Review: The Long Run by Mishka Shubaly
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 4, 2012
Now that I've finished reading "The Long Run" by Mishka Shubaly, I can say that this one is my favorite of the three Kindle Singles that he has written.  The first two I read, "Shipwrecked" and "Are You Lonesome Tonight" didn't do a whole lot for me, but this one kept my interest and I found myself turning pages and realized I was reading with greater interest and concentration.  I'm still not a big fan of this author, but I am very happy that he conquered his alcohol addiction before he had damage that might have been irreversible.The parts of the book that I enjoyed the most involve his first attempts at running and then the last part of the book after he gives up drinking and takes his running seriously and also takes his life a bit more seriously.  Helping or trying to help his mother when she was once again losing her home was a real plus for him, and it was very sad to hear him say that losing the family home was the most humiliating thing that had ever happened to him.  We all do what we do for a reason, and we never know what the circumstances are that set off negative habits in others until we've been there ourselves.There are people who are alcoholics or drug addicts and are recovering for years and never mention it except in a moment when they feel it's appropriate.  Then there are others who only need to meet someone and within five minutes have told their life's story, addictions and all.  Shubaly reminds me of the latter.  For others struggling with addictions, his story is most likely very inspiring and that's a good thing.  For those who were expecting a Kindle Single about running experiences, the author devotes more time to his drinking and drugging than to anything else.  In the end, I think that writing this may have been cleansing for the author.It's very hard not to judge behavior like Mishka has written about in "The Long Run" and his other twoSingles.  The other two seemed to be mostly about his drinking and a lot of this one was, too, but "The Long Run" was very redemptive and finding a friend like Luis was one of the best things that happened to him.