by Sarah Hepola
First published 2015
Sarah Hepola thought drinking made her bold and adventurous. She stayed out late at parties and bars, treating alcohol as her birthright as a liberated woman. Each morning became a mystery to solve. She would wake up missing entire chunks of time. Who was that person she talked to? What embarrassing things had she done? She spent her days saying sorry for behavior she couldn't remember, as if cleaning up after someone else entirely. While her professional life flourished, she hid her growing shame behind humor and wit. The memory gaps kept getting worse. What she believed energized her existence was actually hollowing her out from within. When Hepola finally confronts this reality, she begins the difficult path toward sobriety. Through recovery, she pieces together her missing time and rediscovers the woman she had lost. The boldness, connection, and imagination she thought came from drinking had always lived inside her. This candid and witty memoir will resonate with anyone rebuilding their identity or facing unwanted transformation.
Genres: addiction, autobiography, contemporary, memoir, non-fiction, biography-memoir
Vibes: candid, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking, witty
Tropes: coming-of-age, redemption, self-discovery, transformation
241 pages · Kindle Edition · Grand Central Publishing
Content warnings: addiction, alcohol-abuse, depression, mental-illness