Drinking Games: A Memoir by Sarah Levy
Product details
Web ID: 15697230Venerable and honest
"While many millennial women will see themselves in Sarah's words and story, Drinking Games is dedicated to anyone who feels like their private struggles are terminally unique. Whether it’s alcohol, food, exercise, or work, so many of us are grasping for control and struggling to keep our heads above water." I have so much respect for anyone who can recognize they have a struggle in life, take steps to get the help they need and then on top of everything share the most vulnerable side of yourself to the world so that others may learn from your experiences. That's exactly what author Sarah Levy (no, not that Sarah Levy...I'll save you the google search) in her memoir "Drinking Games". As the book's description says, this isn't only for those who struggle with alcohol consumption but for anyone who is treading water against something. I enjoyed the audiobook version of this and found Levy's openness refreshing and honest.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Deeply Insightful
Title: Drinking Games Author: Sarah Levy Release Date: January 3rd, 2023 Page Count: 277 Format: Netgalley Start Date: December 26th, 2022 Finish Date: December 30th, 2022 Rating: 5 Stars Review: This book is a memoir about someone who struggled with drinking problems. The book is completely raw and open about her struggles and her triumphs. I really felt seen and heard in many parts of this book. I feel like many people will. The main focus is not on the drinking. It's on the insecurities and struggles we all face when we're trying to come to terms with who we are. We struggle with what we want to do for a living. We struggle with friends coming and going. We struggle with our mistakes and how to overcome them. I could go on. I'm just overwhelmed by this book. I'm so glad that I had the chance to read the book. I wound up preordering a copy of the audiobook. I plan to listen to it eventually. It's definitely worth the reread.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Gets You To Rethink Your Relationship with Alcohol
In a culture driven by alcohol, where every social gathering seems to be surrounded and connected to it, Sarah Levy challenges you to rethink the way you view alcohol. In this memoir, she explains how alcohol infiltrated her life, and took over. Even if you yourself aren't an alcoholic or don't have issues with over consumption, you will find valuable lessons and insight within her story. I found it fascinating to get inside the reason of why people drink, drink to excess, and how we can reevaluate our relationships, social scenarios, and lives, to how they relate to drinking alcohol. For someone who doesn't read a lot of memoirs, or knew nothing of Sarah prior to this book, I still felt connected to her and this story. It was well written, and a page-turning experience.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Important read
This book is the epitome of why society is influencing young people to be something they are not. I really enjoyed this listen, because the narrator was the author and I really felt for her. She definitely has/had a drinking problem and I applaud her for seeing this and getting the help she needed. There are so many people who think that the next big thing is going to fix their life and I fear that now it is even worse than it was when she was going through it. We have to live up to these unattainable standards set by social media that we spiral when we are not good enough, pretty enough, thin enough. Thank you Sarah Levy for giving us your story, in order to make us all feel better about ourselves and how we are feeling.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Memoir of addiction in a social drinking culture
A look into a college/post-college drinking culture through the eyes of one woman trying to escape that culture and redefine her relationship with alcohol. Drinking Games is comprised of 16 essays divided into four parts: Wasted, Hungover, Sober, Free. Many of the essays depict the author's drinking in a brutal way, devoid of the glamour that is often part of her surroundings as as a young woman in New York partying with the "30 under 30" and adjacent crowd. This is certainly an interesting peek into the author's experiences and an overdue questioning of cultural norms around "social drinking". It is not a deep exploration of the subject-matter. I found the shifts in time difficult to track and there was some repetition. Overall, it is an enjoyable read and one that I suspect may offer solace to people in similar situations. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an advance copy on NetGalley. This is my voluntary review.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Raw and Real
I think I have been living under a rock. I just finished “Drinking Games” and it wasn’t until just minutes ago that I found out that Sarah is a famous actress and comes from a famous family. Maybe I missed it or it wasn’t mentioned. The fact is - I appreciate that she didn’t really refer to her acting — it made her story more relatable. I have worked as an addiction counselor for close to 30 years and am always drawn to peoples stories. I applaud Sarah for her courage to bare her soul and to give hope and encouragement to others. At times it was a bit repetitive but they weren’t drawn out. I would definitely recommend this book to other women - whether they are battling an addiction or not. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the privilege of this advance copy for my honest review.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Navigating Compulsion
Drinking Games packed a punch and too many blackouts. This memoir is written by Sarah Levy, a smart girl living in New York brought up in a close nuclear family. Sarah has a younger brother and is obsessively close to her mother. Sarah worked hard, a good student and all the time, wanting to be perfect. She often had unrealistic ideals based on her personality or made-up identity. Highly sensitive, Sarah reacted negatively to almost any outlandish remarks and her response was to drink heavily at a young age. She suffered from blackouts; in fact, when she awoke many mornings, she had no idea where she was or who was in the same bed. Every so often, she was in the hospital when she suffered severe blackouts or injuries. She was anchored to alcohol to cover up her insecurities and reality. Sobriety was the only solution to her many weaknesses and bad behavior. She tells us about horrific experiences, terrible degradations and heartbreaks. Drinking really never made her feel better but her vulnerability took precedent. Not unusual, she was insecure as millions of girls and young women in our social media world. Expecting to thrive on her women friendships, they were often precarious incidents and deep hurt. The expectation of the book to be somewhat chronological was lost. As I was reading, it appeared that the sections were disjointed. She started with the solution and then jumped back and forth introducing the reader to various episodes. The author was significantly influenced by women and men. Unfortunately, the chronicle became repetitive. Sobriety was the solution and Ms. Levy is the epitome of a heroine. She hardly stumbled and liked herself more every day. Sure, she still had obsessions and insecurities. So many of us have and are not alcoholics. The memoir would have been easier reading if the writing was sequential. Unfortunately, the sequences mirrored her confusion. My gratitude to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. All opinions expressed are my own.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com