My stepson died last year of throat cancer, brought on by years of alcohol and tobacco abuse. I say this because I thought this was going to be a hard book to read — part memoir, part 12-step navigational handbook, part Big Thoughts. That doesn’t sound like I liked the book, but I did, and thought Levy spoke to me about my stepson and his various demons that he fought and lost. She fought and has won, but it was a hard fight, filled with many missteps and disastrous mistakes.
Alcohol abuse isn’t pretty. Those of us who have been touched by it can’t really understand why it happens to the people we love, and our feeble attempts at trying to help are often doomed from the start. Levy’s book shows how she had the strength of character to fight back — and while she had many years of dismal failures, eventually she figured out a plan. It may not be the plan that you can get behind, but like I said, the navigational aspects of this book are useful guideposts. Even if you are lucky not to have someone you know with these circumstances, I think you will find this book interesting, engaging, and at times pretty darn funny. Highly recommended.