January Reading: Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood

Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood
by Koren Zailckas
List Price: $14.93

In January, I wanted to turn a new leaf and stop reading books that were so dark, so I picked up a memoir about how a young woman almost drinks herself to death...

Summary:

Twenty-four-year-old Koren Zailckas describes her experience binge drinking in high school and college.

Media Reviews:

From Publishers Weekly
This isn't just one girl's story of sneaking drinks in junior high, creeping out for night-long keg parties in high school and binge-drinking weeknights and weekends through college—it's also a valuable cautionary tale. At 24 (her present age), Zailckas gave up drinking after a decade of getting drunk, having blackouts and experiencing brushes with comas, date rape and suicide. She weaves disturbing statistics (from Harvard School of Public Heath studies and elsewhere) into her memoir.


From Booklist
Zailckas muses about the societal factors that contribute to the astonishing rise in women's drinking. Most unnerving, though, are her honest, detailed accounts of her own profound abuse, which was accepted, encouraged, and chillingly commonplace; thousands of young women share her story.

My review:

Rating: Most girls will have their first drink by age 12, and will have the experience of being drunk by 14; teenage girls drink as much as their male peers, but their bodies process it badly (they get drunk faster, stay drunk longer and are more likely to die of alcohol poisoning); and date rape and booze go hand-in-hand... Blah, Blah, Blah...

I thought this was a quick, amusing weekend read that brought me back to the college life I didn't have. (I missed out on the sororities, binge drinking, frat parties and the like... I spent undergrad being too socially awkward to go to parties... But I saw other girls go to those things, I "heard" about frat parties so it was like I went, Right? kinda? Sorta? No??)

Zalickas tells a relatable story about the awkwardness of becoming an adult--whether or not you were on a liquid diet while doing so--with some public health tidbits thrown in.

Let's just admit it: growing up is a series of awkward situations punctuated by mood swings and heavy petting. Some people choose to numb the pain with alcohol or drugs...some people find other ways to escape like hobbies, sports, or, let's say...reading... or the internet...pick your poison.

But reading about someone else's awkward situations from the comfort of your bedroom, decades after high school and college, that's some good reading!