Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption

William Cope Moyers is the vice president for external affairs at the Hazelden Foundation in Minnesota. He is a former newspaper journalist and writer for CNN.

Katherine Ketcham has coauthored twelve books, seven on the subject of drugs, addiction, and recovery. Her books have sold more than 1.3 million copies.

Moyers, the son of prominent author, media figure and LBJ adviser Bill Moyers, recounts his heartbreaking struggle with alcohol and cocaine during the '80s and early '90s. Moyers covered his tracks through bold-faced denial until he spiraled out of control and landed in the first of four rehab stints. Moyers's early chapters, detailing his formative years and progression toward addiction, are somewhat plodding. But once embarking on his treatment journey, Moyers deftly tackles the complexities of sobriety, especially acceptance of those broken situations and relationships that cannot be fixed. Audie Award–winning narrator Brick brings an appropriate blend of pathos and grit to the very formidable task at hand, giving compelling voice to a tale of substance abuse without descending into a maudlin soap opera confessional. Brick proves especially masterful in recreating the delicate nuances of the father-son dialogues, as the elder Moyers struggles to convey both unconditional love toward his troubled grown child and unequivocal nonacceptance for that same young man's destructive patterns of behavior.
Copyright© American Library Association. All rights reserved