Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction Review

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(More customer reviews)*****
This is a stunningly written, intense and emotional memoir of a father's struggle to deal with his brilliant, charismatic, and caring son's addiction to methamphetamine. It is honest and authentic and raw and heart-rending and fascinating. It is unforgettable. As I read, I felt many emotions for both the father and son---everything from anger to sadness to grief to fear. I felt as though I was right there on the emotional roller coaster with the author.
Even if you have no personal experience of a loved one's addiction, you will be moved by this father's struggle to cope with his son's substance abuse turmoils. Despite methamphetamine being this country's most problematic drug, many of us, including me, know very little about it, and may not initially feel too interested in finding out. However, the author's struggles and emotional journey are so poignant and compelling that any reader will find themselves caught up in this memoir, will benefit from what they learn and most of all, will be glad that they read it. If you know and/or love an addict, this book will be even more important---it will be vital---as you will find much to identify with and perhaps even be able to better process some of your own emotions.
Highly recommended.
*****


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Blame: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)Brief summary and review, no spoilers:
Patsy MacLemoore is a professor of history at a small college near Pasadena. She is also an alcoholic, who has suffered several blackouts. One morning she wakes up in jail with a bad hangover and having no idea what happened to get her there. She thinks it's probably something minor since she's woke up in jail like this before. But this time it's much more serious - 2 people, a young mother and her daughter were run over and killed.
This book is divided into sections by year. We start off in 1980 just one year before this accident, and this novel moves us forward over two decades. During this time we follow Patsy as her life takes this sudden plunge, and as she tries to make amends for what she did.
There were many things to love about this novel. I thought the dialogue and characterization were spot on, and I was completely pulled into the story. The locale is mainly Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, and I am very familiar with both places and thought their descriptions were accurate and I could just picture them all.
There was also an epic feel to it as we travel the years with Patsy. We age along with her and we share in her traumas. When I turned the last page of this story I felt like I had been through an experience - I needed to think about this book before I could pick up anything else.
I think this book would appeal to a lot of people. We relive the AIDS crisis and we learn about the criminal justice system, AA, and what it's like to be in prison. We see (and experience) how life can turn on a dime, and how our lives can take strange trajectories away from our best laid plans. This book is about forgiving and atonement, in the truest sense of both those words.
And for those who like this sort of thing (and I do), there is a twist of sorts, towards the end.
I highly recommend this book. It was an absolute page-turner for me, and I can easily see this novel being made into a movie. I also recommend it for book clubs as there is a lot to think about and discuss.

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NIV Recovery Devotional Bible Review

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(More customer reviews)This Bible is my favorite bible for several reasons. First of all, it is aimed at people who have used/are using the 12 Steps. While I am not a 12 Step-er, I did come from a highly dysfunctional family. This Bible offers a lot of insight for those of us who have had dysfunctional families, histories of abuse, low self-esteem, and addictions/compulsions. The explanations are wonderful. There are also enlightening daily devotionals to read that guide you through the Bible in one year. If you've ever been scared to read a Bible because you don't think you'll understand it, or you don't think it relates to your current life, then this is the Bible to try.

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