Drinking the Moon

by Lewis Coleman

Tom’s an alcoholic. But there’s something else. His mum says it’s the time of year. His sister says it’s the full moon. His dad hands him a drink. All he knows is he needs help. In Bushey Trees Psychiatric Hospital, Tom will try to regain control of his life. At first he wonders if there’s anything really wrong with him. But when he befriends patients Sam, Sunni and Luke his line of reality blurs. Will he begin to recover from his illness or take a darker path? Inspired by real experiences, Drinking the Moon is a vivid depiction of life on a psychiatric ward from the mind of a patient.

169 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 24, 2018

About the author

Lewis has been writing for almost his whole life and has countless boxes of poems and unfinished stories to show for it. In recent years he’s been writing and producing plays including The Meeting, about relationships in recovery, and What You Will, a riotous seventies retelling of Twelfth Night.

He loves the outdoors, particularly climbing mountains. His dream is to spend more time writing and to climb Everest. He was born and raised in Halesowen but now lives in Somerset, which he finds to be annoyingly devoid of mountains.

Drinking the Moon is his debut novel.

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom is a recovering alcoholic, like his father before him, and he has had many opportunities to change, to put things right, and now he finds himself as an inpatient at Bushey Tree Psychiatric Hospital.
It is here that the novel (based on real-life events) takes an interesting turn, as Tom finds himself mixing with many other patients, who have mental as well as physical illnesses, and Tom feels that he is taking the space of someone who would be more deserving of it. However, as he accepts the help that he offered, he realises that his drinking problems aren’t just a physical one, it has changed him in ways he is only starting to realise.
Although the book does touch on some dark themes, there is also a lightness of touch too much of the writing, which is Lewis Coleman’s debut. The characters in the book, ranging from the help at the hospital to the people he be-friends, which range from Martin, his near-silent roommate, to Sunni, Luke, and Sam there is a connection between all of them, no matter how fleeting their interactions might have been.
Tom knows what led him here, but the fear of what lies afterwards is also well-drawn, the episode where Tom is on the bus going to the hospital for the first time is also particularly well-drawn, as are the withdrawal symptoms he gets, and the first time he was tempted to buy alcohol when let out of the hospital for a while are particularly strong.
The book is only a short one, at only 160 pages, but it packs a punch with its details, its characters and its situation, and its vivid portrayal of life behind closed doors will stay with the reader for a while after they finish the book.

[Carl Whittaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read Lewis

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, getting to know all the characters and how they muddled along together in the shared living space they found themselves in
As a recovering alcoholic myself I related a lot to Tom, especially with the relationship with his father, I still struggle to visit my father as he still drinks.
Tom's thought processes where very similar to mine, about going mad, do we all have voices ( when our mind is going at 100 miles an hour, is that the same?) , the thoughts that he didn't want to go back there again are similar to mine of not wanting to drink again
I couldn't put this book down, desperate to learn what happened to Tom.
I think many people would enjoy this, especially people like me who never went to Rehab or wasn't an Inpatient anywhere, it shows how close you can feel to people in a short time but you know deep down you may not ever see them again
It was an amazing portrayal of a person at the beginning of the Recovery journey, of the withdrawals, the uncertainty, the thoughts and feelings and the worrying thought of what comes next
Thank you Lewis Coleman
See you on Club Soda soon 😊

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the author's first publication and I found was very well written, and shows a deep account of what it is like to be an inpatient in a mental health setting.

For me what could have made it 5 stars, would be more of a back story with Tom and his dad, as you can clearly see the correlation with this and his drinking - but the discussion around this relationship merely scratches the surface.
Also felt there were too many additional characters/patients discussed and potentially could have been a deeper read focusing on maybe 3 main inpatients.
Jumping from 1st to 3rd person a few times also got a little confusing.
The use of jargon needed to be reduced a little, I am a nurse myself so understood what Tom was talking about ie using certian medications in a sentence makes sense if you know what they are, not everyone does which could confuse/put off non medical readers.

This was very enlightening and positive book for all those suffering with similar issues. Look forward to further reads by the author.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was first drawn to Drinking the Moon because of the setting - I was curious about a novel set in a psychiatric ward.

The novel follows Tom's voluntary admission to the ward for an alcohol detox over ten days. The protagonist is likeable and very human. He's clearly a troubled man, struggling with more than just a fondness drink.

The story is told from Tom's perspective, including snippets of his diary entries - observations on his own mental health and that of the patients around him. It's an effective way to open up a otherwise closed world.

The setting is interesting but ultimately Drinking the Moon is an absorbing window into one man's troubled mind. Well worth a read.

[Rob Coughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful comment on life, mental illness and alcoholism.

A must read for anyone struggling with mental health, alcoholism, or just life in general.
The author paints a sometimes dark, frequently humorous picture of a man who has lost his way through his alcoholism, and finds himself briefly thrown together in a Psychiatric ward with others who have also lost their way for various reasons, and explores, his relationships with them and the insights these give him into his own problems. A must read for anyone with a social conscience, and /or problems of their own. Highly recommended.

[Dave Eldergill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Lewis Coleman’s first novel. There is a vulnerability and honesty in the narrative which allows me a glimpse into the environment of the psychiatric ward. His sympathetic prose avoids the scary place we are taken to by Ken Kessey in “One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest”, yet the text still manages to capture the sense of confusion and claustrophobia of what for most of us are very unfamiliar surroundings.

[Andrea Goddard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a dark at times yet funny read. so true to life, that you find yourself in the same room as the character - with each page you read.

[hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

In one day I read this! Lewis your amazing ... Your book is amazing and definitely has given me an insight into more mental illnesses thank you