Book Being Reviewed:
Hepola, S. (2015). Blackout: Remembering the things I drank to forget [Kindle version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com

Reviewer:
Charmayne Adams

Genre:
Memoir/Biography

Subject Headings:
Career, Female lifespan development, Relationships, Substance abuse-alcohol

Review:
Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget is a memoir depicting the life of a women struggling with alcohol addiction. The author shares her experience of nights she doesn’t remember, career pressure that seems to encourage alcohol as a muse for writing, relationships slowly crumbling, and a decline into a world that becomes hard for her to recognize. She talks about the struggles of attempting to quit multiple times and the hidden world of women who abuse alcohol. The book is fairly short and the content was not different to read, the writing style was easy to understand and follow.

This text can assist counselors in many ways, especially as the world of women with alcohol abuse disorders comes to the forefront of addiction counseling. Hepola depicts a world full of hurt, damaged self-esteem, and shame that could be used to help counselors empathize with clients caught in the grips of addiction. The second half of the books chronicles the author’s journey through recovery. This book was easy to read and could be used as a recommended read for clients or a resource for counselors.