Alcohol is a depressant masquerading remarkably well as a relaxant, an Oscar-winning actor that had me fooled for years. This memoir isn't reflective of my story, but like most books about alcohol prove, it could easily have been. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. Go hard or go home is an oft repeated mantra in our fairly tame living house - when you get the opportunity isn’t life organised and tough enough not to want to break free every now and again?

Her open, honest stories of the takeover and hold that alcohol and drugs had on her are really eye opening and at times uncomfortable, and I found myself crying reading her words on more than one occasion. Bryony Gordon] has now charted the whole journey through her through alcoholism and subsequent recovery in her no-holds-barred new book. Gordon's new book is a frank, sometimes wince-inducing and often very funny look at her 20-year relationship with booze. 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.This book, warts and all, is a beacon of hope and is a testament to the human ability to persist and endure. They are often people who are more self aware, and have more gratitude for the profound beauty in the simplicity of daily life.

Alcoholism is often misunderstood, viewed as a choice rather than a disease, and I hope that this memoir will encourage empathy and understanding. Reading this book has helped me enormously with my journey and I will revert back to it for help and guidance. In the interests of full disclosure I wasn't that familiar with the author (despite her having interviewed prince Harry! As far as addiction memoirs go, I'd say it is in the top ten and trust me, I've read most of them during my long quest for sobriety.

I feel that this book paralleled some of my own struggle, when I suffered depression, I never thought it possible to enjoy the simple things in life, nor that I would find genuine interests, nor find contentment, as I gradually overcame it and started to heal, I discovered the beauty in the ordinary, daily life - I'm so thankful I held on. I loved the idea of alcohol as “a depressant masquerading remarkably well as a relaxant, an Oscar-winning actor”, but including it twice felt like sloppy editing. 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. Never did I think I’d describe a book about alcoholism as “charming” but Gordon has such a way with words that I often found myself pulled into her life and her story in much the same way I assume booze pulled her in: with drama and a bit of a gamble. It's a story of an addict's struggles and triumphs, and how the wins often look like absolutely ordinary moments.