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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Parched - a story of misery...and redemption, June 29, 2005
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
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Parched" satiates the soul in this provocative alcoholic memoir, January 2, 2006
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.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dry Rot, August 8, 2007
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.
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