Bottled: A Mom's Guide to Early Recovery

by Dana Bowman

An unflinching and hilarious memoir about recovery as a mother of young kids, Bottled explains the perils moms face with drinking and chronicles the author’s path to recovery, from hitting bottom to the months of early sobriety—a blur of pain and chaos—to her now (in)frequent moments of peace. 

Punctuated by potent, laugh-out-loud sarcasm, Bottled offers practical suggestions on how to be a sober, present-in-the-moment mom, one day at a time, and provides much needed levity on an issue too often treated with deadly seriousness.Dana Bowman is a long-time English teacher and part-time professor in the department of English at Bethany College, Kansas. Author of the popular momsieblog.com, she leads and presents workshops on both writing and addiction, with a special emphasis on being a woman in recovery while parenting young children.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

264 pages, Paperback

First published August 17, 2015

Reviews

[Diane Reece · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and side-splitting. Serious humor about a serious topic: addiction. Dana puts all of it out there for us to identify with. (Dang. Ended with a preposition.) I highly recommend you to read this--addiction or not. I bet if you don't have an addiction you know someone who does. Very frank and honest and yes, tears fell while reading, especially chp 25. I identified with a lot of the mom feelings. Brave lady.

[kim paris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book!

I have read many memoirs on this subject. This , along with Caroline Knapps book are my two favorites. The author is sooo funny. She also has a keen way of remembering feelings that someone contemplating sobriety or in early recovery has. I think this is a gift she is handing on to the next one needing help.

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw emotion. Excellent writing and could easily connect with author. This book made me feel like I am not alone in the world.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know the author and the basics of her story. I read this book with mixed emotions: sadness, that she had to go through all this; gladness that she made the choice not to drink and continues to make that choice daily; and immensely proud of her for writing this raw, gutsy book told with humor. She details what it was like to realize she was an alcoholic, to seek help, and what recovery looks like, all while mothering two young boys. The book gives hope for those caught in the web of alcoholism. Those of us who aren't can also learn from the author's experiences and have more understanding. BOTTLED contains lessons for all of us--we all struggle with something.
I received a complementary copy of the book with no expectation of a positive review. All opinions are my own.

[Laura Copley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any mom with small children and a substance abuse problem. Dana Bowman is hilarious and nailed recovery as a mom. Her tips and suggestions are priceless. Way to go Dana! Much respect.

[Heather Cirmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny yet raw memoir about alcohol addiction and recovery. Though I am not an addict, I certainly made alcohol an idol in my life as a mom to young kids. There's a fine line between addiction and idolatry. You may relate to this book more than you expect.

[Marna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bottled is the candid account of a young mother's efforts to control her alcohol addiction. It stresses that one's recovery is forever ongoing, a potentially terrifying commitment for someone who has avoided life's other problems through alcohol.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Dana for sharing your journey. I’m definitely one who found it encouraging and entertaining.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not really into AA or God, but I did appreciate the style of writing. A lovely balance of humour and seriousness.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story. Easy to read.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It was a good, quick read. The author was relatively funny and I appreciate her honesty. I wasn't a huge fan of how constantly God was mentioned, not because I don't value her faith but because it really was overwhelming (plus all of her suggestions included her telling the reader to worship God, referring to God as "He" and "Him", and that can alienate readers of other religions).
The only other thing I didn't understand was why she referenced the Grand Canyon in at least 40% of her analogies. At first I assumed I missed something but I don't think they were meant to tie together.
Three themes I took away from the book, other than alcoholism:
God
Crying all the time
Grand Canyon

[Tracy Quinn McLennan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honest and open account of a mom of two young boys suffering from alcoholism and her struggles with recovery

[Malerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down! Hilarious, excruciating, brave, truth telling. Her "top ten ways" lists had me- and I think any Mom- in stitches.