The Liberty Tree: Drunk to Sober: A Memoir

Description

Suzanne Harrington did adult things long before she'd grown up - met Leo, married, had babies. She also partied, was homeless for a while, and drank herself to oblivion most nights. Waking to the wreckage of yet another lost weekend, she stopped drinking, and Leo, her companion and enabler, became a stranger. They separated. Freed from her demons, Suzanne embraced the world. Leo chose escape, and took his life. When they had grieved, and buried their father, Suzanne sat down to write for her children the story of Leo, and her journey to sobriety. Moving, compelling, disturbing and yet ultimately life - affirming, The Liberty Tree is a memoir of alcoholism, madness, survival and renewal.

Suzanne Harrington has at various points been a journalist, TEFL teacher, a dole claimer, a backpacker, a youth worker, a painter, a wardrobe assistant, a washer-upper, a pen pusher, a house cleaner, a comic bagger, a market stall holder and a cake maker. She is a columnist for the Irish Examiner and also writes for the Irish Independent, Irish Times and the Guardian. She lives in Brighton.

Harrington's memoir is gripping and intense; achingly poignant and deeply, darkly funny. -- Augusten Burroughs Harrington has a powerful story and is a gifted storyteller -- John Sutherland * The Times * The book has all the hallmarks of a bestseller. It is original and unputdownable. I devoured it in almost one sitting. It is many stories; a searingly honest memoir of dysfunction, an inspiring account of coming back from the brink and a cautionary tale. * Sunday Independent * Relentlessly candid and utterly compelling * Irish Independent * A magnificent piece of writing; lyrical yet brutal; painful yet achingly funny * Irish Examiner *