The Coffee Maker

by Jack Grisham

James T. is the Coffee Maker. Sober more than half his life—30 years in a twelve-step program—and he's at odds with his belief. He knows that without recovery, he’d be dead, but he questions the process and the voices in the rooms that say, Do this, get that.
He’s seen the failures, the spiritual pride, the long-time members who have made themselves gods. How do you keep an open heart when it’s torn from your chest over and over? Is there a limit to how many deaths you can witness before you go cold? How do you sit, day after day, listening to the lost tell the rooms—and themselves—that this time will be different?
The Coffee Maker is the first serious novel to capture the sober community at its best and worst.

215 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 13, 2024

Reviews

[Allan MacDonell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Copyrighted to Jack Grisham and attributed to nom de lush James T., The Coffee Maker is a guided tour of the Alcoholics Anonymous legion of freedom from substance enslavement. The characters and their circumstances exhibit the pathos and battered panache of actual juicers to be found in true-life recovery congregations. Conflicting outcomes cast clarity and reality upon all the extremes of defeat and triumph. The Coffee Maker is a true believer’s thank-you letter to a rescued life.

[Scott Knopf]

Great stories and tales to read it is really enjoyable to read I just bought it and can’t put it down.Well written Jack!👍🏻👍🏻

[Kevin Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a quick read that wasn't easy. If you or someone you love is in recovery you'll recognize yourself or them in these characters. I really liked every character and found myself openly getting teared up a few times.
I needed a big deep breath and some time to think after finishing this.
It says it's fiction, but I have an idea that these people are all based on reality to some extent.
Do yourself a favor, make yourself a pot of coffee and dig in.

[Mykle Grey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this back in early 2024 when its ARC was loaned to me by a personal friend of its author, Jack. While this book likely ranks high for those who are die-hard believers of the Christian religion-based AA cult family; I just couldn't get behind this book at the time of my first read.

Fast forward to present day; I was invited to reread it for an AA buddy read at a local "home group". I was hesitant to jump in on this buddy read as my first experience was less than impressive. Alas, even months later upon a second read I just did not enjoy this read. It was a struggle to get through the first time much less on a reread.

Firstly, there are some dozen or so characters introduced within its first couple short chapters. This is a novella. There is no need for this many characters in such a short book. None. Way, way too many POVs.

Also, the incessant narrations (included in italics) after just about every other paragraph - sometimes back-to-back - is just so incredibly extra. It's completely jarring to the overall story and breaks concentration of the story itself.

If you are reading this review before going into the book - do yourself a favor and skip all the narrations (again, written in italics). It reads much more fluidly without the cumbersome interjections/interruptions.

Noteworthy: I personally, do not endorse nor do I promote AA whatsoever other than to take advantage of its offering of networking with other sober human beings. I do not buy into it's cultish propaganda or its self-righteous audacity. AA believes firmly that one absolutely _cannot_ live soberly without "surrendering" to "God" It indoctrinates it's members like some cult into believing that you have nothing to do with being sober - that only some almighty, all-powerful god-being keeps your sober. Wrong, at the end of the day it is the human being him/herSELF that makes the daily decision to exercise the discipline (through perseverance and tenacity) to abstain from alcohol - or any addiction for that matter be it substance or process. "God" didn't force us to become an addict, or we'd have been born with it; we did that to ourselves. That being the case, "God" certainly doesn't keep us abstinent from our addiction (whatever that may be for us). It's a simple concept known as FREE WILL! Give yourself the credit for your daily hard work and effort to abstain and maintain your sobriety.

I highly, HIGHLY recommend checking out other programs that don't preach ficticious religion. SMART Recovery, Refuge Recovery or Recovery Dharma are solid "step-programs" for those caught up in addiction and all three of these are exceptionally all-inclusive and open-minded programs that do not shove false religion down your throat with the threat of guaranteed relapse if you don't conform precisely to and follow their specific set of beliefs as a way of life. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Chris Tilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perspective is an honest look into what it's really like to be new or have experience in the recovery way of life. Engaging stories that hit! I've been told by people in the rooms, "You will see yourself in the literature." The struggles in the characters are hauntingly familiar. I see my self in them. Especially in the struggles with faith and learning to trust others as we begin to look for guidance in unfamiliar territory. Today I work in treatment and have for nearly a decade and I see glimpses of the characters in my own life as well as the lives of the people I get to work with. I would recommend this to anyone in recovery or even a family member who is having to understand some of the struggles that we face in recovery. This is the real deal!

[Travis English · Rating 3 out of 5]

An AA fiction book; tells the story of a few newcomers as fictional characters. I liked it.

I little disclosure: "James T" is a buddy of mine. Or, at least, I see the guy every Wednesday at a meeting I go to. Him and "Sarah" both come; I actually know "Sarah" a little better than "James".

So, when I read this, the voice is very familiar to me. For the most part, that's a good thing. I may have enjoyed something more foreign to me, or, at least more diverse. There were some chances to develop a few more "old timer" characters that came in with some other bents. There's one good scene where "James" has lunch with one of his mentors. I could have used a little more of that.

All in all, I enjoyed the story. There's a couple of newcomers that we meet in the beginning of the book. Their paths and fates vary, as is the case. So, the book does a good job of that. The newcomer characters are reasonably diverse, too, which is a good thing. I liked how the book captures the culture of a club, its old-timers, and how new people come in and discover it. That's all well done, entertaining, and good stuff.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read !!