Lisa Avelleyra

Get Me to the Abbey by Lisa Avelleyra is a bit different from my various encounters with AA, either through memoirs or attending Al-Anon meetings, in that she is very reluctant to let her higher power be God, and I really liked that. To me, it can often feel trite when talking with AA members and the way they speak about God, the same as when prisoners find God. I am sure there are many that do, but I also feel like many don’t and it’s a crutch or a way to make them feel like they fit in or are good humans.

So it was refreshing to have Avelleyra’s higher power be the beauty in life and the little miracles that she sees throughout the day.

I also really liked that she didn’t play the victim and acknowledged that while alcoholism is a disease, it is also something that she did do and that she needs to take control of her life and recovery. So many alcoholic memoirs seem to be more of the writer wanting pity and barely accepting what they had done.

Avelleyra’s characters really came to life off the page, sure it helps that they are real people, but the way she writes gives them even more realism. You can tell exactly how Avelleyra is feeling and going through and that really made Get Me to the Abbey a fantastic read.… (más)