Review by Booklist Review
In her first book, journalist Levy takes readers through her tumultuous relationship with alcohol and explores her life as a now sober woman. Candid, straightforward, and full of introspection, this book will strike a chord with anyone questioning their drinking habits, especially women in their twenties. A well-balanced mix of personal recollection and societal critique, Drinking Games details Levy's life as a heavy partier and, consequently, a heavy drinker. She describes the increasing impact of drinking on her professional and personal life. After she gets sober, what is particularly striking is her account of the number of alcohol-free "firsts" she anxiously experiences: holiday dinners, weddings, first dates, and other occasions both momentous and mundane. One of the more notable events Levy faces sober is her own wedding and the complex feelings that arise by not engaging in such traditions as a champagne toast. Levy successfully articulates the emotional roller coaster of being drunk and being sober through important life moments and shows her readers how fulfilling a sober life can be.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"At twenty-eight, I looked like I had it all together," Levy writes about her destructive relationship with alcohol in her bracing debut. A 16-year-old Levy experienced her first blackout at a house party in suburban New Jersey, which she recalls as "shameful" but also "a bit thrilling." After a newly single Levy moved to New York City at 22, alcohol was a fixture in her life ("I came to view vodka as an extension of my new personality"), and though the frequency of Levy's blackouts increased, she didn't think she had a "real" problem until the nearly 30-year-old author woke up in bed next to her boss's best friend with no memory of how she'd gotten there. The author's insightful account of her path to sobriety takes in the full sweep of her experience, from discovering in recovery meetings a sense of community that wasn't contingent on her job title, to concluding that there's no one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with addiction: "Twelve-step programs are not the only way to get sober." Though the narrative can be repetitive, it nevertheless offers equal measures of introspection and hope: "Every day I wake up is an opportunity to start again." This emotional excavation will inspire anyone navigating addiction. (Jan.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Levy, a high achiever, wanted to smother out her anxiety and body image issues, so she relied on alcohol as both confidence booster and coping mechanism--until she hit a crisis point. Her account of her drinking and its resulting blackouts, destruction of friendships, and consumption of her life is honest and smart. It stands out in the genre of sobriety memoirs. Its collected-essay structure results in some repetition and vagueness of time, and Levy doesn't dwell much on the challenges of remaining sober, choosing instead to focus on the positives that sobriety has brought to her life. But people who find solace in these narratives or seek a reflection of their experiences will appreciate the bravery, humor, and grace with which the author writes about one of the darkest parts of her life. There's a particular effectiveness to her exploration of the ways drinking culture permeates the spaces in lives and interactions. VERDICT A good choice for those seeking personal narratives of experiences of alcoholism in the 21st century; readers who appreciate stand-alone chapters instead of a more linear narrative will likely find it especially effective.--Kathleen McCallister
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A debut memoir about the author's struggles with alcohol and journey toward sobriety. When Levy was a junior in high school, she attended a party where a boy she had a crush on nonchalantly asked her, in front of a large group of her classmates, for oral sex. Devastated by the humiliation, she drank heavily and, for the first time in her life, blacked out. Although this pattern of excessive drinking continued throughout her 20s and resulted in the dissolution of her relationship with her best friend, Chloe--whose "uncle had run a major campaign for president of the United States" and whose "father was a high-powered diplomat in Europe"--mostly, Levy was able to maintain a functional, successful life, scaling the corporate ladder. After "a year sober" and having "just exited another startup with a work hard, play hard culture," she earned the position of vice president of marketing at a "New York wellness brand," and she lived in a series of nice neighborhoods like Gramercy and the Upper East Side. However, the author's achievements masked her addiction, which continued to plague her. "I realized it didn't matter if my drinking problem qualified as 'real.' I needed to stop, and it was clear, through years of trial and error, that I couldn't do it myself," she writes. "So, I did what once seemed impossible: I walked into a twelve-step recovery meeting." At its best, the text reads like an intimate conversation between friends; the sections about Levy's mother's struggle with breast cancer are particularly poignant. Too often, however, the author gives an overview of a thought process rather than actual information about her experience. For example, although she references an eating disorder, she doesn't effectively show readers her struggle with food. By no means does Levy owe readers specific information about traumatic experiences or life patterns, but her emphasis on telling rather than showing feels misaligned with the vulnerability that she claims underpins the narrative. An earnest examination of alcohol and sobriety that could have gone deeper. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
