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Accessible and enthralling , Glorious Rock Bottom is one of the most important books I have read in years. and whether you're sober, sober curious or think you'll never be THAT person who needs to give up the sauce forever, I urge you to read this book. I have been alcohol free for 2 years and sought solace mainly from online groups, friends and books.
It shocked me at first just how much I related to the thoughts and emotions Bryony talks about… and I had to take a step back and say to myself ‘well of course you do, you’re an alcoholic too. It felt like she didn’t want to blame anyone but herself, which is very gallant—but I did wonder about her childhood family dynamic. However, they still remain somewhat trite and I can't help wanting a little more to elevate this book above others in the field. I loved the searing honesty - sometimes it's an uncomfortable read about the events that lead her to "rock bottom". Often wince-inducing, the memoir does not shy from describing the lows of her alcoholism and the impact on her family.
I chose to read this book straight after a book on letting go in in shame free hook ups, where letting go, and following physical instincts for an escape, as a bad thing, and the day before an anniversary where I planned to drink champagne for breakfast and indulge in food and multiple other drinks to celebrate. Her extreme honesty and journey to acceptance encourages her readers not to run from shame, but instead, to confront it. Billed a "sobriety memoir like no other" - and rightly so - in Glorious Rock Bottom, Gordon opens up about two decades of alcohol and drug abuse, and the way her "party girl" life nearly ruined her life and her family. Because that’s what books like this do - you’re drinking, you feel like the worst person in the world, but a little spark in you identifies with what she went through and you think maybe you could do it too. Knowing these thoughts and emotions and behaviours and cravings and outbursts I get are things other addicts experience too.
As I painted my body with glitter, purely because it looked nice, I wondered if I was taking part in an elaborate con.One of the lines that I found the most powerful was “So when people ask me why, I tell them that I stopped drinking because I wanted to start living. Shining a light on the deep connection between addiction and mental health issues, Glorious Rock Bottom is in turn, shocking, brutal, dark, funny, hopeful and uplifting. Ok, so she hid behind excess and those naughty non taxable drugs rather than prescribed numbing medication but still deserves the sympathy.
In Glorious Rock Bottom Bryony opens up about a toxic twenty-year relationship with alcohol and drugs and explains exactly why hitting rock bottom – for her, a traumatic event and the abrupt realisation that she was putting herself in danger, time and again – saved her life. Support, understanding and compassion are crucial - particularly from people who have also been through it.Gordon's new book is a frank, sometimes wince-inducing and often very funny look at her 20-year relationship with booze. The term “mental health awareness” is bandied about in such a facile way to the point where it’s lost all meaning, but Bryony genuinely does raise awareness of incredibly debilitating and life changing conditions. This is how my brain works: a thought is not just a thought but an absolute command, and as soon as it comes into my head I have to action it or risk broiling my brain alive in its own toxic juices. I was sad to read that all was not well after her marathon, but glad she sought the help she needed.
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