What readers think of Early Sobrieties, plus links to write your own review.

Early Sobrieties is the first novel by Michael Deadker. It tells the life of a 26-year-old young man named Dennis Monk who is trying to survive the early days after quitting alcohol. Dennis Monk is trying to understand who he is without alcohol, while dealing with memories, shame and boredom. Each page of the novel tells the story of Dennis's journey of quitting alcohol and trying to become a better person, the expulsion by his parents, conflicts with ex-girlfriends and not getting sympathy from his friends. Dennis continues to move from place to place, staying on friends' couches and making strange connections and living life day by day.

The novel's episodic and observational style has a narrative pace that is not hyper-dramatic, just the reality of the everyday life of a person who is trying to recover, but still presents strong emotional details that really describe a Quarter-life Crisis. This book is highly recommended to readers who enjoy deep characterization and are interested in recovery and identity crisis in their late 20s.

This was pretty good for a first novel and shows a lot of promise for future books. I think Deagler pretty accurately describes the challenges of an alcoholic’s first year of very fresh sobriety. Dennis couch surfs from one friend to another’s, failing over and over to make any lasting connections. I know there are other paths to sobriety besides 12 step programs, but if ever there was someone who needs AA, it’s Dennis. The ending is clever and does have a hint of optimism.