amazing story about recovery from addiction

Moyer's memoir of addiction is compelling and gritty -- right up until the end, when it turns preachy. It's nice for Moyers that he was able to use religion to help him get clean and sober, but his narrative would have been far better if he had simply told the story and not tried to convert readers. ( )

Some books stay with you long after you put them down, and this is one of them. It was one of my best reads of 2007.

How can the story of one person's struggle to understand that he could not manage his own alcohol/drug addiction be so riveting? Moyers was able to compel me to keep turning pages because I HAD to know if he was going to make. This is a memoir, so of course I knew he didn't die, but in the thick of the story the reader can still get caught up in the question. His life made a good story, and he knew how to tell a good story.

The book had two problems:. First, the book desperately needed a good editor. Second, it seemed he was trying to stuff two or three books into one. Despite these shortcomings, the story shines through, and more than carries the day.

Broken is both a page turner and an inspiration. ( )

Moyers' book spotlights a lesson I learned as a young teen when my family struggled in vain to help my older brother cope with a seven-year drug habit: addiction does not discriminate. It can swoop down on the most respectable, otherwise "normal" families.
There are so many sections of "Broken" that strike familiar chords as I think back on my brother's battles, especially Moyers' roller coaster ride to remain sober. The book graphically chronicles the emotional fallout that affects not only the addict, but every individual who cares about that person.
Unfortunately, Moyers' important work would have benefitted from some disciplined editing by one of his former colleagues at Newsday or CNN. As engaging as his travails are, one can't help but think two-thirds of the way into the book that the story and all its key messages could have been told more succinctly.
This criticism aside, the importance of "Broken" shouldn't be overlooked. My brother died early one morning in 1976. He had mixed drugs with alcohol. Moyers' book will no doubt help others to understand addiction -- and hopefully conquer it. ( )

This is an important book showing that addiction crosses all lines. Hazelden is a marvelous program and I have been fortunate enough to go through the family program. Congrats to William Cope Moyers for his powerful story. ( )