Gold Star Review

 


The following came in yesterday through Netgalley.com, a literary trade industry website where bibliophiles are provided advanced review copies of new books and provide unbiased professional-grade assessments. This is not your feel-good “friends & family” ego-stroking love fest. It’s pretty hardcore, and the reviewers pull no punches:

 "Ballad of a Sober Man" was so riveting that I had to finish it within hours of picking it up.

Yes, Dr Remy may be a board-certified E.R. physician, but he is also a prolific storyteller. This man can write!

I HIGHLY recommend this book to those who are in recovery, and/or to those who have a loved one or friend dealing with alcoholism. It's wonderful to see the humanity behind the disease.

This gist of this memoir is that Dr. Joe finds himself, at age 49, "morally bankrupt" and "deep in spiritual debt." In the first few chapters, we meet him as he's "voluntold" into a psychiatric hospital to detox from chronic alcohol abuse. From there, we get front-row seats into his path to recovery and watch him go through rehab, four sponsors and a nasty divorce.

As he works his program, we watch his resentments fade and his ego soften. He is able to open up and connect to others, showing his vulnerability. In the rooms, Dr. Joe finds his new village -- or what he calls his mosh pit. And they help him face his profound grief and demons in order to get healthy again.

Thanks to Joe's sober network, his sober living home and job as well as his 12-step program, he gains back his confidence. And to his surprise, he gets his job back in the E.R. He also improves his bedside manner and ability to become more present with his patients. After all, it's easier to make human connections when you are in service to others and turn your self-hate into self-love.

How did he get sober? Joe told a group of newcomers at a meeting: "I stopped relying on myself."

Go on and grab a copy of this book.

Special thanks to Girl Friday Productions, via NetGalley, for an electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. —Jill Henning

Whoever you are, Ms. Henning, thanks for the gold star!

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