Sober Truths: The Making of an Honest Woman

by Jill Kelly

Book by Kelly, Jill

Genres: Memoir

221 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2007

About the author

I am a child of the Pacific Northwest, born in a tiny village up the Columbia Gorge in a snowstorm. I grew up in and around Portland, Oregon, then lived for a number of years in California, Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and France before settling into Portland again about 15 years ago.

For two decades I was a college professor of French, English as a Second Language, and writing. When I moved west, I reinvented my life, becoming a freelance editor and writer. Eventually I also developed myself into a visual artist (pastels) and an author (memoir, fiction). For some examples, visit my website.

Sober Truths was written over a 7-year period. I wanted to understand the patterns of my past and the various threads of my present. I wrote over 50 stories and included a bit fewer than half. Memoir can be tricky business as memories are unreliable. In the end, all we can do is tell about our own remembrances, our own realities. I hope you enjoy reading the book!

Reviews

[Audra Larsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good writing. Reveals her promiscuous past without raunchy or explicit details.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this memoir. I listen to it as an audiobook read by the author although someone else in the reviews claims she had a monotone voice but I didn’t mind lol. I believe she read it quite well. I found the story captivating and well written overall

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinely enthralled throughout the story. Thank you for being so honest and vulnerable.
It opened up my understanding of myself and also of my partner! I picked this book up to keep myself busy while he works through rehab and it’s been a huge comfort.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jill Kelly really gets to the core of her emotions, struggles with alcohol and her recovery and discovery of her true self. Beautifully written. I enjoyed reading about her journey.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing and language was a bit simplistic. Basic sentence structure, I did this, I did that, but a good account nonetheless.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a good account of an alcoholics struggles, but i felt depressed reading this... really a downer the first part.

[Dominika · Rating 5 out of 5]

how does this not have 5 stars and at least 50k reads.....

[Jeannine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admire people who battle and conquer their addictions and so the book was interesting to me in that way. The last part of the book (the last 20%) was very new-agey and induced a lot of eye-rolling and page turning, but mostly because that kind of thing, isn't MY thing. Good for her for forging a path that works for her.

A better book about this sort of thing is Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp.

[Heather Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the honesty, and humility the author portrays in this book. She is a very good writer. I felt that when she got to the recovery Part, it became harder to follow, as the stories bounced around time period wise. The last few chapters, I skimmed through as I felt that there was repetition and not as organized information wise.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author turns her astute mind to her own addictions, the choices she has made, and the patterns of her life. I was struck by her unflinching observations--she doesn't pull punches, even with herself. She has become the "Honest Woman" of the title.

[Bridget Benton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book - an honest, personal and well-written story of a struggle with addiction that is still universal. The ending left me hanging slightly; the resolution wasn't tidy. Of course, life isn't tidy either - and Jill Kelly's story is only beginning.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting....