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A book called "Drinking : A Love Story"

Old 07-08-2017, 04:22 AM
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Originally Posted by Anna View Post
In my opinion, no, the book does not romanticize alcohol and I don't think Caroline ever felt she was in control of alcohol. I found Caroline's book to be so deeply honest, brave and raw. She does describe things from her drinking days which are essential to the story. So, if you are concerned, it could be a problem for you. That said, it's a most brilliant book, written by a high-functioning young woman and in my opinion, the best bio about addiction that's out there.
I think what Anna says is accurate and I think Driver8's comment about the white wine is also a good observation.

One thing Knapp did in this outstanding book (I have it and have read it many times, while still drinking and since) is describe how central alcohol was to her role in journalism. Like many of us, alcohol became an end-of-the-day friend....til it became so much more.

Among the many bios and auto-bios I have read, this is one I recommend most. Every time I read the part about her playing piggy back with the kids it kills me. Her relationship with her father, in particular, is also a strong thread in the book. I think there is at least one aspect most of us can relate to intimately in her story.

Just as an added $0.02 - other books I personally found really strong and relatable are Elizabeth Vargas's 2016 book (while not even close to the experience of hers, I have discovered that anxiety has been a problem for me all of my life) and Patrick Kennedy's books; I particularly liked the second one which is basically an anthology of people's experiences (both famous and not). Thirdly, and particularly for women in their 20s-40s based on active drinking and when we quit, is Blackout by Sarah Hepola. This story so closely mirrored my own that I had to read it sober and much of it was a gut-punch of recognition. Like the other great memoirs, the ultimate message of these books is of survival and recovery from alcoholism- and the reality of life (and, in Knapp's case, among others so far) and death once sobriety is found.
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Old 07-08-2017, 07:48 AM
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Good read. She still passed young though, very sad.

~Bunnez
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Old 07-08-2017, 08:13 AM
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I haven't read it, but I hear that "Girl Walks Out of a Bar" is very good.
I did hear the author being interviewed on "Since Right Now" a recovery podcast that I listen to, and she was very compelling.
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Old 07-08-2017, 09:50 AM
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I'm a little way into it and am enjoying it. I didn't know she had passed. Thank you for sharing.
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Old 07-08-2017, 10:28 AM
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Caroline Knapp died from cancer in 2002. She was 43. . Drinking: A Love Story came out in 1996.

She has inspired me endlessly and I know she has inspired many other people, so her legacy lives on.

For anyone old enough to remember Family Ties, Meredith Baxter's memoir, Untied, is fantastic. She talks about her decades long abusive marriage and descent into alcoholism while working on the TV show.

August, I loved Sarah Hepola's, Patrick Kennedy's and Elizabeth Vargas's books too. I will never forget Elizabeth Vargas's comment "I would not hesitate for a nanosecond to step in front of a bullet, to do anything, to give my life for my children....but I couldn't stop drinking for my children.".
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Old 07-08-2017, 11:47 AM
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Anna- that jumped out at me too! I also learned about her marriage to Marc Cohn and his accident and how their relationship grew complicated; I thought it was very classy the way she shared about such a difficult and painful relationship as it evolved and ended.

I also thought it is important to digest the role of our employers and businesses when addiction and alcoholism are a problem with employees. This is one reason that I am so committed to the restaurant industry recovery group I work with here in Atlanta. As more and more "big name" folks in the food and bev world come forward about their addiction and now sobriety, and it keeps spreading to us laypeople like managers and servers at restaurants, a change is clearly happening in how companies can become willing and understand how to help people like us.
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Old 07-08-2017, 11:53 AM
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Just loaded it on my Kindle. Thanks for the rec.

Recently read 'The Lost Man' and the Vargas biography. Learned something from each.

A book that really shook me prior to being made into a film was 'The Girl on the Train'...alcoholism is interwoven into the storyline. Despite it being completely fictional, it had me feeling out of sorts thinking of the possible or eventual horrors of blackouts.
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Old 07-08-2017, 01:21 PM
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Halfalife, we had a long thread on that book in the Book Club forum. A very common comment was how could she write that book without being 'one of us'?

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...a-hawkins.html
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Old 07-08-2017, 01:31 PM
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I tried to get it at the library, but it was out. I did get "Alcohol: From Cradle to Grave" which sounds interesting.
I also got an audiobook, "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer.
It's about a crime committed by Lds (latter day saints) members and is also a look at that church.
I remember that he had some trouble writing it as his research was blocked by the church, which believed, probably rightly, that his would not be a flattering look.
Its been on my list of books to read for a while.
I like his writing. He wrote Into thin air about climbing Mt. Everest, and Missoula, about a college rape.
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Old 07-08-2017, 01:32 PM
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What book club forum?
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Old 07-08-2017, 01:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Anna View Post
Halfalife, we had a long thread on that book in the Book Club forum. A very common comment was how could she write that book without being 'one of us'?

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...a-hawkins.html
Agreed...there were specific comments and notions throughout that book that made me wonder. You could only describe those sensations if you experienced them...I keep it on my Kindle as a scary reminder and have read it about three times.
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Old 07-08-2017, 01:56 PM
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Maudcat, this is the link:

The Book Club - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information
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