4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
All Drinking Aside – The Destruction, Deconstruction, and Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal is an introspective commentary written by Jim Anders. The book is divided into three parts which focus on the different stages of the author’s painful struggle with alcohol abuse. Jim tells his sorrowful story through an odd combination of past memories, drunken ramblings, and three alter egos. As he tries to curb his addiction, Sotto, Vatchi, and Surimi are his silent witnesses. Together, they try to understand him by piecing together his memories, his choices, and his experiences.
Despite its unfamiliar structure, this book was capable of invoking such raw emotions that it brought me to tears. Jim’s descriptions of alcoholism were both graphic and realistic. He likened it to a refreshing, gentle rain which progresses into an electrical storm over time. Like power outages during a storm, Jim experienced blackouts due to alcohol. As a victim of alcohol abuse, he also compared it to a frog sitting in a pot of cold water, not knowing that it is slowly being boiled to death. These descriptions helped me to understand that many victims do not realize how harmful their addiction slowly becomes.
I could not relate directly to Jim as I have never suffered from addiction, but my father drank a lot during my early childhood. Like Jim, he rambled aimlessly about things that did not make sense whenever he was under the influence. In addition to that, Jim talked about trying to fit in, even within his own family. He believed that he needed to drink and smoke for him to be heard. Additionally, his family was poor and he was seen as ‘less than’ while he went to college. He also linked alcohol to masculinity and spoke about the concept of ‘Drinking like a Man.’ My father also believed in this concept because he always thought that he was in control, no matter how many drinks he had taken. My father also grew up in a poor household. I appreciated the fact that this book made me reflect on my father’s relationship with alcohol.
This book can be complicated at times, especially when Jim used lengthy, poetic analogies to express himself. However, I appreciated the input of the three alter egos. Their short discussions within each chapter provided much-needed clarity. Furthermore, each alter ego had a purpose which helped me to understand and analyze the main character. Sotto was the judgmental one. He scolded Jim and accused him of making excuses for not turning his life around. Vatchi was the sensitive one. He encouraged Sotto to be patient because there were things in Jim's past that needed to be confronted and that healing was a slow process. Surimi was the psychologist. He guided the reader and the other two alter egos by providing explanations about the reality of Jim’s struggle and recovery.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because I admire any book that can evoke feeling and this book did not disappoint. It is powerfully written and I could sense the author’s emotions through his words. I felt like this book was definitely therapeutic for him to write because it gave him a greater understanding of himself. I noticed three errors in the book, but this did not disrupt the flow of the commentary in any way. I would recommend this book to adults who are going through alcohol abuse, especially men. Darker themes are also highlighted in this book such as crime, insanity, and suicide so I would not recommend this to younger readers or people who are easily affected by negativity.
******
All Drinking Aside
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like KristyKhem's review? Post a comment saying so!
