other readers commented on her immaturity as a writer and as someone recovering from alcohol abuse. this doesn't make someone exempt from having their own internalized demons.

Other readers thought she was a whiny, spoiled brat from a good background. if you're looking for pure entertainment, look elsewhere. even though her experiences with alcohol are common, her motivations for drinking are of key importance because they are actually symptoms of a society that places men and women in very rigid boxes. i guess with a memoir, it's more about the author's willingness to make herself vulnerable to a wider audience than it is about an interesting story. a lot of people say that the storyline isn't interesting. five stars.ĮDIT: after reading some of the other readers' comments, i have a couple things i'd like to address. plus, as someone in the psychology field, it's a good resource for clinicians who work with individuals that abuse alcohol or for clinicians who aren't familiar with these issues and need a first-hand account of what alcohol abuse is like. i think so many girls and young women can relate to her experiences, it's a validation of being female in this society and the relationship females develop with alcohol as a way to cope with the pressure. it's easy to read yet vivid and insightful. plain and simple, i love koren's writing style.

When it comes to memoirs, i can't really critique the content only because it's about someone's real-life experiences. Smashed is an astonishing literary debut destined to become a classic. At age twenty-two, Zailckas will wake up in an unfamiliar apartment in New York City, elbow her friend who is passed out next to her, and ask, 'Where are we?' Smashed is a sober look at how she got there and, after years of blackouts and smashups, what it took for her to realize she had to stop drinking. In college, her excess will give way to a pattern of self-poisoning that will grow more destructive each year. In high school, her experimentation will lead to a stomach pumping. From then on, she will drink faithfully, fanatically. With one stiff sip of Southern Comfort at the age of fourteen, Zailckas is initiated into the world of drinking. Eye-opening and utterly gripping, Koren Zailckas’s story is that of thousands of girls like her who are not alcoholics yet but who routinely use booze as a shortcut to courage and a stand-in for good judgment. Garnering a vast amount of attention from young people and parents, and from book buyers across the country, Smashed became a media sensation and a New York Times bestseller.

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