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5.0
Emily Arnason Casey blends lyrical prose and brutal honesty in Made Holy, a debut collection of addiction, family, and relationships.
Casey's maternal family line suffers from alcoholism in ways subtle and overt, acknowledged and denied. Casey's chapters on her own struggle are oftentimes violent, but essentially so, as she does not shy away from letting readers in to her darkest moments before realizing the need for recovery. She takes the time to analyze other members of her family with the same problem, and ruminates on the meaning of family legacy. These darker stories are contrasted with essays on growing up at an idyllic lake house with her siblings and on into adulthood as she enters recovery and becomes a parent herself.
This collection is worth reading for the aforementioned prose alone. Casey in a natural at weaving stark imagery and wordplay, which evokes a quiet and haunting melancholia that ensures each passage is memorable. It's a wonderful, introspective yet openhearted work that is highly recommended to fans of memoirs.
**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to University of Georgia Press..**
Casey's maternal family line suffers from alcoholism in ways subtle and overt, acknowledged and denied. Casey's chapters on her own struggle are oftentimes violent, but essentially so, as she does not shy away from letting readers in to her darkest moments before realizing the need for recovery. She takes the time to analyze other members of her family with the same problem, and ruminates on the meaning of family legacy. These darker stories are contrasted with essays on growing up at an idyllic lake house with her siblings and on into adulthood as she enters recovery and becomes a parent herself.
This collection is worth reading for the aforementioned prose alone. Casey in a natural at weaving stark imagery and wordplay, which evokes a quiet and haunting melancholia that ensures each passage is memorable. It's a wonderful, introspective yet openhearted work that is highly recommended to fans of memoirs.
**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to University of Georgia Press..**
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