... heart-wrenching ... the obverse of an addiction memoir: a chronicle of trying to make sense of a loved one’s struggles with the problem ... Zimmerman writes movingly about the glimmers of romance in the couple’s early years, when they would read poetry together in bed and take long drives into the wilderness ... Zimmerman can be keenly observant ... Zimmerman’s experience leads her to research and report on white-collar addiction, particularly with respect to the legal profession, where, she discovers, anxiety and depression are rampant, and heavy drinking and drug use common. And yet, ignorant as she was while her husband was alive, her account of her own confusion is the story that lingers.
In Zimmerman’s skillful hands, the compelling narrative unfolds seamlessly and convincingly ... The first-person narrative occasionally veers into excerpts about the psychology and physiology of addiction, citing research and statistics. Author Zimmerman’s brutally honest account identifies several telltale signs that, in hindsight, seem painfully obvious. They help underscore her revelation that addiction knows no demographic barriers.
... offers a much fuller account of Peter’s life (and Zimmerman's), and it reports on the factors — including depression, work stress, and competitive consumerism — that fuel white-collar addiction ... reads like an amalgam of two different books. The first, recounting Zimmerman’s love story, her marriage, the subsequent divorce, and Peter’s gradual deterioration, is an engrossing narrative laden with elements of pathos and mystery ... both warning and self-help, a preventative against future tragedies. But it falls short — perhaps inevitably — of illuminating the complex, seemingly unfathomable psychology of Peter’s addiction ... What is missing, through no fault of Zimmerman’s, is Peter’s own voice — specifically, his testimony about how his dependence on drugs, from opioids to speed and cocaine, started, and how and why it got out of hand ... Zimmerman manages to end this poignant tale on a gently positive note.
...absorbing ... The first half of Smacked has little to do with addiction; it tells the story of Zimmerman’s marriage. A certain type of memoirist would have gussied up these chapters, exaggerating the strength of their union, the better to emphasise what was lost. Zimmerman is too honest to do that ... The end is as captivating as it is horrific ... Zimmerman recalls being gobsmacked when she learnt that Peter’s death was drug-related. 'We actually see a lot of this now,' the doctor at the scene said. 'Wealthy, high-powered executives that overdose and die' ... In the book’s final section, Zimmerman delves into this phenomenon. What she uncovers is disturbing. The most high-powered and remunerative professions in the US — law, banking, tech — appear to be awash with narcotics.
... moving and intimate ... Zimmerman’s wrenching story and her extensive research into the hidden crisis of white-collar drug addiction will resonate with many readers.
... searing ... Intimate and disturbing, the narrative chronicles the tragic impact of drug addiction on a family and lays bare truths about a success-at-all-costs capitalist society in which many social relationships are becoming fractured ... A timely reading experience in these hectic times.
