“I won’t remember the chair that wheels me down the hospital’s hall, or the white cot I am lain on, or the tube that coasts through my esophagus like a snake into a crawl space… This is the first of many forgotten injuries that will imprint me just the same.”

From her first taste to her first waste, Koren Zailckas lived a life dependent on alcohol and attention. A shy girl at heart, Zailckas discovered self-confidence in the blurry throes of alcohol-infused social events like parties, dances, and in college, the classroom.

As Zailckas’ literary debut, Smashed is nearly pitch perfect in presentation. From the first paragraph in the introduction, Zailckas’ description from every angle took my breath away. The author comments that throughout her adolescence, she lost many memories to binge drinking, but through the things she does remember, Zailckas recounts them in breathtakingly elegant detail.

Smashed is a cautionary tale of knowing your limits. In a generation so heavily influenced by alcohol, Smashed is a must-read for any parent wondering what really goes on behind closed doors, house parties, and seemingly harmless school-sponsored events.