Heather King (1)

Heather King is so thoroughly honest in her deeply personal memoir that she really gives the impression of what it was like to walk in her shoes as she struggled with alcohol abuse. When an autobiography is this personal, it’s hard to say it could have been better because that almost feels like a judgment on the author’s life. I feel as though Heather King shared exactly the right amount. If you have a friend or family member who struggles with substance use and want to know what it’s like to walk in their shoes, read this memoir.

Favorite Quote: “Books were the closest thing I had to God–even at my worst I still made a pilgrimage to the public library every week or so for a fresh stack–and O’Connor was my heroine, literary and otherwise. I had read her short stories so many times that her characters…were more real to me than people I had actually met, and though I could not imagine being a Catholic, or understanding the Gospels, or living like a monk in a Georgia dairy farm the way she had, her fierce faith and unwavering convictions inspired in me the utmost respect.” — Reviewed by SBBookGirlErin… (meer)

I had read a fairly good review of Parched in my bar association's newsletter, which noted the author had made it through law school in a drunken stupor. The law school portion of her life takes up only a few pages in the book, though the rest of the book is alternately fascinating and repelling.

King starts drinking in high school and stays partially inebriated for the next twenty years. We see her life -- filthy living conditions, going-nowhere jobs -- through her caustic wit. She's quite perceptive in seeing the flaws of others (and is quite comical doing so), but she never manages to turn that gaze inward. It takes a family intervention (which mostly ends the book, a bit too quickly) to dry her out.

It's interesting to see how other people live, and this story takes us close to the lowest depths in our modern society. It's a captivating story at times. But I'm hesitant to offer this as pre-reading for law school, as the author got through those three years and passed the bar exam wasted, and that's probably not the best message to send.… (meer)