sober stick figure // amber tozer

source

publication date; May 2016 //272 pages but read as an e-book

isbn: 978-0--7624-5972-8 / ebook isbn: 978-0-7624-5974-2

read from: 1/22-25/2016

gotta love social media!

thanks to being bored at home on Friday night, a random like on instagram and some snooping, i found out about NetGalley.

NG is an online source where you can get advanced copies of books but only in PDF files. its a win win if you have a Kindle. im kinda screwed cause i have a nook and i have to convert files and blah blah blah but luckily my mom has a tablet that i can just use for now. (i feel like if i keep up with this ill probably invest in the $50 kindle.) 

anyways, for NG, you have to request tittles and they have to approve you (woke up to my first rejection this morning. sad face). they do have a section where books are good to go without needing approval and you can just directly download to your kindle app. 

this was one of the books and i picked it solely on the cover. i had no idea who Amber was or that she was a comedian and i had no idea what the book was about other than the description. 

AMAZON: 

Sober Stick Figure is a memoir from stand-up comedian Amber Tozer, chronicling her life as an alcoholic and her eventual recovery— starting with her first drink at the age of seven—all told with the help of childlike stick figures. Amber writes and illustrates the crazy and harsh truths of being raised by alcoholics, becoming one herself, stagnating in denial for years, and finally getting sober.

As a teenager, Amber is an overachieving student athlete who copes with her family’s alcoholic tragedies by focusing on her achievements. It quickly takes a funny and dark turn when she starts to experiment with booze and ignores the warning signs of alcoholism. Through blackouts, cringe-worthy embarrassments, and pounding hangovers, she convinces herself that she “just likes to party.” She leaves her hometown of Pueblo, Colorado to follow her dreams, and ends up in New York City, spending lots of time binge drinking, passing out on trains, and telling jokes on stage. She then moves to Los Angeles, thinking sunshine and show business will save her. Eventually hitting rock bottom, she has a moment of clarity, and knows she has to stop drinking. It’s now been seven years since that last drink, and she’s ready to tell her story. Sober Stick Figure is adventurous, hilarious, sad, sweet, tragic—and ultimately inspiring.

i really liked this book. 

it was a funny, quick read. 

i have always had a fear of drinking or drugs (mostly cause i think ill die) and reading this book kind of solidified my reason; its a scary ass thing!!!

Amber talks about growing up, how she was surrounded by alcohol, how she discovered it, kept at it and hid it very well and essentially how she decided that she'd rather live sober than hate life drinking and drinking to keep at life. 

its crazy to think how much your childhood life and surroundings can affect who you become as a person (duh les!) but its true. she was surrounded by her father, her uncle, her job life and friends. alcohol was always around her and she did it. she became a full blown alcoholic and she hid it so well and even though people knew, they never knew the extent of it. 

I'd recommend this book because of the journey that it tells. because its not a serious book telling you to get your shit together if you happen to be a drug addict or an alcoholic but because she's telling you her life and what she went through and how she got it back and her writing is good. the cliffhangers that she leaves you with (for example: what happened when she told the dogs owners!?? trust me, no spoilers. there are several dog stories!) and the way she picks it back up. she talks about her life in Pueblo and moving to New York on her own and just figuring shit out while fueling her alcohol addiction. 

she moves to LA eventually and she continues her alcoholism until one day she finally has her epiphany (and very ironic i must add) and decided to start her life over. 

her writing is good but its not until the end when she starts talking about her sober movement (and her letter at the end) that you can see how beautiful it is. 

her parting words put freaking tears in my eyes and it might be because I'm still upset that someone ate my salad and they wont admit to it (and cause i have to replace the Tupperware) but i love her outlook on her addiction and her decision to recapture her life. she picked herself up and she realized that she deserves more than anything alcohol could ever give her and shes been fighting for her sober life 7 years +. 

I'd definitely pick this up. if not only for the message and the stories (and she got in to a lot of shit that even i was like how the hell did you not get kidnapped or killed) that she tells but also for her stick figure drawings. those are the best!

let me know what you think if you pick it up!

thanks for reading.