad day, I deserve a drink" after reading this...without stopping to think what I am saying. It didn't stop me enjoying a drink, but it did make me realise the line between social drinking and alcoholism is so very faint, that I might just not notice crossing it. This book makes that line a little clearer.
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm always hesitant to read sobriety books that include promoting AA as the only way to stay sober and indeed Knapp was of the same opinion - even going to a meeting and deciding it wasn't for her for a number of years until going back. She doesn't 'bang the book' throughout and is quite honest about some of her compatriots who have recovered without AA.
I have read many books on the addiction subject and where Frey's 'A million little pieces' is sensationalised, this strikes the reader as pure honesty. Knapp writes so well you begin to think of her as a heroine. She does not have the many crazy antics most alcoholics have gone through (although she is a lifelong drunk driver) but she is pointed enough to understand that for her, the cheating lieing and coverups is as bad as any car wreck
This is a fantastic inspiring read.
I have read many books on the addiction subject and where Frey's 'A million little pieces' is sensationalised, this strikes the reader as pure honesty. Knapp writes so well you begin to think of her as a heroine. She does not have the many crazy antics most alcoholics have gone through (although she is a lifelong drunk driver) but she is pointed enough to understand that for her, the cheating lieing and coverups is as bad as any car wreck
This is a fantastic inspiring read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Best memoir I ever read
Best memoir I ever read, I have 5 pages left and I don't want it to end. An amazing lady but a sad sad story
Published 6 months ago by Kats76
Brilliant!
Read this book if you want to stop drinking! This piece of writing contains 100% truths and I found it extremely helpful in my own recovery.
Published 16 months ago by Mally
A must read!!
Amazing.
To all those who wonder what an Alcohol Dependant's life is like.
Also, a must read to all the dependant's to show you are not alone.
To all those who wonder what an Alcohol Dependant's life is like.
Also, a must read to all the dependant's to show you are not alone.
Published 21 months ago by SM
health education book/biography
This is a must for anyone who has a drink problem but is in denial. There are elements that relate to anyone who drinks any amount. A cautionary tale for allof us. Excellent.
Published on 20 April 2010 by G. Callan
What a superb book!
I have just finished reading this book, haven't been able to put it down since it arrived two days ago. Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2009 by Lynne
This is not a self-help book
This is not a self-help book but is an interesting and frank account of a battle with alcohol. It is very sad, especially the observation that alcohol addiction washes through... Read more
Published on 27 July 2009 by M. C. Verrall
The best book I have ever read!
This book has to be the best book I have ever read. As a 32 year old woman there were so many issues Caroline had that I can completely identify with. Read more
Published on 13 April 2009 by Anna-lee
Caroline Knapp: A saviour for many years to come
I am more than 3/4 way through Caroline Knapp's book: Drinking, a love story. I am a 27 year old married mum of 1. I drink with friends, with family and on my own. Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2009 by Lady Weston
Honest and deeply moving but the end will be disappointing for those...
This is an extraordinarily in-depth and moving account of Knapp's battle with booze over a long period and it is also an analysis of the insecurities many young woman face about... Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2007 by alimarcam
Caroline Knapp - Thank You! We all love you...
Caroline Knapp was a truly remarkable individual with so much love to give and share. In her short time after recovering from alcohol and other issues she was working through, she... Read more
Published on 21 May 2006 by Green Dog
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