Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood

by KorenZailckas (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2006

  $4.69

  This is a valuable, cautionary, and powerfully-written tale about the dangers of drink. At 24 Zailckas gave up drinking after a decade of getting drunk, having blackouts, and experiencing brushes with comas, date rape, and suicide. This is the mortifyingly credible story ( The New York Times ) of her drunken girlhood. Garnering a vast amount of attention from young people, parents, and bookbuyers across the US, Smashed soon became a media sensation and a New York Times bestseller. Eye-opening and utterly gripping, Koren Zailckas' story is that of thousands of girls like her who are not alcoholics - yet - but who routinely use alcohol as a shortcut to courage and a stand-in for good judgement. With one stiff sip of Southern Comfort at the age of 14, Zailckas is initiated into the world of drinking. From then on she drank faithfully and fanatically to such an extent she suffered stomach pumping on a number of occasions. In college her excess gave way to a pattern of self-poisoning that grew more and more destructive. At the age of 22 Zailckas woke up in an unfamiliar apartment with no clue of where she was or what had happened to her. Smashed is a sobering look at how Zailckas fell into this trap and what it took for her to realise she had to stop drinking. A must read for all parents and children who want to avoid the dangers of drink.

• Used

  Paperback
  2006

  $3.76

  The day Koren turned fourteen she tasted alcohol for the first time. At fifteen she was piecing together forgotten fragments of drink, men and misplaced clothes. At sixteen she was being carried through hospital doors unconscious. And so it began...Brought up by loving parents in a stable middle-class home, Koren was a sweet and altogether normal child. Yet from her mid-teens until her early twenties, she thought nothing of regularly drinking herself into a state of amnesia. Alcohol became her safeguard and prop, providing her with a self-confidence she couldn't otherwise feel. And whilst drinking to excess was perfectly acceptable, even actively encouraged, amongst her friends, it quickly reached a destructive monotony that bordered on dependency. It took a number of terrifying incidents - from stumbling home alone covered in vomit to waking up naked in bed unsure of whether she had lost her virginity - before Koren could finally say to herself enough was enough and seek help for her problem. Smashed is the shocking but all-too-recognisable story of a young woman coming of age within a society that finds it easier to turn a blind eye to binge-drinking than address the problem head on. Beautifully written and brutally honest, compelling without preaching, this is a book that demands to be read.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2005

  $3.25

  The day Koren turned fourteen she emerged from her friend's kitchen clutching a bottle of Southern Comfort. At fifteen she and Natalle sneaked out one summer night, then next morning had to plece back together forgotten fragments of drink, men and misplaced clothes. At sixteen she was carried through the hospital doors unconscious. And so it began...Koren was a sweet and normal teenager, from a stable home and loving parents, yet throughout her teens and twenties she regularly drank herself to the point of obllvion. This is the shocking but utterly recognisable story of a girl who used alcohol to help herself grow up. It began by making her feel better and making life seem less scary. It helped her know who she was, how she felt. Over time, though, she found herself almost unable to meet anyone new or embark on any social occasion at college and, later, in work, without being drunk. Finally, Koren's experimentation descended into a chaotic, dangerous dependency, until, one day, she decided she needed help. Smashed is a beautifully written book and a brutally honest account of just how easy it is to surrender your life to binge drinking. Sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying, it is unfallingly sympathetic. Told in a voice that compels but never preaches, this is a book that needed to be written and demands to be read.