A review by jlasch
Best Kept Secret by Amy Hatvany

4.0

This book explores the difficult subject of alcoholism and severe depression when a mother, Cadence, loses her young son, Charlie, when she is no longer able to care for him because of her addiction. What I most liked about this story was the portrayal of the gradual descent into alcoholism - what started as a glass or wine each night turned into bottles of wine every day. It was so very easy to picture. The other thing that resonated with me was Cadence's overwhelming shame about how she treated her son. She couldn't speak of it in group sessions or AA meetings because of the "incomprehensible demoralization" which I totally related to, as I never understood how anyone would want to be on a reality show for millions of strangers to watch their secrets and flaws! What bothered me about the book was that Cadence's only reason for becoming sober was for her son and not for herself. She even broke off her friendship with Laura, who she met at group counseling, when Laura relapsed back into her heroin addiction because "no one can do this for Laura....If she wants it she'll have to do it for herself." Perhaps at the end of the story Cadence realized that no matter how much she loved Charlie her sobriety was ultimately for herself, but I still wonder.