Everything I Never Wanted To Be by Dina Kucera
October 1st 2010 by Dream of Things
October 1st 2010 by Dream of Things
Paperback, 216 Pages
Review Copy
Book Synopsis
A true story of a family's battle with alcoholism and drug addiction. Dina's grandfather and father were alcoholics. Her grandmother was a pill addict. Dina is an alcoholic and pill addict, and all three of her daughters struggle with alcohol and drug addiction including her youngest daughter, who started using heroin at age fourteen. Dina s household also includes her husband and his unemployed identical twin, a mother who has Parkinson's Disease, a grandson who has cerebral palsy, and various other friends and family members who drift in and out of the household depending on their employment situation and rehab status. On top of all that, Dina is trying to make it as a stand-up comic and author so she can quit her crummy job as a grocery store clerk. Through it all, Dina does her best to hold her family together, keep her faith, and maintain her sense of humor. (Summarized Product Description).
Review
In this open-hearted no holding back memoir, Dina Kucera shares her battles with alcoholism and drug addiction. Not only is Dina fighting her own demons but trying to battle those of her children and family as well. She has three daughters, ranging from 28 to 14 who all have severe problems. From mental disorders like ADD and OCD, to severe drug abuse on crystal meth and heroin. Her mother is suffering from Parkinson's disease, her grandson is a special needs child, one of her daughter's is a lesbian (which is not a problem, but causes it own set of emotional drama) her husband is unemployed, she works as a cashier at a grocery store and her husbands twin brother has just moved in...............................
Half way through this I was thinking..."I’m probably not the best person to review this novel". Dina makes a statement in her book that states most people who don’t have children or children on drugs always give advice to parents who do and don’t have a clue what their talking about….I can raise my hand and tell you up front I have no clue what its like to be addicted to drugs….unless you count diet coke I’m not even near the vicinity of understanding what Dina deals with day in and day out. I have no idea what its like to watch one of my kids slowly kill their body with crystal meth and heroin or be in place where I thought giving my child pot to smoke would help wean her off meth………Dina’s life is so messed up it almost seemed made up, how does one family have so many burdens? How she got through it, must have taken amazing strength and sheer determination, not to mention a stay in the mental ward.
Reading through Dina’s story made me stop and think about myself and how I view people with severe addictions, had this been a fiction novel I would have ripped the mothers character to shreds. I have a very hard time dealing with parents who use drugs and alcohol and neglect their kids, worse when those habits transfer to their kids. I would have stated all the things she should have done and all the things she could do. Funny thing about life though, you never know how your going to handle things until there presented to you. For me this was eye-opening, it was sad to learn people really live like this and sometimes no matter how hard they try there's no help, all the doors have been slammed shut and everyone looks the other way. It makes me want to open a free rehab center for teens and parents who have no money but are desperate to get clean. It makes me want to reach out and offer help to the drug addict in my family, most importantly though I think it really helped me see Dina's side of the argument, see the gray that's often overlooked between the black and white.
Rating
Everything I Never Wanted to Be is recommended to adult readers and contains: Graphic details on drug use, violence, discussions about sexuality and pregnancy's, special needs children, alcoholism, depression, graphic language, bipolar disorder, OCD and ADD disorders. The book also contains disturbing subjects on rape, mental ward facility's, child neglect and suicide.
3/5- Memoir- Drug Addiction
Thanks to TLC book Tours for Review Copy
Hi! Thanks for joining our FULL STEAMPUNK AHEAD! Challenge. We wish you the best of luck in reaching your bookish goals and winning the prizes!
ReplyDelete♥ Vanessa
Book ♥ Soulmates
P.S. Don't forget to grab our button :D LOVE YOUR BLOG btw! Soooo pretty!
This is a really lovely review. I'm not sure I can read it--but I'll think about it. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteNot for me but great review. I love how you read outside the box.
ReplyDeleteWow that is a powerful review and the blurb has me wondering if I could read it but I might give it a try.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about judging a fiction book - I'd have done the same thing! But when it is real life it is sometimes hard to judge in the same way. I'm so glad this book had such an impact on you - books that really make me think are usually my favorites.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of the tour!
Tina: Thank you very much for reviewing Dina's book. Your reaction to the book will help give people an idea of the kind of emotional impact the book has. I know. I edited it and fell in love with it in the process -- not because of the parts of the story that were hard to look at, but because of the power and authentic emotion of Dina's voice. Thanks again for reading it. -Mike O'Mary, Owner and Publisher, Dream of Things
ReplyDelete