Double Double: A Dual Memoir of Alcoholism
Fans of best-selling mystery writer Martha Grimes might be shocked to learn that she was a habitual and self-destructive alcoholic for almost 30 years, before seeking help in 1990. Her son, Ken, was also a drinker, beginning at the age of 13 and continuing for more than a decade, until (also in 1990) he, too, began pulling himself out of his addiction. This collaborative memoir, written in mostly alternating chapters, recounts their lives before, during, and after their addictions. Although they are telling very similar stories, there are many differences in the way the authors see their former selves; even their approaches to healing were different (Martha entered a rehab clinic, while Ken did a 12-step program). But one similarity permeates the book: these are two strong, self-aware people who fell into their addictions by accident and were unaware of their growing reliance on alcohol until it was nearly too late to stop, and then each of them found the strength to reverse the pattern. This deserves shelf space alongside other literary alcoholism memoirs including Pete Hamill’s A Drinking Life (1994) and Augusten Burroughs’ Dry (2003). --David Pitt