Growing up in Beverly Hills, Amy Dresner had a top-notch private school education, the most expensive summer camps, and even a weekly clothing allowance. But at 24, she started dabbling in meth in San Francisco and unleashed a fiendish addiction monster. Soon, if you could snort it, smoke it, or have sex with it, she did.
Smart and charming, with Daddy’s money to fall back on, she managed to keep it all together. But on Christmas Eve 2011, all of that changed when high on Oxycontin, she stupidly “brandished” a bread knife on her husband and was promptly arrested for “felony domestic violence with a deadly weapon.”
Within months, she found herself in the psych ward–and then penniless, divorced, and looking at 240 hours of court-ordered community service. For two years, assigned to a Hollywood Boulevard “chain gang,” she swept up syringes (and worse) as she bounced from rehabs to halfway houses, all while struggling with sobriety, sex addiction, and starting over in her forties.
#QUITLIT Review: My Fair Junkie
It’s baffling to me that it took me this long to read My Fair Junkie by Amy Dresner. When I first got sober, back in 2006, the self-help section at Barnes & Noble had a tiny section of memoirs dealing with addiction and recovery. Over the years, when new books would come out, I would plunk down my money to add to my self-help home library before the ink was probably even dry in some books. However, by 2016, only a decade later, a small explosion started happening in this literary category. I found it impossible to keep up with all the new books. Somehow, this one snuck past me until now.
Sitting down to curl up with Amy’s book, it only takes a few pages to suck me in. This memoir reads like a novel; you will struggle to put it down right from the start. Just give in to this masterful literary binge. You deserve it. Hunker down in your favorite chair, or draw a warm, bubbly bath and let yourself soak in her story. You will laugh, and you will cry. You might also wonder why HBO Max hasn’t made this a mini-series yet.
Sober Curator Pro Tip: Listen to My Fair Junkie on Audible
A few weeks back, I had a two-hour drive ahead of me and decided to listen to My Fair Junkie on Audible. (Read by Amy Dresner) I’m pretty old school when it comes to reading books and not usually one to listen to books being read to me. However, a friend suggested I listen to this version and read the book. My friends have excellent taste and are rarely wrong in their recommendations.
Listening to Amy read her memoir in her deep, sultry voice enhances the experience and delivers her dry, sarcastic humor in the exact way I imagined it in my head. Honestly, it felt like she was in the car with me, sharing her experience of what it was like, what happened, and what it’s like now. I will never tire of listening to the war stories of recovered addicts. These are my people, and while the details of our stories vary, at the heart of the issues, we all struggle with the same things. Fear. Shame. Ego. Desperately wanting to be loved.
The Sobees #QUITLIT Score: 4 out of 5
Sober Curator Pro Tip:
During the pandemic, Amy Dresner was a guest at SOBER POP, our weekly meet-up on the Clubhouse App, where we talked about all things sober pop culture. Be sure to check out this episode with Amy, along with our favorite Sober Sexpert, Tawny Lara, as we talk #QUITLIT and Sex.
Sober Curator Pro Tip:
Do not miss out on this Sexy Time Playlist created by DJ Missing Mei, Founder of The Creative Sober, to get you in the sober and sexy mood!
Amy Dresner | SHE RECOVERS FOUNDATION
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. QUIT-LIT is our curated list of addiction and recovery book reviews. From addiction and recovery memoirs to fiction and self-help, we believe all Sober Curators should be well-read. You can also find us on Goodreads here.
What’s on your nightstand? We want to hear about what you’re reading right now and the addiction and recovery books you can’t live without. Email us at thesobercurator@gmail.com
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