Jennifer Place (2)

If I hadn't gotten this for free as an early reviewer I would not have finished it. I read a huge range of books, most are mediocre but a book has to be really bad for me to leave it partially finished.

The worst thing for me was that this could be a good book. The story is interesting and drinking memoirs are popular right now. A good, critical editor would have improved it, but as-is it reads like a rough draft with no editing. There are grammatical mistakes throughout the book and the show more writing is incredibly awkward. I read this on my Kindle and found a piece of text to highlight (for grammar, awkward wording, etc...) on a every page. There aren't very many sentences on a Kindle page, especially given the odd formatting of this book.

Sometimes the writing is simply bad:
“The mattress…had to weigh around a lot of pounds.”

But at other times it's so poorly worded that it's difficult to understand:
“I took something that had nothing to do with me personally.”
Did she steal something even though it meant nothing to her or did she become emotionally involved in something which had nothing to do with her? Of course you can figure it out from context but it never should have gotten past a halfway decent editor or 8th grade English teacher.

On one page the author writes “I needed to move to the PNW...” This is the first mention of this phrase yet she immediately uses initials. That's quite the mistake but she compounds it a short while later with this passage “'RJC' She answered. …like I was supposed to know what those three letters stood for.” So the reader was supposed to automatically understand the author but when others do the same thing the author finds it offensive.

That is the other issue I had with this book – the author is extremely unlikeable. She makes snap judgements over trivialities - “Liar. He was a hair over 6'8” and rounded up.” Estimating height to within an inch would be quite a talent. She harshly judges the behavior of other alcoholics as if it's not an addiction and a disease while expecting her father to understand her behavior in terms of addiction (rather than a free choice). She includes odd descriptive details but does it randomly, as if she's suddenly remembered that she should be descriptive. She brags about how much she can drink constantly. There are endless mentions of it (though she says she'd never do that, it comes across as extremely braggy).

Again, this could be a good book. The author needs to take some writing classes, spend six months reading every decent memoir she can find and find a really tough editor who will help her improve her writing so that it reads like a finished book and not a rough draft. show less

A personal memoir- Saturation is a well written, humorous book that elaborates what many would consider the proverbial train wreck that the reader can't look away from. Jennifer Place struggled through alcoholism and sobriety while dealing with incarceration, a messy marriage (and messy divorce) and the challenges, as an alcoholic, of having a relationship with anyone or anything other than alcohol.
Stark, truthful, humorous, witty and very much an addict (now in recovery) - Place takes us show more on a journey ala "Go Ask Alice"; most adults can relate to how complicated relationships with parents, spouses and children can be - along with the allure that alcohol can have as an easy fix in turbulent times (worse still when addiction is present).
I found "Saturation" easy to read, easy to connect to the struggles the author endures (without exact experience) and couldn't put it down. Hopefully we see more from Place! show less

I've had this book for a while. It was given to me by the author for an honest review. I've put off reading it because I thought it might be a difficult read. I've had first hand experience with dealing with alcoholics, and it is not a pleasant experience. I've become somewhat jaded as I've seen the 'falling off the wagon' far more than success with sobriety.

Jennifer writes about her struggles overcoming alcoholism. Have you ever been driving and come upon an accident, seeing the police and show more ambulance at the scene? You know how we all slow down to 'peak' at what's happening? That's how I felt while reading this book. I was watching as Jennifer went through her voyage of self discovery. I don't think I would have been able to express myself as well as she has. She doesn't hold anything back.
I found myself rooting for her to maintain sobriety- I want to see her succeed.

I would love to read about her a few years down the road, Good Luck to you Jennifer! show less

Saturation is a memoir written by Jennifer Place, documenting her very real odyssey of battling alcoholism, dysfunctional family relationships, a toxic marriage to an enabler, and her journey towards self-discovery and sobriety.

This was not an easy story to read, but I admire the realistic, no holds barred, straight talking account that Ms. Place uses to tell her story. As a non-drinker that has had alcoholism affect both sides of my family, Jennifer's account of her bout with alcoholism and show more struggle to gain sobriety horrified me, I went through a roller coaster ride of emotions as she described her daily drinking habit of four bottles of wine, and the occasional doses of vodka, I just couldn't imagine how the hell she lived to tell her story. I totally got what the title Saturation stands for, she saturated herself with alcohol on a daily basis to get through the withdrawals, and to be able to go about her daily life. My heart breaks for everyone who goes through this on a daily basis, and it just cemented in my mind how horrible a disease alcoholism really is.

Jennifer's struggle to overcome alcoholism was coupled with the dysfunctional relationship that she had with her family, and the toxic marriage to an enabler that she basically hated. Can you just imagine the hell that she was living? In her memoir, she feels that she was a terrible mother, who gave her two sons to their fathers to raise, and she writes that she felt guilt ridden for doing this. I do not agree that she was a bad mother, Jennifer, I applaud you for being a mother who cared enough to allow your sons to grow up in stable home environments, and your greatest gift is that they are both well-adjusted young men. The other thing that I would like to comment on is the family dynamic. While I can understand the author's dysfunctional relationship with her father, I would be remiss if I didn't say that from a family member's standpoint, who had to deal with an alcoholic father's verbal abuse, family members feel helpless as they watch their loved ones go through this terrible disease, and any attempt to help are often met with resistance and verbal attacks which we endure because through all of this, the simple fact is that we love our family member no matter what. As for the toxic short-lived marriage, I am so glad that Jennifer finally took a stand and put that behind her. As long as there is an enabler in the relationship, a person's constant struggle with alcoholism would take precedence over gaining sobriety and maintaining it.

Jennifer's account of the five times that she went through in-patient treatment, and her struggle to maintain sobriety only to relapse each time, demonstrated the reality of alcoholism as an ongoing struggle that a person endures in order to achieve sobriety and maintain it. As I read about each of the five times she was in treatment, I cheered for her, hoping that she would find herself and gain that sobriety. My heart broke each time she relapsed, and when her journey towards sobriety was finally achieved, I rejoiced over the strength that she displayed to finally be able to put that traumatic part of her life behind her.

I would recommend reading Saturation, whether you are addicted to alcohol, or have a loved one that is addicted, as it may provide a sense of reality and hope that alcohol addiction can be overcome and sobriety gained.

Disclaimer: At the request of the author, a Kindle edition of this book was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest review.

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