This is my first time reading anything by J.A. Wright, and honestly I'm blown away.
How To Grow and Addict is an expertly crafted realistic look at a dysfunctional family and all it's ugly consequences. It made me laugh one minute and broke my heart the next. Poor Randall grew up with an abusive hard drinking father and a mother who popped pills to calm her nerves. From the time she was old enough to mix a drink she was playing bartender and fetching her mother's pills, and sometimes helping herself to one or 2 so she could calm her own nerves and get some sleep. Almost always made to feel unwelcome in her own home she looked forward to spending time with her Aunt Flo and Uncle Hank, until tragedy took even that small measure of comfort away from her. This was an amazing story.
I received a complimentary copy for review ( )

This is a tough book to read, but the story is relevant and sadly all too common. From the opening pages, my heart ached for Randall. Through no fault of her own, she is saddled with a family no one would want – her father is an alcoholic who is self-centered and mentally abusive, her mother is weak and unable to stand up for anyone, and her brother has problems of his own. To block the pain she feels, Randall becomes an addict, and for a large part of the book makes incredibly bad choices that are downright painful to read about. I agree with another reviewer that this book is not for the faint of heart. It is a harrowing and depressing story but timely and relevant for today’s world. Thanks to J.A. Wright for telling Randall’s story – it is an honest look at addiction and the hell it brings. ( )

I absolutely love the title of this book! It sums it up perfectly. How To Grow An Addict is the very moving tale of 23-year-old Randall. Written in the first person perspective, Randall chronicles her life growing up with an abusive father addicted to alcohol and a disconnected mother who copes with the help of pills and alcohol. I had to read this in small stints to get over each little heart-wrenching episode that left me thinking 'that poor kid'. Randall's "relationship" with her father was so sad. Desperate to be noticed and to be loved by him, she tried so hard to please him, while at the same time hating him for his actions. The writing was beautiful. It felt like reading an autobiography, a memoir, rather than a piece of fiction. Randall's voice as a young child is initially full of naivety, which is never completely lost, but as she grows up and experiences death, sex, violence and more and more hopelessness, her tone is altered. The character development was great and the characters depicted seemed real. Randall's dependency on, and unhealthy relationship with, Nick who supplies her with pills in exchange for using her body, was incredibly realistic and painful to read. Not a light read, but a very powerful portrayal of a dysfunctional family and one woman's harrowing journey through childhood and into rehab. 4.5 stars. My only criticism being that there was too much detail regarding the cooking sessions with Hank and Aunt Flo, and it lost my attention for a bit.
Thank you to the author and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. ( )

If I had to describe this book with one sentence, it would be "oh my god". I don't know how often I thought this while reading. The writing is really good, so good in fact that you get sucked into the story and can hardly put this book down. At least I had trouble doing so.

The title describes How to grow an addict perfectly, because that's exactly what it is about. You get taken back to Randall's really bad childhood and experience her life with her up until she is 'mistakenly' admitted to a rehab center. Brace yourself for a really realistic tale, that may make you cry but will leave you with hope.

I got an early ARC and there were some mistakes in it, like missing spaces between words and around 60% the formatting was faulty.

Disclaimer: I was provided through NetGalley with a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you. ( )