I enjoyed how this book was told via 2 points of view, the mother and the son. It was interesting to get their perspective of all that the dealt with and worked through. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving this book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

What a powerful message in this book! Some of it was so painful to listen to and I really disliked both of them when they were in the middle of their addiction.

It had to take a lot of courage to reveal the affects of what the addictions can do to a family unit and put it into print.

Their road to recovery is a testimony to courage, faith and gaining control of their lives after years of falling into the abyss that they couldn’t control. They were powerless over their addiction.

The authors did a wonderful job of narrating their own stories alternating between the two.

#Unraveled#NetGalley

A book where I started on audio, but just wasn't enjoying the experience, so I moved to the ebook version and ended up finishing and appreciating this mother/son duo for sharing their story. To see a story where parts of their addiction feel as though it is hereditary, but other parts feel so unique to each person.

As weird as it may seem to say, I enjoyed reading the back and forth between this mother and son and seeing their stories parallel was a great way to present it. I appreciated that they wrote their full stories and put in the redemption part of the story so it can end on a positive note.

This was a short and sweet story that I would recommend to readers who enjoy the show Intervention as this book just felt so similar to watching that show. I would recommend this book to a family member of an addict who needs to see the arc and that it can end with hope.

"Unraveled"was a look at two sides of addiction, one of the son with drug habit and one of his mother. With her own experience with alcohol addiction, Laura is a woman juggling her parenting responsibilities and her own personal needs. That she clearly recognizes that she must draw a line between her son's needs and her own, that she approaches her own sobriety as a non-negotiable and takes care of herself even in the face of a crisis with her child is a brave decision. She supports her son without taking responsibility for him, as she should since he is at the cusp of adulthood. Tom is honest about some of the details that paint him in a less than positive light. He accepts responsibility for his bad behavior and shows empathy in hindsight with those he wrongs, from his girlfriend, to his friend whom he physically hurt, to his family. He is right to note how lucky he is, how priviledged to be able to go to these amazing programs and to have so much family support. That this made a big difference in his outcome is no secret. He worked hard at sobriety, at moving forward, but he does recognize areas where he is helped along this journey. I found this book to be engaging and the back and forth between Laura's and Tom's points of view was a different spin on telling this type of narrative. I do notice that the ugly sides of addiction are not covered here, not really. They get a little attention, but the rabbit hole is largely unexplored, you peer into it a little, but never go down there. I would recommend this book as an honest, interesting account of one family's experience with addiction and recovery. With its positive spin, it's an inspiring tale of family and support and the message that you can turn your life around.

I did not like the writing style of these authors.

It made reading this book difficult and unfortunately, I could not really get into it, despite the interesting subject matter.

Points given for honesty, this type of book is not easy to write.

Unraveled

Life often does become unraveled within the sickness of addiction. It is full of heartbreak, desperation to cope, great uncertainty, emergencies on the edge, despair.

The reader can appreciate the effort and perhaps courage for one to publicly write about this serious situation and the impact on the family and many others affected by the close and distant reverberations of the illness. The craziness, the chaos, the unpredictability, the great suffering, and recurring losses that spread across many domains.

Within my many years of direct experience with a child’s addiction, years of support groups, and on-going reading and research into the illness, I had hoped to gain some insight by reading this account. While feeling great sympathy and empathy with the author, unfortunately, the gut wrenching, heart breaking, mind warping terrors of addiction did not get conveyed. The powerful memoirs I have read reveal sincere reflections, vulnerabilities, doubts, fears, growth, insights, and move the reader into a vicarious experience of the madness of addiction - this is missing here.

Note: I have received a scathing, personal attack from the author when she saw my review. My rating and these fewer words will be sufficient.

The authors were so open and honest about the havoc that addiction brought to their world and of how they worked together to get past it. Having a mother that also struggled with addiction issues was such a huge piece of Tom's recovery and I admire the strength that it took for Laura to not only stay sober for herself, but to be present for her son when he needed her the most. This book is such an inspirational read.