Sending a review from My Padded Cell

This was a very quick read, being only 230 pages, and also an enjoyable one. An account of people lives and how various events and circumstances lead them to addiction. This book doesn’t just focus on drug addictions, but also on those of gambling and the need for attention.

We are given the life story of a selection of people. Their childhoods, which were normally not ideal whether due to abuse, poverty or something else, through to abusive of negative relationships, both romantic and otherwise, and then through to their struggle with “sobriety” and how they’ve dealt with the 12 Step Programme. There are some fresh successes, some who have failed and have come back again, and also some who have managed to stay “sober” and have decided to work with other addicts and help them to improve their lives.

It’s a very candid look at these peoples lives, and it very much made me feel connected with these individuals and feel more for their situation. All too often addicts are stigmatised within our society, but this stigma can prevent them from reaching the help that they need and deserve. Books like this one can help break down the walls of that stigma and in turn allow more people to recover and become active members of society.

I gave this book 3/5 stars, thank you to NetGalley for an ecopy of this book in return for an unbaised review.

Who-Ology, a review

I’m a Doctor Who nerd, a Whovian, and God Damn It I need the new series out now!!! So excited for the Christmas special this year! (I’m aware it’s September, don’t dampen my joy!). As a lot of my family and friends know that I love DW and reading, I’ve had many presents of DW related books and they’re such a fun and interesting thing to read through if you’re a fan of the show.

This one is filled with facts about the show, and behind the scenes knowledge about the actors and their lives when pertaining to Who. I found it really interesting. This book goes right from the beginning with William Hartnell, all the way up to Matt Smith, so it’s a little old, but the information is still accurate! I haven’t been able to watch all of the old episodes as of yet, I’ve watched some of Hartnell but it’s a little daunting to think of watching 50 years of Doctor Who so I’ve not gotten very far through. Because of this, I did skim over some bits of the book, for the bits that we talking about specific events in Old Who that I know I want to watch but haven’t gotten around to yet. But this just means that I get to go back through it once I’ve watched the older episodes!

This is definitely a fun little book, I read it all in one sitting so it’s also a quick one and something that I think is great for any fan of the show of any age. I’m looking forward to rereading it again in a few years when I’ve watched the show in its entirety!