Reading Through Hell on Earth by Erwan Gramand almost felt like reading a stranger’s diary. Except for one thing. It was a stranger I felt I had so many things in common with. And he was on the other side of the world.
Through Hell on Earth, by Erwan Gramand Excerpt
“Now that you are 18, you’re going to skull 18 glasses of wine.”
That is how my 25-year descent into hell with alcohol started. Over half my lifetime. I had watched my parents drink their life away throughout my childhood, and hated it. Yet, I followed the exact same path.
This book is my life story, from my student years until the collapse of my family.
It is the account of how dependency sneaked in. It is the real-life story of shame, lies, sadness, the loss of self-control, how alcohol impacted my personal and professional life, and the failed attempts to quit, until the one spur that led me to cold turkey.
Do you speak French? Check Out This 15 Minute Interview
Erwan’s intoxicating deep descent into alcoholism was hard to read about, most stories that include addiction are. It was refreshing to read his journey to recovery from the male perspective. While there are so many more memoirs available now compared to when I first got sober back in May of 2006, they are predominantly from a female perspective. Which is great! I love women! I am a woman. It’s just really intriguing to read about someone else’s journey that would appear so opposite, only to find out we had so much alike. Also, it’s set in France. It’s quite intriguing to read about someone’s journey in another country.
I applaud Erwan’s efforts to share his story in such a vulnerable way. Sharing our deepest, darkest moments in time is both healing and oh-so-scary at the same time. I have no doubt that his story will help many. My only constructive criticism of this memoir is that it could use a dynamic editor to comb over it and really make the sentences sing off the page.
At times I struggled to follow along because of the writing style. It’s fairly choppy in parts, which again felt reminiscent of reading someone’s journal. Which isn’t a bad thing per say. I’m also very ADHD, so keep that in mind. But the nuts and bolts of an incredible journey are indeed there. I did find myself trying to visualize each of the smaller stories within the stories. Perhaps adding some old photographs or illustration visuals would give this book a bit more curb appeal.
All this to be said, if I ever make it to France, I would welcome an opportunity to break bread with Erwan at some hole in the wall café, with an iced espresso and talk to him about the similarities in our recovery journeys.
That is perhaps the best piece of advice I’ve received from others in recovery: look for the similarities and not the differences in each persons unique stories. It will serve you so much better. This gem rings true over and over and allows me to connect with the people I met on a very real level. Thank you Erwan for sharing a piece of your journey with me. Although we’ve never met, I do feel that I know you on a very personal level now.
To find Erwan’s book check out this site here.
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