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Nice Recovery
From the author of Alice, I Think comes a riveting memoir of addiction and recovery. Susan Juby started out as a bright and creative student with an innate ability to write incredible stories. At the age of thirteen her life began to unravel, and like many teens, she turned to alcohol to get her through the awkward stages of trying to find her own unique identity and fit in with her peers at school. In this revealing memoir, she details the painful and sometimes funny experiences of trying to be clean and sober at a time when most young adults are just starting their drinking careers. Juby also looks into how the situation has changed for young people washing up on the shores of addiction today through a series of interviews with recovering addicts and alcoholics. Told with honesty and Juby’s wry wit, Nice Recovery is a candid memoir from one of Canada’s most beloved writers.
247 pages, Hardcover
First published March 16, 2010
6 people are currently reading
335 people want to read
About the author
Susan Juby
20 books316 followers(from her website)
I was raised in Smithers, BC, Canada and lived there until I moved to Toronto at age 20. I had a brief and unsuccessful career as a fashion design student and, after I worked at a series of low paying jobs, such as server, record store employee, etc., I began a degree in English Literature at University of Toronto, which I finished at the University of British Columbia. After graduating I became an editor at a self-help/how-to book publishing company based in Vancouver. Later, I did a master’s degree in publishing.
When I was a kid I wrote fiction but gave it up for a life of crime. Okay, that’s not true, but I did get seriously sidetracked. That time in my life is the subject of my memoir, "Nice Recovery". When I was twenty, until I got myself together and when I was about 26 I started writing, in the morning before work, first on the bus, then in a coffee shop. This writing became my first novel, "Alice, I Think", which was published by Thistledown Press in 2000.
When I first started writing my intention was to write a book about a teenager who doesn't fit in, but doesn't allow that fact to crush her. The Alice MacLeod series is my homage to oddballs. I wanted to create a character who has the courage and integrity to find her own way and define herself independently of other people. I've always admired people who can do that.
After finishing three books about Alice and her family, I decided that my goal is to write every kind of book I love to read. I’ve always loved horse books. I was a lunatic for horses when I was younger. I owned several horses over the years (for a time when I was quite young I was convinced I was a horse, but let's keep that between us) and I became obsessed with an equestrian sport called dressage. I quit riding when I left home to go to college, but part of me always thought I could have been a "contender". (In retrospect, I'm not sure why I would have thought that.) Anyway, I got a nice pay day when Alice, I Think was made into a TV series, and the first thing I did was rush out a buy a horse and start working on a book about two young dressage riders. The story was initially about two girls, but soon I fell in love with a secondary character, a boy named Alex, and the book became mainly about him. That one is called "Another Kind of Cowboy".
I’m also a maniac for detective novels, which led to "Getting the Girl", a comedy about an inept detective and a high school conspiracy he is determined to stop. Book number six is my memoir. I developed a bit of a substance abuse problem when I was thirteen and I ended up getting clean and sober when I was twenty. Nice Recovery is about that time. The book includes information for people with addiction problems and interviews with amazing young people in recovery. My love for satire and the End Is Nigh novels led me to write "Bright’s Light", which is that rarest of things: a funny dystopian novel about young dunderheads in the last fun place on earth and the alien who wants to save them.
"Home to Woefield", as it’s known in the U.S. and "The Woefield Poultry Collective" as it’s known in Canada, is a comedy about a young woman from Brooklyn who inherits a derelict farm on Vancouver Island. It’s the first of my novels published specifically for adults, though I’d say at least half the readers of my other books have been adults. I hope all my readers will like it. (It does contain quite a bit of swearing. Just be forewarned!) I’ve always wanted to be self-sustaining and able to grow my own food. All I lack is land and skill. The sequel, "Republic of Dirt", is scheduled to be published January 2015 by HarperCollins.
My next teen novel is called "The Truth Commission". It will be published March 2015 by Penguin Canada and Viking U.S. The story is about a group of teens who attend an art high school who start a truth-telling club with consequences both dire and funny.
In addition to my writing, I teach creative writ
I was raised in Smithers, BC, Canada and lived there until I moved to Toronto at age 20. I had a brief and unsuccessful career as a fashion design student and, after I worked at a series of low paying jobs, such as server, record store employee, etc., I began a degree in English Literature at University of Toronto, which I finished at the University of British Columbia. After graduating I became an editor at a self-help/how-to book publishing company based in Vancouver. Later, I did a master’s degree in publishing.
When I was a kid I wrote fiction but gave it up for a life of crime. Okay, that’s not true, but I did get seriously sidetracked. That time in my life is the subject of my memoir, "Nice Recovery". When I was twenty, until I got myself together and when I was about 26 I started writing, in the morning before work, first on the bus, then in a coffee shop. This writing became my first novel, "Alice, I Think", which was published by Thistledown Press in 2000.
When I first started writing my intention was to write a book about a teenager who doesn't fit in, but doesn't allow that fact to crush her. The Alice MacLeod series is my homage to oddballs. I wanted to create a character who has the courage and integrity to find her own way and define herself independently of other people. I've always admired people who can do that.
After finishing three books about Alice and her family, I decided that my goal is to write every kind of book I love to read. I’ve always loved horse books. I was a lunatic for horses when I was younger. I owned several horses over the years (for a time when I was quite young I was convinced I was a horse, but let's keep that between us) and I became obsessed with an equestrian sport called dressage. I quit riding when I left home to go to college, but part of me always thought I could have been a "contender". (In retrospect, I'm not sure why I would have thought that.) Anyway, I got a nice pay day when Alice, I Think was made into a TV series, and the first thing I did was rush out a buy a horse and start working on a book about two young dressage riders. The story was initially about two girls, but soon I fell in love with a secondary character, a boy named Alex, and the book became mainly about him. That one is called "Another Kind of Cowboy".
I’m also a maniac for detective novels, which led to "Getting the Girl", a comedy about an inept detective and a high school conspiracy he is determined to stop. Book number six is my memoir. I developed a bit of a substance abuse problem when I was thirteen and I ended up getting clean and sober when I was twenty. Nice Recovery is about that time. The book includes information for people with addiction problems and interviews with amazing young people in recovery. My love for satire and the End Is Nigh novels led me to write "Bright’s Light", which is that rarest of things: a funny dystopian novel about young dunderheads in the last fun place on earth and the alien who wants to save them.
"Home to Woefield", as it’s known in the U.S. and "The Woefield Poultry Collective" as it’s known in Canada, is a comedy about a young woman from Brooklyn who inherits a derelict farm on Vancouver Island. It’s the first of my novels published specifically for adults, though I’d say at least half the readers of my other books have been adults. I hope all my readers will like it. (It does contain quite a bit of swearing. Just be forewarned!) I’ve always wanted to be self-sustaining and able to grow my own food. All I lack is land and skill. The sequel, "Republic of Dirt", is scheduled to be published January 2015 by HarperCollins.
My next teen novel is called "The Truth Commission". It will be published March 2015 by Penguin Canada and Viking U.S. The story is about a group of teens who attend an art high school who start a truth-telling club with consequences both dire and funny.
In addition to my writing, I teach creative writ
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
May 4, 2010
I have a large second story window I can watch the world from. Today, I have to find spaces in a Norway Maple's rich canopy to see the old guy struggle with his mower across the street. It's beautiful and sad. That's what I've been noticing and feeling since finishing Susan Juby's new addiction memoir, Nice Recovery, the beauty and the sadness that underpin experience.
From a girlhood in Smithers, BC, through a period of couch surfing around the west coast, through still a college and university experience in Toronto... Juby pounds down the anxieties of a shy, marginal adolescence with all sorts of nasty alcoholic concoctions. The prose is confessional and analytic, and above that, it works as good storytelling. There's almost a "remember that time..." type of nostalgia, but for the tone of horror and relief. Especially for readers who have flirted with or experienced addiction, there is comfort in this book.
Juby is a narrator who includes the reader in conversation, and that makes her writing warm. It's the difference between an arm pointing to the things a reader should witness, and a elbow nudging our ribs to say wake up to this experience. That written warmth is probably what makes reading Nice Recovery so emotional -- who wants to see a friend self-destruct?
From a girlhood in Smithers, BC, through a period of couch surfing around the west coast, through still a college and university experience in Toronto... Juby pounds down the anxieties of a shy, marginal adolescence with all sorts of nasty alcoholic concoctions. The prose is confessional and analytic, and above that, it works as good storytelling. There's almost a "remember that time..." type of nostalgia, but for the tone of horror and relief. Especially for readers who have flirted with or experienced addiction, there is comfort in this book.
Juby is a narrator who includes the reader in conversation, and that makes her writing warm. It's the difference between an arm pointing to the things a reader should witness, and a elbow nudging our ribs to say wake up to this experience. That written warmth is probably what makes reading Nice Recovery so emotional -- who wants to see a friend self-destruct?
July 24, 2013
Having read Susan Juby's Alice books, I already had a sense of her writing style and I knew that she was funny. An addiction/recovery memoir doesn't necessarily allow for humour though, or the sort that has you snorting and chuckling aloud. This one does.
Juby breaks down the book into 3 parts. It's a quick, captivating read, and while you may have heard this story before, it really is the humour that sets this one apart.
As much as I enjoy the personal story the most, I do also enjoy the inclusion of facts or opinions from professionals and specialists in the field. The following passage from near the end of the book, really stuck with me:
"I asked Neal Berger, an addictions specialist, what changes he'd seen in the demographic of people coming into treatment centres. He told me that at Hazeldean, perhaps the most famous recovery centre in the world, the typical patient in the mid-1980s was male, was fifty-three years old, and had started drinking when he was eighteen. this typical patient was seventy to eighty percent along in the disease process. It had taken him thirty years to reach bottom, or the point at which he reached out for help.
In the 1990s, the typical patient was still male, average age thirty-six. This patient had started drinking and/or using substances at fifteen. He was taking a mixture of drugs and alcohol and was every bit as sick as the fifty-three-year-old man had been in the 1980s. In addition, this patient was often diagnosed with "co-morbidity" or mental illness, either caused by or combined with addiction problem.
By the mid-2000s, the average patient coming into treatment was male or female, was under twenty-five, had started using at twelve or thirteen, was addicted to a panoply of substances, and also had symptoms of mental illness. This was a different patient from the one seen in the mid-eighties: this was a much, much sicker patient.
The trend is clear and ominous. Alcoholics and addicts today are much younger and have a gone down harder and farther. Many, if not most, need professional help to have a fighting chance of survival."
Juby breaks down the book into 3 parts. It's a quick, captivating read, and while you may have heard this story before, it really is the humour that sets this one apart.
As much as I enjoy the personal story the most, I do also enjoy the inclusion of facts or opinions from professionals and specialists in the field. The following passage from near the end of the book, really stuck with me:
"I asked Neal Berger, an addictions specialist, what changes he'd seen in the demographic of people coming into treatment centres. He told me that at Hazeldean, perhaps the most famous recovery centre in the world, the typical patient in the mid-1980s was male, was fifty-three years old, and had started drinking when he was eighteen. this typical patient was seventy to eighty percent along in the disease process. It had taken him thirty years to reach bottom, or the point at which he reached out for help.
In the 1990s, the typical patient was still male, average age thirty-six. This patient had started drinking and/or using substances at fifteen. He was taking a mixture of drugs and alcohol and was every bit as sick as the fifty-three-year-old man had been in the 1980s. In addition, this patient was often diagnosed with "co-morbidity" or mental illness, either caused by or combined with addiction problem.
By the mid-2000s, the average patient coming into treatment was male or female, was under twenty-five, had started using at twelve or thirteen, was addicted to a panoply of substances, and also had symptoms of mental illness. This was a different patient from the one seen in the mid-eighties: this was a much, much sicker patient.
The trend is clear and ominous. Alcoholics and addicts today are much younger and have a gone down harder and farther. Many, if not most, need professional help to have a fighting chance of survival."
Read
July 17, 2023After finishing the two Woefield Farm books, I thought I'd read Susan Juby's memoir--I knew some parts of the books were autobiographical, and it was interesting to see which parts are reflected in Nice Recovery. I quite enjoyed her account of growing up in Smithers, BC, since I currently live in Northern BC and I have some good friends who grew up in Smithers!
I liked the first part of the book--Juby's own story of her growing up and developing an alcohol problem, and her eventual recovery. Her voice is as witty and dryly funny as it is in her fiction, and I read this part of the book (Parts I and II) very quickly and with great enjoyment. She doesn't downplay her downward trajectory of self-destructive behaviour, but she is nicely self-deprecating without being self-hating. I never got the feeling she had contempt for her younger self, just that she was looking back, shaking her head, and smiling a little bit.
However...I was not so keen on Part III, which is basically the stories of other people's recovery from addiction. Don't get me wrong--these are good stories in their own right--but I found the transition from Susan Juby's memoir to short accounts of other people's recovery a bit jarring. I just did not find them as compelling as Juby's story.
Anyway, it's a short, concise addiction memoir that is humorous without making light of a sad and serious subject. I finished the book feeling glad that the author was able to pull out of her spiral and revive the creative voice that her alcoholism had stifled for so many years.
I liked the first part of the book--Juby's own story of her growing up and developing an alcohol problem, and her eventual recovery. Her voice is as witty and dryly funny as it is in her fiction, and I read this part of the book (Parts I and II) very quickly and with great enjoyment. She doesn't downplay her downward trajectory of self-destructive behaviour, but she is nicely self-deprecating without being self-hating. I never got the feeling she had contempt for her younger self, just that she was looking back, shaking her head, and smiling a little bit.
However...I was not so keen on Part III, which is basically the stories of other people's recovery from addiction. Don't get me wrong--these are good stories in their own right--but I found the transition from Susan Juby's memoir to short accounts of other people's recovery a bit jarring. I just did not find them as compelling as Juby's story.
Anyway, it's a short, concise addiction memoir that is humorous without making light of a sad and serious subject. I finished the book feeling glad that the author was able to pull out of her spiral and revive the creative voice that her alcoholism had stifled for so many years.
February 10, 2019
A memoir about a teenager who drank too much and then quit with the help of AA. It's not a bad read, but it comes across as a public service announcement for AA, especially towards the end.
There are two main parts: Susan Juby's story, and a section on other young people with addiction issues and the resources available to them, mostly AA. A bit preachy while trying really hard not to be preachy. Kind of judgy about alternatives to AA, such as harm reduction and quitting on your own.
This might be the perfect book for someone at a particular place in her life, looking for a lifeline. I think that's why Juby wrote it.
My copy was second hand, and the previous (unknown) reader had written lots of notes in the margins. For some reason I felt compelled to read all her notes, even though they kept stating the obvious. Like she'd circle the word cocaine and write coke in the margin. It was a little annoying.
There are two main parts: Susan Juby's story, and a section on other young people with addiction issues and the resources available to them, mostly AA. A bit preachy while trying really hard not to be preachy. Kind of judgy about alternatives to AA, such as harm reduction and quitting on your own.
This might be the perfect book for someone at a particular place in her life, looking for a lifeline. I think that's why Juby wrote it.
My copy was second hand, and the previous (unknown) reader had written lots of notes in the margins. For some reason I felt compelled to read all her notes, even though they kept stating the obvious. Like she'd circle the word cocaine and write coke in the margin. It was a little annoying.
May 15, 2011
This book is WOW. She does a great job painting the portrait of her own decline and the bottom that an alcoholic's life can devolve to without crashing a car while driving drunk, winding up homeless, or such other things that come to mind when considering the need for recovery - especially at such a young age.
The third part of the book was the most powerful to me, neatly separated into bite sized chunks that vary between her narratives of interviews with other young recoverees and the medical and logistical aspects of addiction and recovery, such as types of treatment and programs and the biological effects. The chapter on AA/NA etc is awesome for what to expect from a group and a meeting, and I highly recommend it for those who have never been.
The third part of the book was the most powerful to me, neatly separated into bite sized chunks that vary between her narratives of interviews with other young recoverees and the medical and logistical aspects of addiction and recovery, such as types of treatment and programs and the biological effects. The chapter on AA/NA etc is awesome for what to expect from a group and a meeting, and I highly recommend it for those who have never been.
Read
February 7, 2012Reviewed by Arwen Rudolph
Susan Juby’s latest work is a personal memoir in three parts about her battle with addiction as a teen. Part One begins with Juby’s description of her years of addiction, from the first time she got really drunk at the age of 13, to when, at the age of 20, she hit bottom and finally decided to seek help. The second part details her experiences in recovery. In Part Three, Juby goes beyond the scope of her own story to include short interviews with several other young recovering addicts, and briefly discusses the options currently available for those seeking help with their own addictions.
Juby’s narrative is captivating as she describes her life as a party girl and her precipitous descent into addiction. The tone of this book could have been very dark indeed as the consequences of her addiction — including fights at school, blackouts and many incidents of projectile vomiting — slowly begin to destroy her life. However, the sometimes brutal honesty of Juby’s story is lightened by flashes of her familiar wry sense of humour and readers will enjoy some genuine laugh-out-loud moments.
The third part of the book, where the stories of other young addicts are told, loses some of the momentum of the first two parts as it lacks the strong narrative voice of Juby’s own story, but this does not detract from the overall excellent quality of the book. Addiction is an unfortunately common experience and this book will have an almost universal appeal for both teens and adults.
Canadian Children's Book News (Summer 2010, Vol. 33, No. 3)
Susan Juby’s latest work is a personal memoir in three parts about her battle with addiction as a teen. Part One begins with Juby’s description of her years of addiction, from the first time she got really drunk at the age of 13, to when, at the age of 20, she hit bottom and finally decided to seek help. The second part details her experiences in recovery. In Part Three, Juby goes beyond the scope of her own story to include short interviews with several other young recovering addicts, and briefly discusses the options currently available for those seeking help with their own addictions.
Juby’s narrative is captivating as she describes her life as a party girl and her precipitous descent into addiction. The tone of this book could have been very dark indeed as the consequences of her addiction — including fights at school, blackouts and many incidents of projectile vomiting — slowly begin to destroy her life. However, the sometimes brutal honesty of Juby’s story is lightened by flashes of her familiar wry sense of humour and readers will enjoy some genuine laugh-out-loud moments.
The third part of the book, where the stories of other young addicts are told, loses some of the momentum of the first two parts as it lacks the strong narrative voice of Juby’s own story, but this does not detract from the overall excellent quality of the book. Addiction is an unfortunately common experience and this book will have an almost universal appeal for both teens and adults.
Canadian Children's Book News (Summer 2010, Vol. 33, No. 3)
September 13, 2011
If the entire book had been like the first half, this book would have had five stars easily. Susan Juby's writing style is hilarious, yet touching, and she perfectly describes her teenage drinking years and how she went a little too far. But the second half of the book is all about her recovery and, although an important aspect of the book, it was a litte too dry and lacked the spunk of the first half. I read this book because I had to pick a non-fiction selection for LIBR 2395 and I loved the Alice books, so I thought this one would be a good choice. I wasn't disappointed, but I wasn't thrilled with the book either.
October 31, 2019
Susan Juby's personal story is well-written and doesn't pull any punches. The book consists of three parts. The first is a gritty story of her descent into alcoholism as a teenager. The second part relates her struggles through the process of getting sober and into recovery. The third consists of interviews and tips for alcoholics, as well as for the people that love them. Some reviewers have said that the last section is boring. I found it anything but boring. It was informative and insightful. I have known quite a few people who are in recovery, and this book goes a long way in helping me understand them better. I recommend this book for everybody.
May 21, 2018
Thank you Susan Juby!!
Through the pages of this story..so many people passed through my thoughts.
What a great title! Nice Recovery
Definitely a book to be recommended to pretty much everyone in our lives.
Thank you again, Susan Juby.
Quote:
"....It surprises me that people go to addiction memoirs looking for accuracy. It's like going to the Amnesia society looking for detailed family histories. ...."
This entire paragraph at the preface of the book is 'what it is'..and the title of the first chapter called Drinky Pants is a 'so true' beginning.
Through the pages of this story..so many people passed through my thoughts.
What a great title! Nice Recovery
Definitely a book to be recommended to pretty much everyone in our lives.
Thank you again, Susan Juby.
Quote:
"....It surprises me that people go to addiction memoirs looking for accuracy. It's like going to the Amnesia society looking for detailed family histories. ...."
This entire paragraph at the preface of the book is 'what it is'..and the title of the first chapter called Drinky Pants is a 'so true' beginning.
November 16, 2021
I am almost the same age as the author and generally from the same area, so many of her childhood memories could have been my own albeit from another angle. Very witty in the retelling. I’m not now nor have I been an addict but this book is more than an addiction memoir. It is also one of how life don’t clickety clack down a straight line track, it come together and it come apart, to quote Ferron. Made me think about my own life, other people’s, and those recovering from addiction. A fascinating read.
April 14, 2025
A potential lifesaver, brilliant writing.
I expect this has already and will continue to contribute to quite a few recoveries which otherwise might not happen. Im thinking this took a lot of courage to write plus skill and perseverance for perfection in a true story well told. There’s a good road map here with the routes, potholes and hill climbs well marked. But you may have trouble sleeping after reading this, I did.
I expect this has already and will continue to contribute to quite a few recoveries which otherwise might not happen. Im thinking this took a lot of courage to write plus skill and perseverance for perfection in a true story well told. There’s a good road map here with the routes, potholes and hill climbs well marked. But you may have trouble sleeping after reading this, I did.
April 13, 2021
This book was such a great story, so well told, that I read it in one sitting. I have read dozens of alcohol recovery books and this is the one I enjoyed the most. At this point, I intimately know how alcohol affects the body's systems so I didn't need to read about it, and with this book, I didn't have to.
January 28, 2018
loved every page.
June 11, 2019
This was an awesome book. Susan Juby's humour really shines in this one.
December 26, 2023
Five stars for being so open in sharing your story, Susan. I applaud you.
April 9, 2024
Frank, painful, and funny.
July 18, 2024
Memoir with a vivid, well written description of addiction. The part on recovery dragged and I lost interest in it.
March 4, 2012
I had this on my "wish list" at the Toronto Library for a while and downloaded the ebook last week. I forget where I found out about this book and probably put it on my wish list because the author is Canadian.
It's Juby's story of growing up in a small town in British Columbia and struggling to find her place in school among the jocks, popular kids, brainiacs, trouble kids, etc. She discovered while still in junior high school that alcohol and drugs helped her overcome her anxiety. The problem was that she was a nasty drunk prone to blackouts. After swearing each time to never do it again, she would be back at it once the hangover passed. Her grades started sliding. She got accepted into a fashion design school here in Toronto which had low standards ... and got asked to leave when her grades really slipped. She worked low end jobs to survive. Eventually at the age of 20 she realized she had to get her drinking under control and joined AA. She turned her life around and when to university and got a Masters degree.
It's a good book. Juby doesn't sugarcoat anything. Though the book is humorous at times, I could still feel the seriousness of her situation.
The last chapters are her interviews with young people in recovery, along with more information about AA and NA.
I liked her writing style and honesty and will be checking out her novels (directed at both adults and young adults).
Blog review: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2012/03...
It's Juby's story of growing up in a small town in British Columbia and struggling to find her place in school among the jocks, popular kids, brainiacs, trouble kids, etc. She discovered while still in junior high school that alcohol and drugs helped her overcome her anxiety. The problem was that she was a nasty drunk prone to blackouts. After swearing each time to never do it again, she would be back at it once the hangover passed. Her grades started sliding. She got accepted into a fashion design school here in Toronto which had low standards ... and got asked to leave when her grades really slipped. She worked low end jobs to survive. Eventually at the age of 20 she realized she had to get her drinking under control and joined AA. She turned her life around and when to university and got a Masters degree.
It's a good book. Juby doesn't sugarcoat anything. Though the book is humorous at times, I could still feel the seriousness of her situation.
The last chapters are her interviews with young people in recovery, along with more information about AA and NA.
I liked her writing style and honesty and will be checking out her novels (directed at both adults and young adults).
Blog review: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2012/03...
June 28, 2019
I'd never heard of this writer before, so I'm not one of those who was predisposed to admire her wit. Frankly, I had trouble locating much wit. This volume is composed of 3 sections, and the third (completely useless) section served to remove one or two stars from the rating. The third section was introduced as giving others a chance to talk, but really it was just more about the author, told in a flattering, less engaging voice.
Perhaps I've just read too many addiction memoirs -- overdosed, as it were, and so now nothing can penetrate my dazed consciousness. I admire the author for becoming sober while young (an early adopter of the trend, at the time) but found this memoir just mildly interesting for the first two sections, and had to skim the last section just to be done with it.
Perhaps I've just read too many addiction memoirs -- overdosed, as it were, and so now nothing can penetrate my dazed consciousness. I admire the author for becoming sober while young (an early adopter of the trend, at the time) but found this memoir just mildly interesting for the first two sections, and had to skim the last section just to be done with it.
February 3, 2015
I don't have a lot to say about this book that hasn't been said by other people, so I'll be brief.
Susan has an easily approachable, witty voice that makes the subject matter of this book easy to digest. I was disappointed when she seemed to gloss over the pivotal stages of her recovery, such as rediscovering writing and pursuing education again. I, like many other readers, found the section cobbled together from other people's stories to be uninteresting compared to the introspection and self-defacing drama that came before it. I would have liked even more gritty details, but understand why some parts were kept at arm's length.
All-in-all, this book made me want to talk to Susan more than read her other books—I don't think her style of humour translates as well to the page as it does in person. Overall, an enjoyable-but-not-life-changing read.
Susan has an easily approachable, witty voice that makes the subject matter of this book easy to digest. I was disappointed when she seemed to gloss over the pivotal stages of her recovery, such as rediscovering writing and pursuing education again. I, like many other readers, found the section cobbled together from other people's stories to be uninteresting compared to the introspection and self-defacing drama that came before it. I would have liked even more gritty details, but understand why some parts were kept at arm's length.
All-in-all, this book made me want to talk to Susan more than read her other books—I don't think her style of humour translates as well to the page as it does in person. Overall, an enjoyable-but-not-life-changing read.
March 6, 2010
In this memoir Susan Juby, Canadian author of the bestselling Alice MacLeod books opens up about teenage years…her experiences with drugs, alcohol and addiction. Nice Recovery is divided into three parts. The first and second parts are about how Susan started drinking at a young age, becoming a teenage alcohol addict and finding her way to recovery. The third part is based on interviews that Susan conducted with other young adults and their experiences with drug and alcohol addiction. She also explains about the different recovery options available. I found the book to be very well written and easy to read. It shows the lighter side of addiction and recovery that will appeal to both a adult and teen audience.
August 26, 2016
I love Susan Juby's Alice books and it is the main reason why I picked up this book. And of course this one is different. It is so much more personal. I am not sure why I love books like that, but I do. About, essentially, not fitting in and having a hard time finding one's place in the world. Nice Recovery is a great book, it's a very straight forward account of downward and upward journey from addiction to recovery. I think she wrote it hoping to reach young people in need of this kind of open and no nonsense yet empathetic talk. It can be read as a sort of self help manual and a kind of defense against hopelessness. Nothing will replace support from another human, but a book can be a first step.
March 22, 2010
This tragically funny memoir of addiction by a well known and comedic YA author is the perfect title to hand to teens or young adults who are struggling with alcohol or drug use. Far more useful than another episode of Dr. Drew's Celebrity Rehab, Juby's wry, humorous take on teenage and young adult alcoholism will resonate with readers and encourage those with drinking problems to take the necessary steps to recovery. Besides telling her own story, Juby includes a section where she shares other stories of recovered addicts, and a bibliography of books and websites where readers can get more information. A smart, brave title that will no doubt help many.
April 13, 2010
Four and a half stars. This excellent book is divided into three sections. One deals with Juby's misadventures as a young alcoholic. She was an alcoholic from ages 12 to 20, and sobered up by age 20. The second half of the book deals with how she sobered up and what happened to her in the first few years of recovery. The third section deals with the experiences of today's young people in recovery and looks how recovery and addiction has changed in the past 20 years. This book was informative, sad, funny, honest and very well written. I'd recommend it for both teens and adults. It's excellent.
April 28, 2011
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Being a fan of Juby's work, I jumped at the chance to pick up her memoir about teenage alcoholism. This book is written with her usual deadpan humor, she sounds more like her character Alice then I had expected. Juby fans for sure should check this out, and anyone who's interested in addiction memoirs that are not by rocks stars or movie stars and don't take place in the states should check this out.
Being a fan of Juby's work, I jumped at the chance to pick up her memoir about teenage alcoholism. This book is written with her usual deadpan humor, she sounds more like her character Alice then I had expected. Juby fans for sure should check this out, and anyone who's interested in addiction memoirs that are not by rocks stars or movie stars and don't take place in the states should check this out.
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January 3, 2013I'm not rating this book 'cause I feel unqualified to do so. It's a pretty compelling tale of her train-wreck youth, and then the painstaking process of putting her life back together again. I read this as a kind of companion piece to her funny novel, The Woefield Poultry Collective, which is full of references to addiction memoirs. Susan Juby is a terrific writer, so this is very readable. Pretty painful story, though.
January 16, 2015
I enjoyed Juby's memoirs which she wrote in her candid and witty style. It has three sections. The first and second sections are an interesting look at her life while the last section takes a look at recovery options and gives some stories of peoples experiences. While the last section is interesting and helpful to understand recovery better, I did not feel it added much to the book as a whole.
Hope you read this and enjoy it too.
Hope you read this and enjoy it too.
March 5, 2011
Susan Juby became a drunk, went through AA, got straightened out and gained a successful career while still in her twenties.
Because she's a writer, the book is more entertaining than some recovery books someone might read. Without being cynical, she seems to have never had a really bad rock bottom and was lucky enough to have avoided many of the physical harms that come to young addicts.
Because she's a writer, the book is more entertaining than some recovery books someone might read. Without being cynical, she seems to have never had a really bad rock bottom and was lucky enough to have avoided many of the physical harms that come to young addicts.
August 10, 2011
I enjoyed reading such an honest account of one woman's struggle with teenage substance abuse (mainly booze). It is not overly dramatic (nobody dies or goes to jail), but it feels very 'real.' I had a hard time putting it down, due to her amusing writing style. The one drawback might be that A.A. is pushed pretty hard in the final section. But, I suppose it works for some people!
September 24, 2015
A frank, gritty, and yet amusing reminiscence by Susan Juby about her teenage years as an alcoholic and how, incredibly, she turned it all around. Highly recommended. She doesn't pull any punches and makes the narrative accessible and, yes, enjoyable! I read it all in one sitting and learned a lot.
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