Customer Reviews

Parched

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You probably don't know the name Heather King, unless you've heard some of her commentaries on NPR radio or read her essays in magazines. But I'm guessing you've heard of her little brother, Joe King, aka Joe Queer. Parched is an autobiography in which Heather King tells the story of her life and her decades-long addiction to alcohol. Its brutally frank, and remarkably detailed; clearly, even when she was drinking herself to death, Heather kept detailed journals. The story starts in her white-trash home in New Hampshire, then moves to Boston. It's an amazing story-even when she was drinking all the time, Heather managed to graduate from college with honors, finish law school, and pass the bar exam on her first try (it took John F. Kenney Jr., presumably clean and sober, three or four attempts, as I recall.) But although she was clear gifted and intelligent (and, as this book proves, had the makings of an author in her,) Heather was never able to move on with anything, including her law degree, until a family intervention forced her to face her problem and enter rehab. Through it all-the blackouts, the casual meaningless sex, the demeaning day jobs waitressing in dive restaurants-there's humor and humanity, and as colorful a cast of characters as you'll find in any book this year. The book ends with Heather finding sobriety, and there's at least one more book about the years since - finding her way back to practicing law, to becoming a writer, to NPR, and to finishing this book. I can't wait for the sequel. - Jim Testa

Most addiction memoirs share a common theme: look at me. But not Heather King's bittersweet, "Parched." On every page she seems to say, "look away. There's nothing to see here."

Addiction memoirs also share another common theme: It's not my fault. Except King doesn't play the blame game. She doesn't blame an alcoholic home, childhood sexual abuse, a bad relationship, a catastrophic illness or event, unmet expectations or a reckless youth. She completely self-destructs under her own power.

Finally, addiction memoirs usually have this in common: I am pathetic; feel sorry for me. King knows she's pathetic and she not only doesn't feel sorry for herself, she refuses to allow the reader to indulge in a pity party, either.

King writes from such a shocking and hard perspective that her story caught me off-balance. In fact, I felt a little punch-drunk, stumbling along with her as she careened from one unfathomable disaster to another. I've never felt so inside an addiction story. It is what it is, she seems to say. And what it is is ugly.

Yet, a profound sense of shame anchors this book. And her feeling of unworthiness is palatable even if it is inexplicable - this is a woman who graduated with honors from law school despite being chronically drunk. This is not a memoir masquerading as an explanation, or a boast, or revenge or even as a triumph. It is a memoir written as a stark confession. "Parched" is an intimate exploration of recovery through forgiveness.

Heather King has written my favorite story in what I affectionately call "the booze books." Her beautiful writing coupled with unflinching and heartbreaking honesty make this memoir hard to put down. I copied the final paragraph and taped it in my car as a reminder of where she (and I) come from. It is nothing short of astonishing and far superior to A Million Little Pieces--overrated that it is. No gimmicks needed here--the pain, the compassion, the revelation of a remarkable woman who has truly lived two lifetimes in one. I wanted to hug her at the end and thank her for helping so many who've been in the trenches and survived.

I sat down and read this book in one day because I could not put it down. An impressive debut from a clearly gifted writer.

To be human is to desire - and to thirst for what is good and lasting is no small part of that desiring. I think it is all about thirsting for God. All of us go through fits and starts in trying to quench that thirst. Some of us may write about it and when that happens, the words, if they "work," share with the lucky reader the deepest sharing that is possible in life - for they invite us to taste something of God. This book works. Ms. King has written a wondrous memoir of her longing for God - and how she allowed him to find her. In her moves from thirst to thirst, she gets her life back, finds God in the process, and then goes on to share that with us. And that is what great writing is all about - thank you, Heather.

Ms. King takes the reader on a journey through the dark places of the heart, resulting in a catharsis of spirit and rebirth into the light. It is a narrative not only of pain, but also of victory. Ms. King spares herself not in the least, and catalogues each embarassing moment and every self-inflicted hurt that alcoholism brings from early adolescence to her mature years. Written as a kind of pennance for the soul, Ms. King is courageous in sharing her story to the world as she is generous in dedicating it to her humble parents who saved her.

Over the past few years, I have become aware of a variety of personal accounts pertaining to alcoholism and family life. Some of these written works contain graphic details that lack any healthy balance, while others are timeless and provide readers with an experience that is absolutely fulfilling. Heather King's Parched is one of the latter. I first became familiar with King's writing through her commentary on NPR's All Things Considered, where she profiled her brothers punk rock band The Queers. Since then, I have admired her observations shared on radio and that written within the pages of Parched. Both of which have provided solid demonstrations of dealing with life on life's terms. Opt for this text above any similarly titled book of the genre, and more will be revealed!

I didn't get into this book immediately. It was a slow, simmering process, where in the end I was holed up in bed, tucked under the covers intensely absorbing every word. I often read in the sunshine...out on my porch, in the swing. This time, I found the sunny blue skies interrupting the desperate mood of the book. Reading in bed, late at night, in the quiet dark of the house, I allowed myself to fully feel this journey.

I was able to put myself in the bars, in the restaurants, the author's life. One thing I appreciated about the story, was that the author was able to get me there, to let me feel the pain, without the gratuitous details of her sex & drug life.

In the end, the author writes of grace: "I just know that only a God of inexhaustible love, infinite creativity, and a burning desire to count every last one of us in could have taken a broken-down wreck like me and made something useful of her."

Thank you, Heather King, for sharing your story.

King's honesty and clarity is stunning. King skillfully writes about her development years and than recovery with candor and humor. A great read for anyone. Thank you Ms. King.

Heather King, by putting lines from the Scripture and mystical writers at the head of each chapter, seems to indicate that grace is, steadily and patiently, homing in on her in the midst of the most outrageous pain and degradation. Her life as depicted in this memoir reminds me of an image from the late Jesuit spiritual writer, Anthony de Mello: our sins are like a rubber band being pulled & stretched until they snap us right back into the hands of the God we thought we could avoid or outwit. Anyone who has addicted relatives or friends will recognize them in King's excruciatingly candid account. Were it not for her dark and unremitting humor, PARCHED would be too hard to read.

One of King's heroes, Southern writer Flannery O'Connor, once got a letter from a woman complaining about O'Connor's grotesque characters; she said O'Connor's stories did not warm her heart. Flannery, who did not suffer fools gladly, responded that if her heart were in the right place...it would have been warmed. This book, ultimately, is heart warming and transforming.