Alive, A Courageous Story of Addiction True Love & Forgiveness
Eileen P. DeClemente
Reviewed by Tina Avon
Alive, A Courageous Story of Addiction True Love & Forgiveness
defines all that is both sad and inspirational about addiction and
recovery.
The author, Eileen P. Declemente is an alcoholic and a drug addict- she
has been in denial for most of her life, yet, somewhere in the back of
her mind, she has always known that her thinking was somehow different
- that SHE was different, especially when it came to booze and
pills.
After a particularly horrible episode, in which her children have front
row seats - something inside of her changes and she decides that she
has had enough and wants to get better.
Eileen starts by detailing her horrible childhood - which is always
touchy, as far as I am concerned, because we often remember these
events which our child eyes. Still, you can feel Eileen's
pain as she described her life with her parents and you can almost see
the addict in the making.
This memoir is written with deep emotion and gives us a view of how the
addict affects the whole family while they are using, but also once
they are in recovery. I thought it was interesting that such a
microscope was put on the role her husband played in her
addiction and the fact that he was having a hard time accepting
this responsibility. Particularly touching was the love Eileen
consistently maintained for her children throughout - they were
certainly a catalyst for her finding her willingness. They are
also the reason Eileen felt so much guilt and had to work very hard at
finding a way to forgive herself for all the pain she had caused her
family but also to herself - and she found her way through this with
the help of a twelve step program.
Throughout the telling of her story, the author strives for complete
honesty and to me, this made me like the book even more. It is
difficult to tell your story, especially if you don't come out of it
sounding like an angel - but Eileen gives us the good, the bad and the
very horrible and takes responsibility for her actions.
This book is quite short, but it packs a punch - you feel a host of
feelings as you are reading and there is a twist at the end of the
story which makes it all the more poignant. For everyone who is
suffering from addiction, for anyone who lives with an addict and most
of all for anyone in recovery, I suggest reading this book.