Erica C. Barnett had her first sip of alcohol when she was thirteen, and she quickly developed a taste for drinking to oblivion with her friends. In her late twenties, her addiction became inescapable. Volatile relationships, blackouts, and unsuccessful stints in detox defined her life, with the vodka bottles she hid throughout her apartment and offices acting as both her tormentors and closest friends.
By the time she was in her late thirties, Erica Barnett had run the gauntlet of alcoholism. She had recovered and relapsed time and again, but after each new program or detox center would find herself far from rehabilitated. "Rock bottom," Barnett writes, "is a lie." It is always possible, she learned, to go lower than your lowest point. She found that the terms other alcoholics used to describe the trajectory of their addiction--"rock bottom" and "moment of clarity"--and the mottos touted by Alcoholics Anonymous, such as "let go and let God" and "you're only as sick as your secrets"--didn't correspond to her experience and could actually be detrimental.
With remarkably brave and vulnerable writing, Barnett expands on her personal story to confront the dire state of addiction in America, the rise of alcoholism in American women in the last century, and the lack of rehabilitation options available to addicts. At a time when opioid addiction is a national epidemic and one in twelve Americans suffers from alcohol abuse disorder, Quitter is essential reading for our age and an ultimately hopeful story of Barnett's own hard-fought path to sobriety.
Barnett is in conversation with writer, editor, and entrepreneur Maer Roshan.
_______________________________________________
Produced by Maddie Gobbo & Michael Kowaleski
Theme: "I Love All My Friends," a new, unreleased demo by Fragile Gang.
Visit https://www.skylightbooks.com/event for future offerings from the Skylight Books Events team.
SKYLIT: Courtney DeNelle, ”IT’S NOT NOTHING”
LIVE ON CROWDCAST: Mimi Zhu, ”BE NOT AFRAID OF LOVE” w/ Jonny Sun
LIVE ON CROWDCAST: Nona Willis Aronowitz, ”BAD SEX”
SKYLIT: Sophia Benoit, ”WELL, THIS IS EXHAUSTING”
SKYLIT: Brenda Lozano, ”WITCHES”
SKYLIT: Bud Smith, ”TEENAGER”
LIVE ON CROWDCAST: Ben Marra, David Birke, & Nicholas McCarthy, ”DISCIPLES”
SKYLIT: Megan Giddings, ”THE WOMEN COULD FLY”
SKYLIT: Kaitlyn Tiffany, ”EVERYTHING I NEED I GET FROM YOU”
LIVE ON CROWDCAST: Taymour Soomro, ”OTHER NAMES FOR LOVE” w/ Jonathan Parks-Ramage
LIVE ON CROWDCAST: Benjamin Rosenbaum, ”THE UNRAVELING” w/ Ted Chiang
SKYLIT: XC Atkins, ”DESPERADO DAYS” w/ Chris L. Terry
SKYLIT: Eloise Moran, ”THE LADY DI BOOK” w/ Catherine Collier
SKYLIT: Iman Hariri-Kia, ”A HUNDRED OTHER GIRLS” w/ Gabrielle Korn
LIVE ON CROWDCAST: Alison B. Hart, ”THE WORK WIFE” w/ Julia Phillips
SKYLIT: Madhushree Ghosh, ”KHABAAR” w/ Guy Branum
SKYLIT: Elizabeth Kilcoyne, ”WAKE THE BONES”
CROWDCAST: Jamila Rowser & Robyn Smith, ”WASH DAY DIARIES”
Lit Angeles, Ep. 4: ”THE WHITE BOY SHUFFLE” w/ Steph Cha
LIVE ON CROWDCAST: Ashley Hutson, ”ONE’S COMPANY” w/ Sara Levine
Join Podbean Ads Marketplace and connect with engaged listeners.
Advertise Today
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Lit Society: Books and Drama
Ex Libris
Write The Book: Conversations on Craft
Gulliver’s Travels
Anne of Avonlea
Fresh Air
Myths and Legends