Sober and Pissed Off by Jane Zarse

Sober and Pissed Off discusses: The difference between physical and emotional sobriety, the misconception that after one quits drinking the work is over and they are immediately cured, the importance of addressing alcoholism as a mental disorder, the constant work required to maintain sobriety, how addiction and relapse are two forms of self-sabotage and the correlations between anxiety, depression and addiction.

About the Author
Jane Zarse was born and raised in Lake Forest, Illinois. She graduated from Boston University on the Dean's List before acting in New York City and trading in Chicago. She spiraled into alcoholism before joining Alcoholics Anonymous and finding her way back. Sober and Pissed Off is the second book for Zarse. Her first book, Love and Compassion is My Religion (A Beginner's Book Into Spirituality) is a guide for finding one's spiritual self.

Zarse's first book received excellent reviews and gained worldwide attention. She has built an impressive author platform with tens of thousands of people who are in recovery following her on social media and is a top 2% Twitter influencer.

Follow @zarsejane on Twitter, On Instagram On Facebook On Goodreads Amazon Author page
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About the book
Sober and Pissed Off is a book for recovering alcoholics who are struggling with emotional wellbeing. In Sober and Pissed Off, Zarse describes how she regained her emotional sobriety after becoming a dry, miserable alcoholic. She took her newfound freedom for granted and paid dearly for it. Sober and Pissed Off illustrates why sobriety is so much more than not drinking. This book is for the countless people in recovery who are physically sober and emotionally struggling.

Review
Zarse writes with a lot of passion, conviction and vigour. I can imagine her words will and have already resonated with plenty of people in similar situations, and also friends and family members of said people. Kudos to her for opening up and for taking apart her own struggle bit by bit. Examining her own emotions and thought processes to try and comprehend what makes her disease tick, in an effort to find a path to recovery.

For the author her personal path to success is connected to her spirituality and faith. It is also anchored in the teachings and support of Alcoholics Anonymous, which is based in faith and belief instead of logic, science or medical explanations. Which begs the question, whether this is part of the reason many alcoholics find it hard to maintain sobriety, because the go-to treatment for alcoholism is an antiquated and ineffective method for a large number of alcoholics.

On the flip-side there are many, who like Jane, have found inner strength and support in the teachings of religion. The strength to face the daily battle of addiction, and for whom AA and religion is the foundation of their sobriety.

I think Zarse is someone who not only wants to help herself, but also help others. More importantly I believe as an author she wants to start a discussion about recovery and sobriety both emotionally and physically, so alcoholics, recovering alcoholics and non-alcoholics can better understand the internal and external struggle.

The author is brutally honest about her own journey, which is the most helpful kind of read when it comes to addiction. She tries not to gloss over her mistakes and acknowledge her failings, as she perceives them and experienced them. She is aware that all of that is subjective, and that hindsight isn't always an objective observer.

I admire the strength of her conviction and the acknowledgement of her own battle. It's what makes this an eye-opener of a read.

Buy Sober and Pissed Off at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
Buy Love and Compassion Is My Religion: A Beginner's Book into Spirituality by Jane Zarse

#BlogBlitz A Laughing Matter of Pain by Cynthia Hilston

It's Publication Day for A Laughing Matter of Pain by Cynthia Hilston. It's a tale of struggle and determination to come back from devastating mistake and addiction.

About the Author
Cynthia Hilston is a thirty-something-year-old stay at home mom of three young kids, happily married. Writing has always been like another child to her. After twenty years of waltzing in the world of fan fiction, she finally stepped away to do her debut dance with original works of fiction. Hannah's Rainbow: Every Color Beautiful is her first original novel. She's currently working on more books. Visit her website for more information.

In her spare time - what spare time? - she devours books, watches Doctor Who and Game of Thrones, pets her orange kitty, looks at the stars, and dreams of what other stories she wishes to tell.

Follow @cynthiahilston on Twitter,on Instagram, Goodreads, on Facebook, Visit cynthiahilston.com

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About the book
Harry Rechthart always knew how to laugh, but laughter can hide a lot of pain that’s drowned by the bottle and good times. He grew up the joker in the early 1900s in Cleveland, Ohio, but as he enters adulthood, conflict splits him. His once close relationship with his brother, Erik, breaks as they come into their own and Erik goes off to college. No longer under Erik’s shadow, Harry feels he might finally shine and make others see him as someone to be proud of. Harry finds an unlikely comrade who understands how he feels–his younger sister, Hannah. Once free of high school, Harry and Hannah double date sister and brother, Kat and Will Jones, attending wild, extravagant parties during the years of Prohibition. Harry thinks he’s won at life–he’s found love in Kat, in a good time, and in the bottle. But all the light goes out fast when Harry’s alcoholism leads to disastrous consequences for him and Kat.

Harry thinks the joke’s on him now that he’s sunk lower than ever. He’s in jail. He’s pushed away his family. He’s a broken man, but in the darkest depths of a prison cell, there is hope. Can Harry rebuild his life and learn that true laughter comes from knowing true joy, or will he bury himself once and for all in this laughing matter of pain?

Review
This is a story about how alcoholism can destroy lives. Not just the the life of the alcoholic, but also that of their loved ones and the people around them. It is also the story of the hard walk of sobriety.

What Harry likes to do throughout the story is lay the blame at different doors. His older brother is too perfect and successful, and Harry can't live up to it. His eldest sister is too busy being an adult, his younger sister is too busy being a child. The only sibling he connects and has a bond with is Hannah, and in the end he rejects her too for caring and loving him. His parents expect him to be responsible, keep his life together and grow up. I mean, come on that's just too much pressure for one man, right.

Now that may seem like a harsh comment, but the truth is that even the smallest source of pressure, stress or anxiety can be a trigger for a person with addiction problems.

It's really interesting to note how his addiction sneaks up on him, in fact he isn't even aware that he has a problem until he ends up behind bars. His sister Hannah knows, but she enables and helps him to hide it from the rest of the family. In the end his realisation comes after a lot of soul-searching in prison, and yet he still lacks a certain acknowledgement of culpability.

During his time in prison he meets an inmate who offers him a lifeline when he gets out, so it isn't his own family he turns to after years of imprisonment - it's a stranger.

The author shows the reality of his addiction, which isn't always triggered by dramatic events by the way. An alcoholic always wants to drink, it is always the inner voice whispering into your ear, regardless of where you are or what you are doing. The question is whether you can learn to control the urge or not, an internal and eternal urge. I think that is something many people struggle to understand though, that addiction never leaves you and there is always the possibility of falling off the wagon. Kudos to those who manage sobriety, especially when they are confronted with their addiction of choice on a regular basis.

It's a tale of struggle and determination to come back from a devastating mistake and addiction. It is a story of what family is to some of us, and that it sometimes isn't defined just by blood. Hilston wants her readers to see that with support there is a possibility of redemption and a new life.

Buy A Laughing Matter of Pain at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.
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Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon

An unusual choice, creating a main character with an alcohol problem, but it works.

Seddon gives a superbly accurate insight into alcoholism, especially the minutiae planning of a so-called functioning alcoholic. Alcohol, alcoholism and alcoholics are often written in a stereotypical way.

Pretty much typecast in certain scenarios, dialogues and situations. Seddon has obviously done her homework and focused on one of the sub-categories or rather one of the five types of alcoholics.

Alex plans her entire day around the next drink, the next hit of alcohol and next release from her inner hell. How many bottles at what time and how to deal with the consequences of her consumption, everything revolves around those key factors. Her job, her personal life and her day to day life.

Just how structured the planning can be for a functioning alcoholic becomes clearer, as Alex tries to get a better grip on it. So far everything and everyone around her has fallen prey to her disease.  In an effort to pick up the remnants of her career she starts investigating the cold case of an attack on a young teenage girl.

Amy is with the reader throughout the story, albeit in a very unusual way. Her memories, her emotions and her perceptions are a pivotal part of this tale.

The story flits from past to present with occasional visits to the years in between. The reader follows
Alex as she tries to control her life and solve the mystery of the attack. Simultaneously the reader hears Amy's inner dialogue, which is also exceptionally well written and described.

Overall this was an innovative approach to a crime story with an anti-heroine as the main character, and it was an excellent read.

Buy Try Not to Breathe at Amazon UK or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Follow @hollyseddon and @Atlanticbooks

Read Don't Close your Eyes by Holly Seddon