Hello, dear Readers,
Below is my book review of First in the Family: A Story of Survival, Recovery, and the American Dream by Jessica Hoppe.
Title: First in the Family: A Story of Survival, Recovery, and the American Dream.
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Genre: Memoir
Author: Jessica Hoppe
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: September 10, 2024
Publication Date: September 10, 2024
Language: English
Hardcover: 272 pages
Meet the Author: Jessica Hoppe
Buy Me: AmazonBook Description
An unflinching and intimate memoir of recovery by Jessica Hoppe, Latinx writer, advocate, and creator of NuevaYorka.
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2024: Today.com, LupitaReads, Electric Literature, Esquire, Publishers Weekly
In this deeply moving and lyrical memoir, Hoppe shares an intimate, courageous account of what it means to truly interrupt cycles of harm. For readers of The Recovering by Leslie Jamison, Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford, and Heavy by Kiese Laymon.
During the first year of quarantine, drug overdoses spiked, the highest ever recorded. And Hoppe’s cousin was one of them. “I never learned the true history of substance use disorder in my family,” Hoppe writes. “People just disappeared.” At the time of her cousin’s death, she’d been in recovery for nearly four years, but she hadn’t told anyone.
In First in the Family, Hoppe shares her journey, the first in her family to do so, and takes the reader on a remarkable investigation of her family’s history, the American Dream, and the erasure of BIPOC from recovery institutions and narratives, leaving the reader with an urgent message of hope.
My Thoughts
Another fantastic memoir.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book. It did not influence my opinion on it in any way.
The author narrating the book was on point.
It is always interesting to me to read about other people's stories on alcoholism, and how this addition affects them and the people around them. Brings a little extra joy and happiness when there is recovery involved however, at the same time, it is bittersweet because for often than not that recovery comes with a big cost, in the case of the author, suffering and dealing with trauma related to generational, racial and societal aspects that otherwise they wouldn't have to experience or they could experience their addiction and healing process in a different way.
I always appreciate when authors present their stories in the most honest, raw, and real way, no matter how ugly, or uncomfortable these are. Vulnerability doesn't come natural for most people, in this case Jessica does a pretty good job at it. I also appreciate how the author took the time to understand and comprehend the history behind her family, the roots of her trauma, and the struggles that come with family, society and one owns bagage.
I appreciate the author sharing her story.
Thank you, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley, for the free advanced listeners copy, in exchange for an honest review.
Wendy