A Drinking Life A Memoir
A Drinking Life A Memoir by Pete Hamill, published by Little, Brown in April 1995, is a reflective account that explores the author’s relationship with alcohol throughout his life. Spanning 280 pages, this memoir delves into Hamill’s experiences growing up during the Depression and World War II, where he learned that drinking was intertwined with various aspects of life, including celebration and mourning. The narrative reveals how alcohol became a significant part of his existence and the eventual realization of its destructive impact on his clarity and memory.
Readers will find a candid exploration of personal memoirs that captures the essence of a bygone America through Hamill’s eyes as a seasoned New York City reporter. The book presents a vivid report of his journey toward self-destruction and his ultimate decision to leave alcohol behind. Through this narrative, Hamill reflects on the rituals associated with drinking and the complexities of growing up and aging within a culture that often celebrates it.
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This bestselling memoir from a seasoned New York City reporter is “a vivid report of a journey to the edge of self-destruction” (New York Times).
As a child during the Depression and World War II, Pete Hamill learned early that drinking was an essential part of being a man, inseparable from the rituals of celebration, mourning, friendship, romance, and religion. Only later did he discover its ability to destroy any writer’s most valuable tools: clarity, consciousness, memory.
In A Drinking Life, Hamill explains how alcohol slowly became a part of his life, and how he ultimately left it behind. Along the way, he summons the mood of an America that is gone forever, with the bittersweet fondness of a lifelong New Yorker.
“Magnificent. A Drinking Life is about growing up and growing old, working and trying to work, within the culture of drink.” —Boston Globe
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