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A review by laynemandros
Drunk-ish: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving Alcohol by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.0
I listened to “Drunk-ish” in January on the trek from West VA back down to New Orleans and overall, I enjoyed it. One of my best friends in NOLA is a recovering alcoholic and I have another loved one who relapsed in their addiction this summer, so this book hit me right in my feels. I imagine it would for anyone who has a loved one in active addiction or recovery.
J, my aforementioned friend, has a lot in common with Stefanie. She’s Jewish, hilarious, and very matter-of-fact about her addiction. I saw so much of J in this book and after reading it I feel like I understand J just a little bit more, even though I’ll never truly know what it is like to work through addiction.
It is hard to rate and review memoirs because, well, how do you rate and review someone’s personal history, struggles, emotions, etc.? It’s hard. I will say something that was very apparent to me while reading is that this is a book that center’s the author’s identities (duh, Layne, it’s a memoir), but I say that to highlight that if you’re looking for an intersectional reflection of alcoholism and addiction, this isn’t going to be it. Wilder-Taylor delves into her experiences with being a mother and a woman, but reflects very little (if at all) on her whiteness and how that impacted her addiction and recovery.
The chapters about motherhood were (surprisingly for me because I am generally uninterested in motherhood because I dislike children and don’t have a desire to have them) some of the most poignant. These passages will stick with me. I’m glad this book gave me more to think about in terms of how I can better support my loved ones who are in recovery for addiction.
J, my aforementioned friend, has a lot in common with Stefanie. She’s Jewish, hilarious, and very matter-of-fact about her addiction. I saw so much of J in this book and after reading it I feel like I understand J just a little bit more, even though I’ll never truly know what it is like to work through addiction.
It is hard to rate and review memoirs because, well, how do you rate and review someone’s personal history, struggles, emotions, etc.? It’s hard. I will say something that was very apparent to me while reading is that this is a book that center’s the author’s identities (duh, Layne, it’s a memoir), but I say that to highlight that if you’re looking for an intersectional reflection of alcoholism and addiction, this isn’t going to be it. Wilder-Taylor delves into her experiences with being a mother and a woman, but reflects very little (if at all) on her whiteness and how that impacted her addiction and recovery.
The chapters about motherhood were (surprisingly for me because I am generally uninterested in motherhood because I dislike children and don’t have a desire to have them) some of the most poignant. These passages will stick with me. I’m glad this book gave me more to think about in terms of how I can better support my loved ones who are in recovery for addiction.