A gripping, brutally honest memoir of motherhood in the shadow of alcoholism

Three years after giving up drinking, Jowita Bydlowska found herself throwing back a glass of champagne like it was ginger ale. It was a special occasion: a party celebrating the birth of her first child. It also marked Bydlowska’s immediate, full-blown return to alcoholism and all that entails for a new mother who is at first determined to keep her problem a secret. Gritty, deeply personal, and sometimes grimly comic, Drunk Mom is Bydlowska’s account of the ways in which substance abuse took control of her life—the binges and blackouts, the lies and humiliations—as well as her fight toward recovery while also contending with her new role as a young mother. This courageous memoir brilliantly shines a light on the twisted logic of an addicted mind and the powerful, transformative love of one’s child, ultimately giving hope to any reader, especially those struggling in much the same way.