Art of Losing

This is one of those books that you realise after reading it that you needed it. This felt like a healing process.

Being betrayed is something that messes with someone but when it's by people that you should be able to trust, it's even more heartbreaking.

This story covered so many serious issues. Grief, addiction, alcoholism... I found myself laughing and crying throughout the whole book. The best way to sum this up in one word is real.

Raf, with his tendency to infuse humour with trauma and problems immediately drew me to him and he quickly became my favourite character and a highlight of this book for me.

“Getting sober doesn't take away the things that made you use in the first place.”

As an ex addict, this quote hit me pretty hard. It took me years of reflecting and therapy until I had realised this for myself. Most of the time addiction, alcoholism or any other self destructive soothing is used as coping mechanisms. Stopping the actions doesn't change what lies beneath. You need to address it first so you can properly move forward.

This felt so incredibly real to me. Recovery is a process that has ups and downs and this story shown a light on it perfectly. This is definitely a comfort read.