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The Bones of My Ghosts
Win a free kindle copy of this book!
14 days and 12:54:21
100 copies available
U.S. only
I used to think this was a book about addiction. It isn’t.
For almost twenty years, Owen Calongne buried himself in drugs and alcohol. He survived everything from arrests to overdoses, with nothing but broken relationships and brief stretches of sobriety in between. Underneath it all was the desperate belief that there would always be one more chance to get his life back together.
In the fever pitch of a drama so outlandish he has to convince himself he actually survived it, Owen found himself surrounded by people the rest of the world had mostly forgotten. Addicts, criminals, gangsters, dealers, friends, lovers, sons, daughters. They got sober together and relapsed together. They lied to one another, stole from one another, forgave one another. And for a while, in the isolated little worlds they built together, they were all they had.
Most of them are dead now.
The Bones of My Ghosts is an ode to those who didn't survive, a love letter to the family who continued caring about Owen even when he gave them every reason not to, and a meditation on the guilt of being alive to tell the story.
And when the worst years are finally behind him, only one question
What do you do with the life that comes afterward?
For almost twenty years, Owen Calongne buried himself in drugs and alcohol. He survived everything from arrests to overdoses, with nothing but broken relationships and brief stretches of sobriety in between. Underneath it all was the desperate belief that there would always be one more chance to get his life back together.
In the fever pitch of a drama so outlandish he has to convince himself he actually survived it, Owen found himself surrounded by people the rest of the world had mostly forgotten. Addicts, criminals, gangsters, dealers, friends, lovers, sons, daughters. They got sober together and relapsed together. They lied to one another, stole from one another, forgave one another. And for a while, in the isolated little worlds they built together, they were all they had.
Most of them are dead now.
The Bones of My Ghosts is an ode to those who didn't survive, a love letter to the family who continued caring about Owen even when he gave them every reason not to, and a meditation on the guilt of being alive to tell the story.
And when the worst years are finally behind him, only one question
What do you do with the life that comes afterward?
384 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2026
About the author
Owen Calongne
1 book10 followersOwen Calongne spent half his life trying to die. Now he's studying what it feels like to be alive.
His first book, The Bones of My Ghosts, is a memoir about the people who kept saving him from himself.
He's currently working on fiction, although he still finds real people more interesting than anything he could invent.
His first book, The Bones of My Ghosts, is a memoir about the people who kept saving him from himself.
He's currently working on fiction, although he still finds real people more interesting than anything he could invent.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
My first official 6/5 stars because I literally can’t stop thinking about this book.
I’m honestly not sure how to put into words the journey this book took me on. Owen reached out and asked if I wanted to read the ARC of his memoir and I said yes. Little did I know that it would break my heart and rebuild it all in 376 pages. It tells the journey of addiction, loneliness, hope, and camaraderie. It delves into addiction in such a raw, brutal way without romanticising anything or giving any false impressions. It shows how addiction may start, how it can unravel and how difficult it is to find the road of recovery.
It explored the importance of support, of having someone be in your corner despite having seen the dark parts of your soul, and how its human connection that will bring you back from the brink of death. I cried, I laughed, I raged. It was such a moving memoir and I am so honoured to have read it.
This memoir is perfect for those people who need to know that no matter how dark and scary the world is, there are people in your corner, people who will wait for you until you’re ready. People who will see your messy and your dark and your past, and they will still be there. That is what I took from this memoir. Thank you for sharing your story🤍
TW: addiction | substance use | violence | gun violence | self harm | suicidal ideation
I’m honestly not sure how to put into words the journey this book took me on. Owen reached out and asked if I wanted to read the ARC of his memoir and I said yes. Little did I know that it would break my heart and rebuild it all in 376 pages. It tells the journey of addiction, loneliness, hope, and camaraderie. It delves into addiction in such a raw, brutal way without romanticising anything or giving any false impressions. It shows how addiction may start, how it can unravel and how difficult it is to find the road of recovery.
It explored the importance of support, of having someone be in your corner despite having seen the dark parts of your soul, and how its human connection that will bring you back from the brink of death. I cried, I laughed, I raged. It was such a moving memoir and I am so honoured to have read it.
This memoir is perfect for those people who need to know that no matter how dark and scary the world is, there are people in your corner, people who will wait for you until you’re ready. People who will see your messy and your dark and your past, and they will still be there. That is what I took from this memoir. Thank you for sharing your story🤍
TW: addiction | substance use | violence | gun violence | self harm | suicidal ideation
October 20, 2026
What a trip. This book left me sobbing on a park bench in the best way possible. It opened up conversations with family and friends and gave me perspective into the struggles of people closest to me.
The power of a great book moves beyond the physical pages and into our relationships with one another.
This is one of those great books.
The power of a great book moves beyond the physical pages and into our relationships with one another.
This is one of those great books.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Thank you so much to the author for sending me a ARC 💖
The Bones of My Ghosts completely gutted me. This is not an easy memoir to sit with but it is such an important one. Owen Caldwigne writes about the ghosts that live in our bones, the memories, the trauma, the things we try to bury but that still shape us.
It is raw, poetic and so painfully honest. It is not just about pain, it is about survival and learning to carry your ghosts with you instead of letting them haunt you.
Thank you so much to the author for writing something so vulnerable 🩷
The Bones of My Ghosts completely gutted me. This is not an easy memoir to sit with but it is such an important one. Owen Caldwigne writes about the ghosts that live in our bones, the memories, the trauma, the things we try to bury but that still shape us.
It is raw, poetic and so painfully honest. It is not just about pain, it is about survival and learning to carry your ghosts with you instead of letting them haunt you.
Thank you so much to the author for writing something so vulnerable 🩷
Review of advance copy received from Storygraph
Sloppy writing, makes me question if the author was sober when they wrote this. The plot is no better, holes galore. Very poor attempt at writing overall.
November 7, 2026
WOW. Is this THE new quit lit bestseller? I think it should be.
When Owen reached out and asked if I’d be interested in reading his memoir about addiction, recovery, relapses and sobriety, it was an easy and curious yes.
I’m four years sober myself, and I’ve seen first hand the devastation that addiction leaves in its wake. Families broken and lives lost.
So, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this memoir, but wow. It surpassed any expectations I had of literature on the subject and anything I’ve read previously, quite frankly.
Firstly, Owen can WRITE. 👏
His storytelling is a craft. The brutal honesty, the way he weaves together the chaos, the heartbreak and the sheer madness of his experiences, is incredible. It feels less like reading a memoir and more like sitting with a friend who’s telling you the most unbelievable story you’ve ever heard, whilst your jaw drops to the floor. Except it’s all true.
At times, I genuinely felt like I was watching a Netflix documentary or a film unfold. Crime, gangs, m*rders, lies, stealing, heartbreak. It’s fucking wild. I laughed, gasped, cried and flew through the pages.
There are 371 pages. Most of them I devoured in less than 24 hours. I genuinely couldn’t put it down.
But beyond being an extraordinary memoir written with unbelievable storytelling skill and a writing style that keeps you GRIPPED, I genuinely think this is one of the most important ‘quit lit’ books I’ve read. Even if that’s not its official or intended genre, I feel like it needs adding to the list of key books to read if you want to quit or have quit. It holds up a pretty big mirror, if you’re willing to look.
One message that came through particularly loudly for me from Owen’s memoir came back to a key topic - COMMUNITY.
Somehow, the author and I were teenagers five years apart, in completely different parts of the world, yet we’d seemingly hung out with the same people and found ourselves in the same rooms. I feel like this book highlights just how important the people you surround yourself with are to the decisions you make and where life takes you. I appreciated also that the author skilfully writes about the people that led to this difficult journey, with consideration and without judgment. It also shows you how important a supportive community is to sobriety and recovery.
I urge anyone questioning their relationship with alcohol, drugs or both to read this. We are so good as a society at convincing ourselves that we’re not THAT bad. We’re still functioning. We haven’t lost everything. Laugh it off. And even in recovery, once the pink cloud passes by, those rose tinted glasses start creeping back in.
Read a book like this and you’ll remember just how quickly things can unravel. You don’t need to reach rock bottom depths, lose everything or experience the devastation addiction can bring to recognise parts of yourself or your experiences in Owen’s story. This book shows you what can happen if you keep going. It also shows you that life can change for the better, recovery is possible.
Whether you’re struggling, sober, sober curious, in recovery or love someone who is, please read this book. It’s brutally honest, gripping, heartbreaking and ultimately, a reminder that you’re not alone. 🤎
Thank you, Owen, for trusting me with your story. From a stranger on the internet 😊, I’m proud of you.
#quitlit #sobriety #sobercurious #sober #addictionrecovery #memoir
When Owen reached out and asked if I’d be interested in reading his memoir about addiction, recovery, relapses and sobriety, it was an easy and curious yes.
I’m four years sober myself, and I’ve seen first hand the devastation that addiction leaves in its wake. Families broken and lives lost.
So, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this memoir, but wow. It surpassed any expectations I had of literature on the subject and anything I’ve read previously, quite frankly.
Firstly, Owen can WRITE. 👏
His storytelling is a craft. The brutal honesty, the way he weaves together the chaos, the heartbreak and the sheer madness of his experiences, is incredible. It feels less like reading a memoir and more like sitting with a friend who’s telling you the most unbelievable story you’ve ever heard, whilst your jaw drops to the floor. Except it’s all true.
At times, I genuinely felt like I was watching a Netflix documentary or a film unfold. Crime, gangs, m*rders, lies, stealing, heartbreak. It’s fucking wild. I laughed, gasped, cried and flew through the pages.
There are 371 pages. Most of them I devoured in less than 24 hours. I genuinely couldn’t put it down.
But beyond being an extraordinary memoir written with unbelievable storytelling skill and a writing style that keeps you GRIPPED, I genuinely think this is one of the most important ‘quit lit’ books I’ve read. Even if that’s not its official or intended genre, I feel like it needs adding to the list of key books to read if you want to quit or have quit. It holds up a pretty big mirror, if you’re willing to look.
One message that came through particularly loudly for me from Owen’s memoir came back to a key topic - COMMUNITY.
Somehow, the author and I were teenagers five years apart, in completely different parts of the world, yet we’d seemingly hung out with the same people and found ourselves in the same rooms. I feel like this book highlights just how important the people you surround yourself with are to the decisions you make and where life takes you. I appreciated also that the author skilfully writes about the people that led to this difficult journey, with consideration and without judgment. It also shows you how important a supportive community is to sobriety and recovery.
I urge anyone questioning their relationship with alcohol, drugs or both to read this. We are so good as a society at convincing ourselves that we’re not THAT bad. We’re still functioning. We haven’t lost everything. Laugh it off. And even in recovery, once the pink cloud passes by, those rose tinted glasses start creeping back in.
Read a book like this and you’ll remember just how quickly things can unravel. You don’t need to reach rock bottom depths, lose everything or experience the devastation addiction can bring to recognise parts of yourself or your experiences in Owen’s story. This book shows you what can happen if you keep going. It also shows you that life can change for the better, recovery is possible.
Whether you’re struggling, sober, sober curious, in recovery or love someone who is, please read this book. It’s brutally honest, gripping, heartbreaking and ultimately, a reminder that you’re not alone. 🤎
Thank you, Owen, for trusting me with your story. From a stranger on the internet 😊, I’m proud of you.
#quitlit #sobriety #sobercurious #sober #addictionrecovery #memoir
October 12, 2026
Every once in a while you come across a book that hits you so deeply it haunts every minute you’re not reading it. This is one of those books.
Most of us have someone in our lives that has struggled with addiction but many of us don’t realise the toll on those who are consumed by it. We hear it on the news, we see the crime, we hear about America’s problems with opioids but we are detached from the issue because it isn’t affecting us. One of the reasons I love reading is because it can give you an insight into the lives of others, it lets us experience things through a different lens and that is exactly what this book achieves.
What I admired so much about this book was Owen’s unflinching honesty. To be so open about the worst days of your life, take accountability for the hurt and damage you’ve caused to the ones around you takes real courage. Some people don’t make it and as Owen’s memoir states, he lost a lot of people before he got clean, it’s that loss of life and the vicious circle of addiction that eats you from the inside out that hits the hardest. This book evoked genuine emotion for me, I felt like hopeless bystander and at times found myself shouting at the book “Owen NO!!!” But that aside you can’t help being in awe of all Owen’s been through and the resilience he has shown to be where he is today.
I adored this book, it’s raw, it’s honest and it shows a side of addiction in great depth that we very rarely get a glimpse at. There are times when I thought Owen was far too hard on himself but I also understand that it’s probably that thought process that allowed him to get clean in the first place. You’ve lived a thousand lives Owen and if no one else says it to you today. I’M FUCKING PROUD OF YOU!!!
Most of us have someone in our lives that has struggled with addiction but many of us don’t realise the toll on those who are consumed by it. We hear it on the news, we see the crime, we hear about America’s problems with opioids but we are detached from the issue because it isn’t affecting us. One of the reasons I love reading is because it can give you an insight into the lives of others, it lets us experience things through a different lens and that is exactly what this book achieves.
What I admired so much about this book was Owen’s unflinching honesty. To be so open about the worst days of your life, take accountability for the hurt and damage you’ve caused to the ones around you takes real courage. Some people don’t make it and as Owen’s memoir states, he lost a lot of people before he got clean, it’s that loss of life and the vicious circle of addiction that eats you from the inside out that hits the hardest. This book evoked genuine emotion for me, I felt like hopeless bystander and at times found myself shouting at the book “Owen NO!!!” But that aside you can’t help being in awe of all Owen’s been through and the resilience he has shown to be where he is today.
I adored this book, it’s raw, it’s honest and it shows a side of addiction in great depth that we very rarely get a glimpse at. There are times when I thought Owen was far too hard on himself but I also understand that it’s probably that thought process that allowed him to get clean in the first place. You’ve lived a thousand lives Owen and if no one else says it to you today. I’M FUCKING PROUD OF YOU!!!
November 8, 2026
I generously received a copy from Owen after he reached out to me. I can’t say that I have experienced what he went through, but I can say that I have been on the loved-one side of things.
With the drugs and the crime, I thought this was going to be a really tough read for me. However, I have to say that I devoured this book, it read like a crime novel, to the point where I had to remind myself that this happened in real life. It was heartbreaking to know what Owen has gone through but I felt supreme pride when I got to the end and found out he now has an enjoyable life. I did cry so make sure you have tissues for the end.
In the epilogue he queries why he survived this ordeal when others he has met along the way are no longer with us, but I think this book and the work he is currently doing are the reasons. To be the change he knows the world needs.
With the drugs and the crime, I thought this was going to be a really tough read for me. However, I have to say that I devoured this book, it read like a crime novel, to the point where I had to remind myself that this happened in real life. It was heartbreaking to know what Owen has gone through but I felt supreme pride when I got to the end and found out he now has an enjoyable life. I did cry so make sure you have tissues for the end.
In the epilogue he queries why he survived this ordeal when others he has met along the way are no longer with us, but I think this book and the work he is currently doing are the reasons. To be the change he knows the world needs.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews