The Nature of Pain is a memoir of growing up in Appalachia in a family surrounded by drug and alcohol abuse, where the author herself becomes addicted to opioids. She eventually loses her cousin tragically, and her relationship with him is a focus of the book. This book was gorgeously written; I could feel her love for Eric and her pain at losing him deeply. My one critique of this book was that it was very short - there were many parts of her life and her cousin that I felt could have been expanded upon in a way that would have connected the reader more when it came to the point of Eric's death. That all being said, it is clear this was written as a way to help her heal from losing Eric, and if this was what the author wanted to write, it does stand up well on its own.

Thank you to University Press of Kentucky and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I always have a hard time rating memoirs because they are so intimate it can feel wrong to put a star value on it.

I think the writing was pretty and flowed nicely without being flowery. I appreciated that the author did not feel the need to describe in details the worst parts of her life to make the reader understand the horrors of addiction.

It is a very interesting read if you are looking for a first hand account of what addiction can look like and what a life before, during, and afrer it can be. It did not feel cliché, it is the author's life as it happened and I am grateful she wanted to share it with the world.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book

This book was beautifully written: bleak, raw, brimming with emotion. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the author’s backstory, about her less than conventional childhood in the Appalachia and what could have possibly led to this outcome. I enjoyed this book because of the writing, which was intentional, poetic and quietly powerful. It possessed honesty and an insight into the American small town opioid crisis through the telling of her own personal and tragic story. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and University Press of Kentucky for the arc in exchange for my honest review

Side not for Netgalley, if a book isn’t available for Kindle, I would like to know before requesting, the netgalley reader is a nightmare. I do not regret requesting this book though, because this was beautiful

We hear a lot about addicts from Appalachia, but we don’t often hear from them and that’s a damn shame. This is a book about grief mostly, about the people the author lost, especially her cousin Eric. I knew this was coming because she starts the book with the news that he’s dead, but his death was just so sad.

I don’t know much about being an addict, like many people I like to say that we’re all addicted to something but let’s be real coffee and books are very unlikely to kill me, so this was an interesting journey through the author’s eyes. Again I read a lot about the way Purdue pharma was operating, especially in those area of the US, but it’s very different to actually have first hand testimony of it.

Incredibly touching and well written, it made me happy to know that the author is still doing well with her recovery