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The Empty Room
Colleen Kerrigan wakes up sick and bruised, with no clear memory of the night before. It’s Monday morning, and she is late for work again. She’s shocked to see the near-empty vodka bottle on her kitchen counter. It was full at noon yesterday; surely she didn’t drink that much last night? As she struggles out the door, she fights the urge to have a sip, just to take the edge off. But no, she’s not going to drink today.
But this is the day Colleen’s demons come for her. A very bad day spirals into night as a series of flashbacks take the reader through Colleen’s past—moments of friendship and loss, fragments of peace and possibility. The single constant is the bottle, always close by, Colleen’s worst enemy and her only friend.
In this unforgettable work, acclaimed novelist Lauren B. Davis has created as searing, raw and powerful a portrayal of the chaos and pain of alcoholism as we have encountered in fiction. Told with compassion, insight and an irresistible gallows humour, The Empty Room takes us to the depths of addiction, only to find a revelation at its heart: the importance and grace of one person reaching out to another.
But this is the day Colleen’s demons come for her. A very bad day spirals into night as a series of flashbacks take the reader through Colleen’s past—moments of friendship and loss, fragments of peace and possibility. The single constant is the bottle, always close by, Colleen’s worst enemy and her only friend.
In this unforgettable work, acclaimed novelist Lauren B. Davis has created as searing, raw and powerful a portrayal of the chaos and pain of alcoholism as we have encountered in fiction. Told with compassion, insight and an irresistible gallows humour, The Empty Room takes us to the depths of addiction, only to find a revelation at its heart: the importance and grace of one person reaching out to another.
314 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
54 people are currently reading
998 people want to read
About the author
Lauren B. Davis
11 books239 followersLauren B. Davis’s most recent work is EVEN SO, to be published by Dundurn Press in the autumn of 2021. It is the story of what happens when compassion and passion collide. Love, faith, lust, guilt, redemption, and the moment of transformation of two women, one a privileged Princeton matron, the other a Catholic nun suffering the silence of god. Can we care about those who do harm? Who deserves forgiveness, and what does redemption mean? Read EVEN SO to explore these questions.
THE GRIMOIRE OF KENSINGTON MARKET (named one of the best books of 2018 by the Globe & Mail, and a finalist for the Fred Lerner, Canadian Authors Association Best Book of the Year), is a story about a bookstore that is the repository of all the stories in the world, and that no one finds unless intended to do so. It is also about addiction, love, guilt, and flying caribous.
Davis is also the author of AGAINST A DARKENING SKY, a novel set in 7th c. Northumbria, as well as THE EMPTY ROOM, published in 2013. A searing, raw and powerful a portrayal of the chaos and pain of alcoholism. Named one of the “Best Books of the Year” by The National Post, and the Winnipeg Free Press, “Editors’ Pick” by Amazon and a “Critics’ Pick” by The Coast (Nova Scotia). Told with compassion, insight and an irresistible gallows humor, THE EMPTY ROOM takes us to the depths of addiction, only to find a revelation at its heart: the importance and grace of one person reaching out to another.
OUR DAILY BREAD (2011), was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and named as one of the “Best Books of the Year” by The Globe & Mail and The Boston Globe.
She is also the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed novels, THE RADIANT CITY (2006), a finalist for the Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize; and THE STUBBORN SEASON (2002), a named as one of the Top 15 Bestselling First Novels by Amazon.ca and Books in Canada. She has published two short story collections, AN UNREHEARSED DESIRE (2008) and RAT MEDICINE & OTHER UNLIKELY CURATIVES (2000). Her short fiction has been shortlisted for the CBC Literary Awards, the ReLit Award and she is the recipient of two Mid-Career Writer Sustaining grants from the Canadian Council for the Arts. A well-respected creative writing teacher who has taught in Geneva, Paris and Ireland, as well as in the USA and Canada, she is also a past Mentor with the Humber College Creative Writing by Correspondence Program, and past Writer-in-Residence at Trinity Church, Princeton. She now leads monthly SHARPENING THE QUILL writing workshops in Princeton, New Jersey.
THE GRIMOIRE OF KENSINGTON MARKET (named one of the best books of 2018 by the Globe & Mail, and a finalist for the Fred Lerner, Canadian Authors Association Best Book of the Year), is a story about a bookstore that is the repository of all the stories in the world, and that no one finds unless intended to do so. It is also about addiction, love, guilt, and flying caribous.
Davis is also the author of AGAINST A DARKENING SKY, a novel set in 7th c. Northumbria, as well as THE EMPTY ROOM, published in 2013. A searing, raw and powerful a portrayal of the chaos and pain of alcoholism. Named one of the “Best Books of the Year” by The National Post, and the Winnipeg Free Press, “Editors’ Pick” by Amazon and a “Critics’ Pick” by The Coast (Nova Scotia). Told with compassion, insight and an irresistible gallows humor, THE EMPTY ROOM takes us to the depths of addiction, only to find a revelation at its heart: the importance and grace of one person reaching out to another.
OUR DAILY BREAD (2011), was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and named as one of the “Best Books of the Year” by The Globe & Mail and The Boston Globe.
She is also the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed novels, THE RADIANT CITY (2006), a finalist for the Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize; and THE STUBBORN SEASON (2002), a named as one of the Top 15 Bestselling First Novels by Amazon.ca and Books in Canada. She has published two short story collections, AN UNREHEARSED DESIRE (2008) and RAT MEDICINE & OTHER UNLIKELY CURATIVES (2000). Her short fiction has been shortlisted for the CBC Literary Awards, the ReLit Award and she is the recipient of two Mid-Career Writer Sustaining grants from the Canadian Council for the Arts. A well-respected creative writing teacher who has taught in Geneva, Paris and Ireland, as well as in the USA and Canada, she is also a past Mentor with the Humber College Creative Writing by Correspondence Program, and past Writer-in-Residence at Trinity Church, Princeton. She now leads monthly SHARPENING THE QUILL writing workshops in Princeton, New Jersey.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
March 8, 2018
I wish I could un-read this so I could read it fresh again. I think of it often, even though it's been 4 years since I first picked it up, and wonder how fast Lauren is writing her next book. Strong voice and characterization, compelling premise (to me, anyway). Fantastic novel.
September 12, 2013
The Empty Room is a risky and courageous novel by a writer who, as we have seen before in Our Daily Bread, does not hesitate to confront humanity at its most abject and craven. Colleen Kerrigan is weaving a path toward self-destruction and is no longer able to hide it from friends and co-workers. A drinker with a serious problem that she refuses to acknowledge, she lives alone and, nearing fifty, has worn out most of her friendships from the days when her heavy drinking and its frequently embarrassing consequences were still more or less socially acceptable. By the time we meet her she is already well along the path, but not so far gone that she cannot envision for herself a future as a pathetic, drunken, friendless wreck. The action of the novel covers a 24-hour period, the day when Colleen hits absolute bottom and comes face to face with a choice that will either save her or finish her off. This is not a book for the faint of heart. Lauren Davis does not sugar-coat Colleen's addiction. She does not shy away from messy, stomach-churning details and grotesque behaviors that will make even the steeliest reader cringe with dismay. In The Empty Room Lauren Davis gives us the drinker's worst nightmare and in Colleen Kerrigan a protagonist whose habitual denial of her problem carries with it a sorrowful ring of truth, and whose story could at any moment turn from merely sad to tragic. We may be repulsed, but it is impossible to set aside the book. Compulsively we turn the page, seeking out Colleen's next booze-addled misadventure or ill-advised act of defiance. There is nothing glamorous in this novel. What we have here is unmitigated human weakness. Lauren Davis writes powerfully and unflinchingly of one person's struggle to overcome a cruel personal demon but makes no moral judgment. The Empty Room, dramatically urgent, unsentimental, occasionally unpleasant, is also, strangely enough, filled with compassion. A wise and necessary book.
May 25, 2014
This book had me on page three, and I finished it in a week. I highly recommend this read to everyone!
September 10, 2014
loved this dark and creepy and uncomfortable read - perhaps because it took place in toronto and the locations were familiar. perhaps.
August 15, 2016
I loved everything about this book. It's hard to pinpoint the particulars because I was so caught up in the story I couldn't give the actual writing the attention it deserved, but it's safe to say I loved the pacing, the structure, the character development, the ending, and most of all -- the protagonist. I so wanted things to work out for her. Read this book in 24 hours -- hated to put it down, but also didn't want it to end.
November 8, 2018
Emptiness wasn't empty at all; it was a thick block of solid no sound, no-presence. An empty room was filled with all the things that weren't in it.
A person could drown in silence.
Such a devastating read about a single day in the downward spiral of a middle-aged, alcoholic woman. My overriding thought is that if absolutely any of the inspiration for this book came from the author's own personal experience, I really hope she's in a better place now and writing this story helped her. The writing itself suffered from feeling slightly forced and stilted in places, but it felt like an honest, realistic portrayal of alcoholism and it hurts to think that so many people have been through such an experience.
March 15, 2016
Where to even start? What a lovely, searing book this is. I was enthralled from page 1 with the gut-wrenching experience of following Colleen Kerrigan through a terrible hopeless day.
Colleen is a desperate alcoholic, the daughter of a woman whose sole purpose in life appears to make those closest to her suffer from her rage. Her father drowned himself in alcohol and Colleen followed faithfully in his footsteps. Today, her morning starts with a hangover and she drags her unkempt self to work half an hour late. There she is met by her boss and the head of HR, who give her two choices: immediate rehab or termination. Colleen refuses to even discuss rehab and is fired on the spot. She wanders through the rest of the day, drinking herself into a near coma, but in the meantime, interacting with those people left in her life such as her mother and elderly neighbour, while remembering old hurts and grievances. As darkness falls, suicide seems like the most sensible solution, but she passes out first.
Every page is a revelation. Colleen's painful reliving of past events and humiliations is so cringe-inducing and so sad that it is exhausting at times. The image of a 20-year-old girl crawling on her knees to a filthy bathroom in a bar; the bottle of salad dressing that is actually vodka and cranberry juice; the drunken phone calls that go straight to voicemail because there are just too many of them. These are all so tragic.
And then, suddenly and unexpectedly at the end, maybe a glimpse of hope? I really cared for Colleen throughout, even though I know it is horrible to have a Colleen in your life. You just want something to help her so much. I was crying at the end of this book, and I just want her to get well.
Colleen is a desperate alcoholic, the daughter of a woman whose sole purpose in life appears to make those closest to her suffer from her rage. Her father drowned himself in alcohol and Colleen followed faithfully in his footsteps. Today, her morning starts with a hangover and she drags her unkempt self to work half an hour late. There she is met by her boss and the head of HR, who give her two choices: immediate rehab or termination. Colleen refuses to even discuss rehab and is fired on the spot. She wanders through the rest of the day, drinking herself into a near coma, but in the meantime, interacting with those people left in her life such as her mother and elderly neighbour, while remembering old hurts and grievances. As darkness falls, suicide seems like the most sensible solution, but she passes out first.
Every page is a revelation. Colleen's painful reliving of past events and humiliations is so cringe-inducing and so sad that it is exhausting at times. The image of a 20-year-old girl crawling on her knees to a filthy bathroom in a bar; the bottle of salad dressing that is actually vodka and cranberry juice; the drunken phone calls that go straight to voicemail because there are just too many of them. These are all so tragic.
And then, suddenly and unexpectedly at the end, maybe a glimpse of hope? I really cared for Colleen throughout, even though I know it is horrible to have a Colleen in your life. You just want something to help her so much. I was crying at the end of this book, and I just want her to get well.
April 10, 2017
If you liked Drunk Mom by Jowita Bydlowska, you'll love The Empty Room by Lauren B Davis. This bracing read about alcohol addiction reads like a contemporary THE BELL JAR (but way boozier!). I cringed as Colleen - in her alcoholic haze - humiliated herself over and over again. But Davis makes Colleen so believably human that I couldn't help rooting for her, even when she herself seemed without hope. While I was reading, my husband asked me if I wanted a glass of wine. Um, NO THANKS. I *lived* the harrowing experience of alcoholism on these pages, through Davis's vivid writing. The material is, of course, bleak - the dead cat scene nearly made me gag - but important .... and the gorgeous writing in the final pages made my heart sing. I'm happy to have discovered Davis's work and am eager to read more of her.
June 16, 2013
4.5 stars
After reading Our Daily Bread, Lauren B. Davis has become one of my favorite Canadian novelists. This was very different from her previous book and did not disappoint. Her stories are fast paced, and the characters truly come to life with a great sense of their thinking and emotions . I will be searching for her earlier books which I look forward to reading.
The Empty Room describes a sad, horrifying 24 hours in the life of Colleen Kerrigan, where she is depicted as a lonely, raging alcoholic. Flashbacks tell us something of her childhood, and of her drinking heavily while a teenager, sometimes with very embarrassing results. We learn that addiction runs in her family. On this particular day she awakens with a partial blackout, which she calls one of her 'grey outs'. She does not remember drinking so much the night before or that she made a phone call late at night but empty bottles and her cell phone testify to the fact.She is determined to get through the day without alcohol, but fails in this resolution.
She proceeds to her job and arrives late and has forgotten about her assigned project. Many unfortunate things occur subsequently due to her drinking problem. She is in denial as to the extent of her addiction. Things proceed to go terribly wrong for her on the same day.
She drinks because she has no true friends and feels alone. The very loss of friends and lovers are the result of her drunken behavior and her neglect of the people in her life. She ignores the few friends she has left but when she wants them displays extreme neediness. She drinks because of terrible and humiliating things that happen to her during these 24 hours, but these very incidents are the result of her drinking which she is attempting to keep secret. She is in an ever closing circle.
This was a powerful study of addiction, and the denial and excuses one makes makes to themselves.
After reading Our Daily Bread, Lauren B. Davis has become one of my favorite Canadian novelists. This was very different from her previous book and did not disappoint. Her stories are fast paced, and the characters truly come to life with a great sense of their thinking and emotions . I will be searching for her earlier books which I look forward to reading.
The Empty Room describes a sad, horrifying 24 hours in the life of Colleen Kerrigan, where she is depicted as a lonely, raging alcoholic. Flashbacks tell us something of her childhood, and of her drinking heavily while a teenager, sometimes with very embarrassing results. We learn that addiction runs in her family. On this particular day she awakens with a partial blackout, which she calls one of her 'grey outs'. She does not remember drinking so much the night before or that she made a phone call late at night but empty bottles and her cell phone testify to the fact.She is determined to get through the day without alcohol, but fails in this resolution.
She proceeds to her job and arrives late and has forgotten about her assigned project. Many unfortunate things occur subsequently due to her drinking problem. She is in denial as to the extent of her addiction. Things proceed to go terribly wrong for her on the same day.
She drinks because she has no true friends and feels alone. The very loss of friends and lovers are the result of her drunken behavior and her neglect of the people in her life. She ignores the few friends she has left but when she wants them displays extreme neediness. She drinks because of terrible and humiliating things that happen to her during these 24 hours, but these very incidents are the result of her drinking which she is attempting to keep secret. She is in an ever closing circle.
This was a powerful study of addiction, and the denial and excuses one makes makes to themselves.
October 3, 2018
THE EMPTY ROOM
Written by Lauren B. Davis
2013; Harper Collins (314 Pages)
Genre: canadiana, fiction, addictions
4 STARS
Colleen wakes up hungover and only has flashes of the night before. As the day progresses her addiction to alcohol comes to the forefront. Colleen thinks back of her family and how drinking and other drugs were the ruination of many of her relative by drinking themselves to suicide, accidents, etc. As people bring her drinking to her attention this only causes Colleen to get defensive and retreat. At the end of the day will Colleen admit her problem and seek help?
I was impressed with the way Davis was able to make Colleen’s life and alcoholism work within a day. We were able to see Colleen’s past through flashbacks and interactions with her mother, father and lovers. I like that the chapters were broken up into smaller sections so that the flashbacks were able to flow better. While Colleen is not an overly sympathetic character you still want to follow her story and want her to get sober. The secondary characters help the tension in the story and give Colleen further dimension. I am sold on Davis’s novels! The Empty Room is definitely worth a read
My Novelesque Blog
Written by Lauren B. Davis
2013; Harper Collins (314 Pages)
Genre: canadiana, fiction, addictions
4 STARS
Colleen wakes up hungover and only has flashes of the night before. As the day progresses her addiction to alcohol comes to the forefront. Colleen thinks back of her family and how drinking and other drugs were the ruination of many of her relative by drinking themselves to suicide, accidents, etc. As people bring her drinking to her attention this only causes Colleen to get defensive and retreat. At the end of the day will Colleen admit her problem and seek help?
I was impressed with the way Davis was able to make Colleen’s life and alcoholism work within a day. We were able to see Colleen’s past through flashbacks and interactions with her mother, father and lovers. I like that the chapters were broken up into smaller sections so that the flashbacks were able to flow better. While Colleen is not an overly sympathetic character you still want to follow her story and want her to get sober. The secondary characters help the tension in the story and give Colleen further dimension. I am sold on Davis’s novels! The Empty Room is definitely worth a read
My Novelesque Blog
June 17, 2016
This is such a good depiction of someone in an alcoholic spiral, and I know what this is all about. I couldn't put the book down -- Colleen is so well developed as the central character, and the storyline moves along at a good clip, and it's exceptionally well written. The other members of my book club loved it as well.
October 28, 2016
A brave, devastatingly honest book about a woman in denial about her addiction to alcohol. A familiar story but the telling is magical with not a word wasted. Like watching a train wreck you can't turn away from but surprisingly hopeful. Utterly convincing.
September 10, 2013
Lauren Davis is one of my top writers this year. I basically read this book in two sittings. It's the story of a woman named Colleen, an alcoholic. This book follows her through 24 hours of her life.
Davis knows how to pull a reader in, and she's a great descriptive writer. I also found the structure of this book interesting. Chapters alternated between backstory and present day, and they were seamless.
This is a tough read because it's depressing and unpleasant, but it's really well done.
Davis knows how to pull a reader in, and she's a great descriptive writer. I also found the structure of this book interesting. Chapters alternated between backstory and present day, and they were seamless.
This is a tough read because it's depressing and unpleasant, but it's really well done.
February 4, 2021
This is the first book I’ve read by Canadian novelist Lauren Davis. It’s her fourth novel. But it will not be the last book that I read by this writer.
This book is real enough to be nonfiction because Davis knows from personal experience what it’s like to have an alcohol addiction.
The main character is Colleen Kerrigan, a single woman nearing 50 years of age, living in Toronto. Her day starts with waking up with no clear memory of the night before. The events that follow take place in one day of her life, alternating with chapters of scenes from her past. The chapters flow nicely. I never felt jarred from the story in any way.
The story is not an easy one. Our main character is an alcoholic. We must journey with her in her addiction and self-destruction, as her life tumbles more and more out of control.
Leaving the reader to question: Will she see that she needs to change? For change means to stop drinking, which to someone who depends on booze is the ultimate fear. How can life go on if there isn’t alcohol in it?
And then the even bigger question: Is life worth living at all?
What decision will Colleen make?
I will not ruin this book for you because it’s worth discovering for yourself.
In an interview that I read online, the author states that she revisited her addiction to write this book. In 2013 she also mentioned that she posts on Twitter, regularly to her followers about how long she’s gone without a drink — at that time it was more than 18 years.
She also said that she hopes this book starts a conversation about alcohol abuse and sobriety. And I agree.
Even though this book is not a new release, I feel it is timeless.
If you haven’t read this book, I suggest you considerate it. I highly recommend it, especially if you’re interested or curious about the thoughts and actions of an alcoholic.
As they say in AA, “Alcohol gave me wings to fly and then it took away the sky”.
I have experienced alcoholism from many sides, from a child growing up with an alcoholic father, to becoming an alcoholic myself, and to being in a relationship with an alcoholic.
I, like the author have over 20 years of sobriety. As a former drinker I know what it’s like to be unable to imagine a life without alcohol, but take it from me, or take it from Davis and her character in this book: life is much better without it!
I commend Lauren Davis for writing such a powerful story.
This book is real enough to be nonfiction because Davis knows from personal experience what it’s like to have an alcohol addiction.
The main character is Colleen Kerrigan, a single woman nearing 50 years of age, living in Toronto. Her day starts with waking up with no clear memory of the night before. The events that follow take place in one day of her life, alternating with chapters of scenes from her past. The chapters flow nicely. I never felt jarred from the story in any way.
The story is not an easy one. Our main character is an alcoholic. We must journey with her in her addiction and self-destruction, as her life tumbles more and more out of control.
Leaving the reader to question: Will she see that she needs to change? For change means to stop drinking, which to someone who depends on booze is the ultimate fear. How can life go on if there isn’t alcohol in it?
And then the even bigger question: Is life worth living at all?
What decision will Colleen make?
I will not ruin this book for you because it’s worth discovering for yourself.
In an interview that I read online, the author states that she revisited her addiction to write this book. In 2013 she also mentioned that she posts on Twitter, regularly to her followers about how long she’s gone without a drink — at that time it was more than 18 years.
She also said that she hopes this book starts a conversation about alcohol abuse and sobriety. And I agree.
Even though this book is not a new release, I feel it is timeless.
If you haven’t read this book, I suggest you considerate it. I highly recommend it, especially if you’re interested or curious about the thoughts and actions of an alcoholic.
As they say in AA, “Alcohol gave me wings to fly and then it took away the sky”.
I have experienced alcoholism from many sides, from a child growing up with an alcoholic father, to becoming an alcoholic myself, and to being in a relationship with an alcoholic.
I, like the author have over 20 years of sobriety. As a former drinker I know what it’s like to be unable to imagine a life without alcohol, but take it from me, or take it from Davis and her character in this book: life is much better without it!
I commend Lauren Davis for writing such a powerful story.
July 17, 2013
I was gripped by this novel from the very first page. It's a very realistic yet sympathetic portrayal of 24 hours in an alcoholic's bleak life, though you'd be surprised by the humour here, too. I found it so absorbing that I could barely put it down, though forced myself to read more slowly as it was one of those books where you fear the ending yet would rather read on and on endlessly. It's seamlessly written, almost conversational at points. I felt as if the character was speaking directly to me, intimately, which made it even more disturbing and worrisome. It's almost an addiction in itself, to read like this, to be this close to the characters. And I now look forward eagerly to hearing the author read from this work when she comes to the Kingston Writersfest in September.
January 24, 2015
Awesome. Gripped from start to finish and the story took place over one day. We watch Colleen Kerrigan lost her job because of alcohol and then witness her denial about her alcoholism as she lurches between her drunkalog past and drunk present. It's how Davis weaves her inebriated behaviour through real life, one painful moment at a time, that held me throughout. SO far the best story on practicing alcoholism that I've read.
February 4, 2021
Riveting, gutwrenching, real, loving
Written with the insight and despair of an active alcoholic and the love and hope through which our Higher Power does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
Written with the insight and despair of an active alcoholic and the love and hope through which our Higher Power does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
September 11, 2014
Couldn't put it down.
March 28, 2014
I loved every page, every word of this book! Well written and believable.
October 26, 2019
This is the second book I have read by Lauren B Davis. Both books have been extremely riveting and difficult to put down.
The Empty Room revolves around the day in the life of a spiraling (downward) alcoholic, who has no idea she is an alcoholic. She needs a nip or a guzzle for just about every event to get her through the day. The alcohol fairies dominate her life, which is very, very bleak.
This one particular day, her demons come home to roost and she nearly fails the test. All the while there really is a guardian earth angel caring deeply about her when all else appears to be lost; her friends, her job, her confidence, her exciting life, her somewhat sociopathic ex (a good thing).
The story reminds me a little of "The girl on the train", without the murder, but so much better. AS the Girl on the Train involved a self denying alcoholic...on a similar downward spiral.
I believe there is a bit of Colleen (the main character) in all of us. We must ask ourselves... how addicted are we...? bBe it to sweets, coffee, smartphones, junkfood, drugs and alcohol. This book addresses these everyday daunting questions, this book lays the foundation of what hitting rock bottom and surviving is all about.
I know the author, I know her father and I went to school with her brothers (now passed away). There is a chapter in the book that reminds me very much about one of the brothers I went to school with. It really struck a very deep chord with me. That character's name is Liam.
I intend on reading all of Ms. Davis's books. As I have read both "Our Daily Bread" and The Empty Room, I'm quite convinced that her other books will keep me riveted and I will remember them for the rest of my life.
The Empty Room revolves around the day in the life of a spiraling (downward) alcoholic, who has no idea she is an alcoholic. She needs a nip or a guzzle for just about every event to get her through the day. The alcohol fairies dominate her life, which is very, very bleak.
This one particular day, her demons come home to roost and she nearly fails the test. All the while there really is a guardian earth angel caring deeply about her when all else appears to be lost; her friends, her job, her confidence, her exciting life, her somewhat sociopathic ex (a good thing).
The story reminds me a little of "The girl on the train", without the murder, but so much better. AS the Girl on the Train involved a self denying alcoholic...on a similar downward spiral.
I believe there is a bit of Colleen (the main character) in all of us. We must ask ourselves... how addicted are we...? bBe it to sweets, coffee, smartphones, junkfood, drugs and alcohol. This book addresses these everyday daunting questions, this book lays the foundation of what hitting rock bottom and surviving is all about.
I know the author, I know her father and I went to school with her brothers (now passed away). There is a chapter in the book that reminds me very much about one of the brothers I went to school with. It really struck a very deep chord with me. That character's name is Liam.
I intend on reading all of Ms. Davis's books. As I have read both "Our Daily Bread" and The Empty Room, I'm quite convinced that her other books will keep me riveted and I will remember them for the rest of my life.
April 5, 2014
The way that Davis writes The Empty Room makes Colleen and her life seem eerily real. It is written in the third person, which is highly effective given Colleen’s plight. The Empty Room takes place over only one long and hopeless day of Colleen’s life, with necessary flashbacks to the past, giving the reader background and context. The thoughts that Colleen has are so primal, uncensored, and unguarded, I felt like they were my own thoughts in my head. When Colleen is drunk and makes a fool out of herself, I would just cringe because it was so uncomfortable for me to even read.
The Empty Room has a lot of detail written into the pages, but it does not slow down the plot. Colleen can spend pages describing her perfume bottles, or her ride down in the elevator of her apartment, yet every word seems to captivate.
Despite a lot of problems, failures, and embarrassments in the past, The Empty Room describes the moment in time that is Colleen’s rock bottom. It was difficult to read about her helpless spiral into despair, and The Empty Room practically had me sympathy-suicidal by the end. Davis was really able to capture what the desperation and loneliness of an addiction must feel like, despite what looks only like self-destruction to us on the outside.
Read the rest of this review, and more of my reviews at: www.bookwookie.ca
The Empty Room has a lot of detail written into the pages, but it does not slow down the plot. Colleen can spend pages describing her perfume bottles, or her ride down in the elevator of her apartment, yet every word seems to captivate.
Despite a lot of problems, failures, and embarrassments in the past, The Empty Room describes the moment in time that is Colleen’s rock bottom. It was difficult to read about her helpless spiral into despair, and The Empty Room practically had me sympathy-suicidal by the end. Davis was really able to capture what the desperation and loneliness of an addiction must feel like, despite what looks only like self-destruction to us on the outside.
Read the rest of this review, and more of my reviews at: www.bookwookie.ca
October 30, 2013
This book was haunting. Lauren B. Davis tackled a difficult subject - writing about an alcoholic, whose primary relationship is with the bottle. I admired how she did it, opting to move between Colleen Kerrigan's hitting-bottom day and experiences in her past that contributed to the self she has become. At first, the flashback into her childhood annoyed me because I'm not a reader (nor a writer) who believes that we need to hear about (or show) a character's complete psychology in order to make them believable. However, in this case, the technique grew on me, especially because the flashbacks were not entirely drawn from her childhood but also from her adult life and they provided variation to what otherwise would have been a fairly dull plot line.
Some reviewers didn't like her propensity to refer to types of alcohol as fairies (ie. vodka being the Russian fairy, etc) but I can see why she did it: it gave the alcohol a personality, a presence other than just being a liquid. It worked for me. The tiny detail that irked me was the repeat of "they don't call it spirits for nothing" five or six times but that's a small thing. Overall, I found this book very readable, dark with a slivered edge of hope, and it's still sitting with me.
Some reviewers didn't like her propensity to refer to types of alcohol as fairies (ie. vodka being the Russian fairy, etc) but I can see why she did it: it gave the alcohol a personality, a presence other than just being a liquid. It worked for me. The tiny detail that irked me was the repeat of "they don't call it spirits for nothing" five or six times but that's a small thing. Overall, I found this book very readable, dark with a slivered edge of hope, and it's still sitting with me.
November 21, 2017
I finished this book just after hearing about the passing of Robin Williams. I can't help but draw parallels between the sadness and misery of severe depression and that of severe addiction. The two are so incredibly related. The feeling of powerlessness is completely overwhelming and sometimes, the only solution seems to be to kill the misery. Unfortunately for some, the death of misery is also the death of a life.
This book captures that kind of searing misery, the supreme despair that is found at the bottom of a bottle and heavily laden with demons and denial. It is said that an addict of any stripe needs to find their bottom before they can crawl out of the pits of their personal hell. Ms. Davis does an incredible job of taking us on the last crawl to the bottom for Colleen, the protagonist of this book. I suspect this is largely due to her own experience at the bottom.
For anyone whose ever struggled with alcohol or has been related to someone whose struggled with alcohol, they'll understand the pain of this book and will likely find it as incredible and disturbing as I did!!!
This book captures that kind of searing misery, the supreme despair that is found at the bottom of a bottle and heavily laden with demons and denial. It is said that an addict of any stripe needs to find their bottom before they can crawl out of the pits of their personal hell. Ms. Davis does an incredible job of taking us on the last crawl to the bottom for Colleen, the protagonist of this book. I suspect this is largely due to her own experience at the bottom.
For anyone whose ever struggled with alcohol or has been related to someone whose struggled with alcohol, they'll understand the pain of this book and will likely find it as incredible and disturbing as I did!!!
April 15, 2015
This book was an incredibly insightful and eye opening look at alcoholism. It really makes you realize that people are not just "drunks", but that they are in fact real people, trying to survive their lives and facing many struggles and challenges. There is more to them than alcohol (or other substances). Despite the heavy nature of the content, this was a quick read and not as depressing as I had expected. I did find the ending a bit abrupt (I find that with a lot of books, especially e-books since I don't have a concept of how close I am to the end). I felt that the climax was pretty much the last line of the book. Is it really possible to go from rock bottom to hopeful that quickly? I would've liked to have learned more about the recovery process since it's not something I know anything about.
August 6, 2014
The story is primarily about one woman's battle with alcohol addiction. It also touches on religion, interracial relationships, aging, mental illness, cognitive impairment, dysfunctional relationships to name a few. All woven together seamlessly into a powerful, engrossing story that will stay with me for a very long time. Lauren B. Davis is an amazing, skilled wordsmith whose writing plucked me out of my life into Colleen's life and had me living her "day from hell" by her side, page after page. I met Lauren before I read the book, she signed my copy with the words: “They don’t call it spirits for nothing” which at the time did not have any meaning to me. Now I get it and I loved finding out how those words related to Colleen!
March 19, 2014
Living in the head of a serious alcoholic is exhausting, even for a day! Lauren Davis takes us inside in this tour de force, alternating the pain of Colleen Kerrigan’s current “worst-day-of-her-life” with flashbacks to the stumbles and fractured relationships that got her where she is. Did you ever look at someone who drinks too much and think, How can she do that? You find out. Along with pain are flashes of intelligent humor and personal insight that give hope those flickers, if nurtured, can lead to a better result than what addiction–and the pretty fairies in the bottle–have in store for her. A wonderful book, and anyone with alcoholics in the family will find greater understanding and validation here.
November 19, 2013
really captures the mental desperation and pain of alcoholism. takes place over one day in a character's life, and is elegantly written, by an author who has been there herself (as has this reader.) if you are not an alcoholic, reading this book could help you understand, and/or help, an alcoholic you know. if none of that applies, it's certainly a well-written novel and a quick read for fiction fans. if you happen to read this site ms davis, your book really took me on a ride within myself; i explored all the old lies and memories (it even tugged on the sinister bit of me that still wants to be off-leash, for a while) and am really glad to be on this side of the hedge.
February 25, 2016
A heartbreaking glimpse inside the mind of a severely depressed alcoholic. I'm sure I know people who are living this nightmare. I can't truely understand how awful it must be, not having experienced it myself, but this book definitely gave me a new perspective to consider before I ignorantly pass judgement. Still, I must admit there were many moments while reading about the day Colleen hits rock bottom that I had a very hard time conjuring up any sympathy for her. From my perspective it just seems so obvious to just simply let go of your pride and ask for help, but like I said, I've never been through it so how would I know, really.
October 17, 2013
An excellent book about a day in the life of an alcoholic. The denial, bargaining, anger, humiliation,...it's all there. And for anyone (like me) who has had to live with or be part of an alcoholic's life, you will be turning pages and nodding your head, kind of like the train-wreck you can't look away from.
Lauren B. Davis is one of the authors who will be reading from her book Empty Room at the International Festival of Authors event in Markham, Ontario, on November 1st. (For anyone who'd like to come and hear LBD, info at www.markhamartscouncil.com ).
Lauren B. Davis is one of the authors who will be reading from her book Empty Room at the International Festival of Authors event in Markham, Ontario, on November 1st. (For anyone who'd like to come and hear LBD, info at www.markhamartscouncil.com ).
August 6, 2016
I loved this book!It follows a day in the life of Colleen Kerrigan, a middle aged alcoholic. Colleen has reached rock bottom and is unable to function because of her addiction. The writing is devastatingly honest and raw. I found the main character to be believable and also likeable, even in the midst of her downfall. It was hard to read at times, but impossible to put down. This is the first book by Lauren B. Davis that I have read; I plan to read her other books as soon as possible! (ps. She also has a great website!)
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