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Girl Walks Out of a Bar
Girl Walks Out of a Bar: A Memoir | Lisa Smith
When I walked out my apartment door and heard it shut behind me, something suddenly felt wrong, unusually wrong. Anxiety overwhelmed me. I felt sicker than usual. My head was heavier and murkier, too. The shakes were deeper. I could feel them in my guts and my bones. I even seemed to hate myself more than usual . . . I'm going to die, I thought. This life is going to kill me, and maybe today. I don't want to die. When I raised my hand to press the down button for the elevator, I stopped. Every inch of my body was leaking a strange, cold sweat. A voice screamed in my brain, "GET HELP!" Lisa Smith was a bright, young lawyer at a prestigious firm in NYC in the early nineties when alcoholism started to take over her life. What was once a way of clearing away the cloud of negativity engulfing her quickly became a means of coping with the anxiety and stress of an impossible workload. Ultimately it became a numbing agent, a way to deal with hating herself. Girl Walks Out of a Bar explores Smith's formative years, the decade of alcohol and drug abuse, divorce, and her road to recovery. Every instance of childhood shame, inadequacy, and depression conspires to nourish an environment ripe for addiction to flourish. Girl Walks Out of a Bar is a candid portrait of alcoholism through the lens of gritty New York realism. Beneath the faade of success lies the reality of addiction.
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reading.rainb0w
Girl Walks Out of a Bar | Lisa F. Smith
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Pickpick

First, you take a drink
Then, you take another drink
Then, the drink takes you
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#haikureview
I can't take credit for this haiku as I remember it from a prohibition museum I visited in GA a few years back. But it fits this memoir SO. WELL. Highly recommend this book to anyone who is suffering from addiction, or knows someone suffering from addiction, or is simply curious about the mindset of an addict. Long story short - a good read.

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JenReadsAlot
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Pickpick

Really good addiction memoir. #audio

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Lauren_reading
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Pickpick

Really interesting memoir of an addict. She had the resources and support to help her get through recovery and recognized what she needed to stay sober. Great #audiobook #memoir #nonfiction

57 likes1 stack add
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Serenity_Within86
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Pickpick

💯💯⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

10 likes1 stack add
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Serenity_Within86
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Can't put down!!!

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Serenity_Within86
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Pint of ice cream and good memoir

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mrozzz
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Pickpick

Lisa Smith is a lawyer who lives on the edge, always partying harder & longer than is prudent. She reaches a breaking point after a year of guzzling vodka and/or snorting cocaine 1st thing in the morning and checks herself into a hospital to detox. The middle is repetitive with the constant inner dialogue begging for a drink, but that lends itself to the severity of her situation. Parts 1&2 lack some reflection, but it‘s a scary/shocking read.

Jess7 Interesting! 7y
mrozzz I was dumbfounded when she revealed she was a lawyer and getting through work in such an inebriated state, but then she also said about 20% of lawyers have substance abuse “problems” 🤷🏻‍♀️ @Jess7 7y
Jess7 Yeah that statistic is true (if not higher). As part of our required CLE (continuing legal education) hours we have to get every two years, a small portion is dedicated to a class on substance abuse bc it‘s such a problem (likely because of the high stress nature of the job for most attorneys). I can‘t imagine trying to get through the work day inebriated, but I have plenty friends that drink heavily after work at home. 😞 7y
Jess7 Depression, extremely high levels of stress, and substance abuse are all high risks of my profession. It‘s scary and sad to think about 7y
mrozzz Yikes! I definitely don‘t have the wherewithal to be a lawyer. I didn‘t know it was so bad but I guess I just never put much thought into it. 😣 @Jess7 (edited) 7y
87 likes4 stack adds5 comments
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Cinfhen
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I can‘t believe it‘s the last day of #Rocktober ? @BarbaraBB you did an amazing job as cohost & guest DJ ?I loved your musical /bookish prompts & choices?? I haven‘t read this memoir, but my daughter has & she highly recommended it... Girl Walks Out of a Bar is a candid portrait of alcoholism through the lens of gritty New York realism. Beneath the façade of success lies the reality of addiction. **Blurb taken from the publisher **

Cinfhen Ready for a new month with @Robothugs 💓#TuneIntoNovember 7y
Kalalalatja October went by so fast! 😱 7y
See All 9 Comments
BarbaraBB Thank you again for having me as your co-DJ: it has been so much fun 🎶🎶😘 7y
erzascarletbookgasm October just flew by so quickly..didn‘t manage to play along the fun photo challenge everyday, even I meant to. 7y
arlenefinnigan Thank you for hosting, it was great fun 👏 7y
emilyhaldi I‘ve heard good things about this one too! 7y
TrishB It's been fun! 7y
91 likes2 stack adds9 comments
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OrangeMooseReads
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Panpan

Decided to #bingelisten the last 4+ hours of this just to get it over with. Memoir of a recovering cocaine and alcohol addict. I would say more than half the book is her complaining and wishing she had a drink, or that she could drink. That is a big part of addiction and recovery, but there was little else to give the book and story substance. More power to her for gettin sober that‘s huge. The book she wrote wasn‘t good.

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Victoriahoperose
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Pickpick

This memoir about@addiction was very real and interesting. It showed how unlikable the author was while using and how she changed with her sobriety. It was well written and very interesting!

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OrangeMooseReads
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Did a little #audiostitching but I‘m feeling tired so I think I‘ll take a nap.
This book is ok so far, not great but ok. I‘m only an hour if that into it.

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azulaco
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I'm trying Hoopla out with this book. Not sure I'll be using Hoopla that much, as it's only audio, but so far it's a positive experience. I also tried to read The Aeneid on Serial, but I quit because I hated the translation. I need to try out another book on Serial before I can really evaluate it.

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Megabooks
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Pickpick

3.5🌟 Overall a pretty good audiobook. I'm downgrading it because the text was a bit repetitive, and the narrator was a bit mediocre. I'm glad they went with a narrator that could modulate voice between people, but that narrator could've done a better job at that.

Sorry I haven't been checking other people's posts like I should. Things are a bit crazy with trip planning, long work days, and more freaking dentist appointments!! ❤️💜💗💖 You all!!

TrishB Life does sometimes just get in the way! ❤ 7y
91 likes2 comments