October 25, 2010

Everything I Never Wanted to Be, By Dina Kucera

I was given a copy of Everything I Never Wanted to Be to review.

I enjoy a good memoir, but haven't really delved into one that deals with addiction in the same way this book does.

Plot: The novel is the true story of Dina's family history of alcoholism and addiction. You quickly realize everyone in her family struggles with addiction. The memoir focuses on her immediate family -- her husband and three daughters -- and their individual battles and the effects they have on the family unit as a whole. It was an interesting topic that kept me captivated.

Characters: Having never encountered these issues, it was impossible for me to relate to Dina and her family. However, I know families who have had children who battle addiction, and I kept thinking of them throughout this book. I feel like this book would be a Godsend for those families. The situations her family finds themselves in are so raw and so real that, for other families, it's probably a sign and a comfort that there is someone else out there going through the exact same thing.

And for those of us who haven't experienced it, it's a real look into what addiction is and how you are never really "recovered", but instead, are fighting it every single day.

Structure: The book is an easy read structure-wise. (Topically, that's a different story!) One issue I sort of had with it was chronology and the use of italic text. At first, I thought the italicized sections were flashbacks. Then, on occasion they were an extension of the regular text that appeared just before. While I was able to follow the book, I do feel like it jumped around a bit.

Overall, a good read on this topic. 3.5 stars.

Finally, as a special offer to Book Nook readers, the publisher is offering 30% off of Everything I Never Wanted To Be or any other books of your choice! Log on to www.everythinginever.com or www.dreamofthings.com to redeem. You'll need to enter the code Dream On at checkout.

Disclaimer: I may have received a free copy of the book, but the opinions expressed are all my own!

1 comment:

Thanks for joining our discussion of this book!

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