For me, nonfiction mixed with humor is great. However, this fell for me due to being exactly that. This memoir told in the form of essays is interesting and while some were genuinely funny, the majority tried too hard. I feel like one of the biggest aspect of nonfiction that can immediately pull me out of the book is the raw writing. Since the writer wants to say so many things, they forget to put it all together in a more coherent manner. And this is what happens in this memoir about alcoholism. Some things were just 'said' and not really comprehended or delved into from an emotional side which didn't allow me to connect to the author that much. All in all, it's certainly good but lacked most of what I like reading in honest memoirs.

Thank you Farrer Strauss and Giroux amd Netgalley for an ARC in return for my honest opinion.

This was a great mix of essays based around the authors experience of drinking, or not. I dipped in and out of this book, enjoying picking it up and reading a random essay over a number of weeks.

Review available at Book Riot, "20 Great 2018 Essay Collections": https://bookriot.com/2018/10/25/great-2018-essay-collections/

Knowing people who have both won and lost their battles with alcohol, I was fascinated by this honest look into the recognition of and recovery from alcoholism. It was interesting to see how often alcohol infiltrates our work and social interactions. This was an interesting perspective on recovery.

Coulter's memoir takes a serious subject- realizing you are an alcoholic, then getting sober- and makes it humorous and engaging. Her essays range over the course of her life, and even though our lives are not terribly similar, I still found many of her anecdotes relate-able.

This is a no-bullshit memoir, and I appreciated her writing style. The essays are not chronological, which can occasionally feel disjointed, but overall if you are looking for an easy, humorous read, this is a good book to pick up.

I'll be honest, I had this book on my NetGalley shelf for over three months and was avoiding it because I was afraid it would inspire me to quit drinking (something I've been considering for approximately a decade) Initially I thought the author was going to come across as self righteous and blindly rail against alcohol. Then I realized the reason I disliked her tone was because it resonated with me so strongly.

This is a collection of extremely personal, gorgeously written essays about Coulter's decision to quit drinking in her early forties, why she hadn't done it sooner, and what her life was like afterward. Her tone is candid and raw, to the point of what might seem like oversharing in a different context. It works here because what she is saying is relevant and will cause readers to do some serious introspection about their relationships with alcohol.

Coulter's observations on society's acceptance of the role of alcohol as a social lubricant and coping mechanisms in our society, particularly for women, are spot on. What I appreciate most is her courage to point it out and speak her truth, because yes it made me re-evaluate my drinking habits, but most importantly it made me see I am not alone in my struggle to find a healthy relationship with alcohol.

Fans of memoir and personal essay will enjoy this collection for the writing skill and Coulter's brilliant voice. However those who don't tend to read non-fiction will appreciate this as well if they are looking to explore alcohol's role in our daily lives.

This is one of the rare collections that can change lives and I don’t say that lightly. Coulter writes frankly about getting sober with essays that detail her life before, during, and after. She writes about becoming a runner, the bullshit women have to deal with, and the human condition in general. The cover caught my attention, but the writing is very good, too. And she’s funny. I loved it!

Kristi Coulter's Nothing Good Can Come from This is a spectacularly crafted collection of biographical essays about desire, alcoholism, family, love, recovery, monetary success, and memory that is effortlessly funny in a way that few books are. The reader gradually gains a portrait of the author through variously focused essays. They can be slightly repetitive but that brings cohesiveness (and is reality of the essay collection culled from previously published essays).

Coulter's alcoholism story isn't textbook; no rock bottom moment, no DUI, no having sex with the neighbor in public, no illness. It is a refreshingly banal account of alcoholism, a reminder that alcoholism can be insidious when it can be hidden, particularly in a terrible corporate environment. The ordinariness of her alcoholism is perhaps the unsung hero of the book. The marital bliss, despite messy feelings at points, is another crucial aspect of the book. She seems to write honestly about her marriage and has a good perspective on it that is both enviable and admirable.

As mentioned, Coulter's humor is effortless and creeps up on the reader. This reviewer had to reread sentences, taken aback by the humor in unexpected places and then was bowled over by the author's wit.

Two minor critiques: 1. the discussion of Coulter's job was vague. This is probably for privacy purposes but it could have been addressed more directly to paint a more cohesive picture of her life. 2. The author could have used a broader range of subjects. It felt sometimes that one essay was broken into smaller essays. On that point, the ordering of the book was perfectly reasonable but, with a few exemptions of essay that had to be early and a few that had to be later, the ordering of the essays felt arbitrary at points. That is not a critique per se but readers might want to try to reconstruct the narrative arc of the essay collection if there is one.

In sum, this collection is highly recommended for all readers regardless of gender, marital status, and experience with alcohol.

I really enjoyed reading this memoir. At times it was hilarious and at other times heart wrenching. If you enjoy memoirs as much as I do you should pick this one up because Kristi Coulter has written a definite winner. You will empathize with her. You will want to give her a giant hug and at times you will shake your head and wonder what in the world is she thinking. Happy reading!

This book was real, witty, uncomfortable, and unflinchingly honest. Kudos to Kristi Coulter for putting her life out there, even when it's ugly, and for calling out our culture that makes drinking problems seem normal!

Kristi Coulter has taken a subject that has been written about over and over - and changed it into a relatable and funny memoir series of essays. These essays tell of Coulter's life being someone with a 'cute, little drinking problem' to being sober. It's honest, raw and open about the struggles of being a sober adult in a world where drinking is the norm.

Also, her obsession with The Replacements was <3.

Thanks to NetGalley, Kristi Coulter and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I am not usually a big short story/essay reader but I really enjoyed this book. Nothing Good Can Come from This explores what happens when the author stops drinking. Funny in parts but also tender and real as you find your self evaluating your own relationship with alcohol. I think there is a lot to be said about how women are marketed to in regards to drinking. In the first essay Enjoli the author touches upon how she would try to avoid drinking but it popped up in places you didn't think it would be. Come to this yoga class and then enjoy some craft beer after!! You really do see this all the time. I enjoyed the honesty in the authors struggles as she navigated life without drinking. How her work life, home life and relationship with herself had to change. An enjoyable read overall that really will speak to a lot of people.

A memoir of the author’s experiences of life, written in a series of relatable essays, including her battle with alcohol and how she used various things to distract from it, such as work, running, being a foodie, AA, and other obsessions. I like the tone used and the way it’s told straight out. My thanks for the advance digital copy that was provided by NetGalley, author Kristi Coulter, and the publisher for my fair review.

MCD x FSG Originals
Publication: August 7, 2018

Another chapter in the American auto-nonfiction of the last few years, the memoirs in the form a personal essays that starts from the analysis of a human weakness to build up an epistemology of the human. From "The Two Kinds of Decay" by Sarah Manguso, to "So Sad Today" by Melissa Broder, and, closer to the themes of this book, "The Recovering" by Leslie Jamison, just to give some examples.
"Nothing Good Can Come from This" collects a series of pieces that tell the misadventures of Kristi Coulter with alcohol. The pieces are written between the essay and the fictional, some are real short-stories, some other are very analytical and critical essays, others are ironic, that same irony that Melissa Broder cleverly uses on So Sad Today, an irony used to show rather than hide something, without falling into morbid exhibitionism.
The mood of the pieces is the sincerity: an open and sheer sincerity that makes a clever point on what is like to be a fragile human being in an imperfect world.

Many good things can come from reading this amazingly witty, moving collection of short stories by Kristi Coulter. Coulter speaks frankly about her former drinking problem & how easy it is for our professional and personal lives to revolve around alcohol. I literally gave her essay, “Enjoli”, a standing ovation while reading it - it perfectly encapsulates the conflicting thoughts woman think about all the time. That essay alone will have you scrambling to read what else Coulter has to say next. Highly recommend.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Very clever and enjoyable read. I enjoy the characterization and the details into the inner workings of contemporary characters trying to cope with life on life’s sometimes mean terms. It gave me hope and dashed it at times.
Thankyou for generously sharing it.

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review. I love books about addiction/alcoholism because I am a recovering alcoholic myself. I can very much relate to these kind of books, especially those written by women. This was an easy read and I really liked it - some parts made me laugh and some parts made me feel so deeply exactly what she was going through due to my own struggles. She has a great way of describing not only just the drinking aspect of things but also the unfortunate actions that go along with it all. I also really appreciate how honest she was about some of the things she has thought about and done in sobriety. Just because we get sober doesn't mean we are perfect - far from it. The only thing I might say that I didn't love is how this all seemed to jump around at times and I generally like books like these to go more in order but thats my personal preference. I would recommend this to a lot of my friends who are also in recovery.

I thought this was great. It reminded me a little of Eat, Pray, Love just with a lot of drinking. This book of essays tells the story of how and why Coulter quit drinking. A think a lot of what she has to say can be applied to many aspects of life. People have different addictions and different difficulties throughout life. Coulter's reasons for drinking and for that matter quitting could be associated with any addiction. It's not all gloom and doom. It's filled with many pretty hilarious stories, great friendships, and love. Her relationship with her husband is one of the bright spots in her life and journey towards sobriety.

Her openness in talking about her own addiction, was I think, refreshing. It makes you feel like, its not just you the world is out to get, it happens to everyone. She does manage to get herself together, and ends up a happy, somewhat well adjusted sober person. She gave me hope in my own life. While I don't struggle with addiction, the fact that she made a life changing decision at the age of 41 gives me hope that its never to late to make worthwhile changes in my own life. A very good read. Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC for review.

Nothing Good can Come from This is a series of essays that surprised me as really quite good.. Revolving about the author's difficulty with drinking and quitting, it brings a poignant and entertaining series of stories. The book is well written, enjoyable and yet brings out a lot of emotions for the reader. I laughed out loud in parts and felt distressed by some of the situations of the author.
The author tells us of her transition from social drinking to alcoholism to quitting drinking to distance running to cope. I felt the panic of her writing in those first days and weeks of being sober, and admired her staying with the plan. This is the life that many of us have known, either by self realization or by a friend or close relative. Alcoholism doesn't discriminate and might just be the mom next door.
My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

An honest and linear description of how life, in all its plans and detours, can lead us down roads we never imagined. Kristi describes how her childhood, college, early career and marriage led her to increasingly social use of alcohol, and ultimately to alcoholism. Her honest and humorous way of telling it like it is shows us how close we may be to a similar outcome. Or how close those we know may be to a similar outcome. She transitions from drinking to distance running as a coping mechanism, which is something to which many can relate. Although I'm a casual drinker who doesn't have the tendency to overindulge, Coulter's description of how she did brought tremendous insight into what that might feel like. I felt her panic in her initial days of being sober, and admired her stamina throughout. An inside view into the life of an alcoholic who just might look like the wife next door.

*I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my objective review.*