Put down that Friday afternoon cocktail and read “Smashed: A Story of Drunken Girlhood.” Written by Koren Zaickas this book so eloquently tells the tale of “socially acceptable” binge drinking. Through being poetic rather than preachy, Zaickas shares the story of her relationship with booze while exploring the social, physical, emotional and mental dangers associated specifically with female drinkers.

As described on her site:

Zailckas leads us through her experience of a terrifying trend among young girls, exploring how binge drinking becomes routine, how it becomes “the usual.” With the stylistic freshness of a poet and the dramatic gifts of a novelist, Zailckas describes her first sip at fourteen, alcohol poisoning at sixteen, a blacked-out sexual experience at nineteen, and total disorientation after waking up in an unfamiliar New York City apartment at age twenty-two, when she realized she had to stop, and all the depression, rage, troubled friendships, and sputtering romantic connections in between. Zailckas’s unflinching candor and exquisite analytical eye get to the meaning beneath the seeming banality of girls getting drunk. She convinces us that her story is the story of thousands of girls like her who are not alcoholics””yet””but who use booze as a short cut to courage, a stand-in! for good judgment, and a bludgeon for shyness, each of them failing to see how their emotional distress, unarticulated hostility, and depression are entangled with their socially condoned bingeing.

The book in no way scolds drinkers, (I read it, I loved it, I still get tipsy) instead it offers some insight and awareness into binge drinking culture through thought-provoking, relateable, and beautifully written words. Whether you are struggling with your alcohol intake or simply a light social drinker, I highly recommend this as a must-read.

Feeor more on alcohol abuse visit http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/