The Sober Curator’s #QUITLIT Recovery Book Review: The New York Times Bestseller “Drinking, A Love Story” By Caroline Knapp

The New York Times Bestseller “Drinking, A Love Story“ by Caroline Knapp depicting her 20-year battle with booze should absolutely be in your #QUITLIT library. I recently dusted this book off and pulled it down from the shelves of my recovery library. I’m so glad that I did, as this memoir is truly a classic in my eyes. Caroline’s story changed my life in early sobriety. After re-reading it again in 2021, this book still holds just as much depth and weight as it did the first time I read it.

This memoir was first published in 1996, the same year I gave birth at the age of 21 to my son Jakob. One decade later in 2006, when I finally made the decision to get sober, this was the first recovery memoir I purchased at Barnes and Noble. I can still picture myself sitting on the floor of the self-help section of the store in Lynnwood, WA pouring over the first few pages. It was my experience, nearly 15 years ago, that the self-help/addiction section of any book store was limited at best. Myspace and Facebook were in their infancy stages and I don’t know if sober bloggers existed. If they did, they weren’t on my newly sober radar.

To my surprise and delight, I highlighted and took notes in this book. Something I would have never remembered until making the choice recently to re-read it. Thinking back, I surely read and re-read this book multiple times that first year of sobriety. As I mourned my divorce with vodka and cocaine, Caroline’s words seeped into my soul.

The power of the identification process

When one alcoholic connects with another alcoholic on a personal level, something magical happens. Her story was my story. Her words were my feelings. I felt less alone and armed with a renewed sense of self as I devoured each page. Reading back over my notes and underlines, Caroline’s story still rings so true to me even to this day.

Page 86 changed me

My entire adult life has been challenged when it comes to relationships with the opposite sex. Re-reading her story on page 86 through the end of that chapter (Chapter 6), I noticed it was basically all highlighted and covered in tear stains. Caroline Knapp had such a powerful way of talking about how her addiction was also intertwined with her failed romantic relationships. If this resonates with you and you haven’t read the book, I promise you it will be time well spent. Go add to the cart, I’ll be right here when you get back.

All the feels

Alcohol is alluring, but the devastating hold it can have on some people’s life is sometimes just too much. This book breaks open the secrets around addiction, the family myths, and destructive relationships that go hand in hand for those that suffer from alcohol use disorder. Like a love story, Caroline had very passionate feelings for booze as her one true love. (Oh how I can relate) A love that would eventually betray her, break her heart and leave her feeling obliterated.

Publicly, she made her like look like she had it all as a dutiful daughter with a stunning professional career in media. Personally, I thought my story was similar on paper when in reality it was really just a well-crafted game of smoke and mirrors. I played the PTA Mom role just as well as the blackout dive bar role. As time marched on, it became harder and harder to keep those two worlds separate.

Caroline Knapp had a way with words and if you or someone you know has been afflicted by alcoholism, as I have, then this is a must-read #Quitlit classic. It is surely a story that will stand the test of time. With under a 300-page count, this book is small but mighty. Caroline Knapp passed away in 2002 from lung cancer.

Feel like you can’t squeeze time to read into your day-to-day? I have found that Audible books and podcasts allow me to multitask by listening and doing everyday household chores simultaneously, like laundry, running errands, and walking the dogs. Drinking, A Love Story by Caroline Knapp is available on Audible and you can find it here. 

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The post The Sober Curator’s #QUITLIT Recovery Book Review: The New York Times Bestseller “Drinking, A Love Story” By Caroline Knapp appeared first on The Sober Curator.