PositiveThe New York Times Book ReviewThe book starts out with the thrill of an early Bret Easton Ellis novel — except Khar’s characters aren’t nihilists. She provides a voyeuristic look into her mid-80s world of prep schools and famous L.A. rock clubs; into her life as the cool rich girl with her older boyfriend and Guess jeans ... Though it may not mirror that standard narrative of our national opioid epidemic, Khar’s story nonetheless illustrates many essential facets of addiction ... Khar’s specificity in reliving her first-person experience shows the intricacy and cunning that are required of an addict ... Khar’s voice can take on a certain glibness, prone to simplifying complex situations into a few trite words ... Some amount of brevity is needed to usher along the narrative, but at times here it feels careless ... As is the responsibility of anyone publishing a memoir of upper-crust life, Khar acknowledges how good she has had it. But there are faults by omission, namely in her attribution of her sobriety to the birth of her son ... Khar admits, \'Maybe I won the lottery,\' but neglects to cite her ability to afford the multiple trips to expensive rehabs, parents who love her imperfectly yet consistently, her access to housing and higher education and employment. The result feels like a pre-emptive apology, at once glossed over and heavy-handed ... Still, there is more to admire than not. Khar’s buoyant writing doesn’t get mired in her dark subject matter. There is an honesty here that can only come from, to put it in the language of 12-step programs, a \'searching and fearless moral inventory.\' This is a story she needed to tell; and the rest of the country needs to listen.
