Rachel Resnick hits her forties single, broke, depressed, childless, a train wreck. After an ex-boyfriend breaks into her home and vandalizes it, Resnick takes the time to look back over her romantic and sexual history to ask the question: What is wrong with me? Thus begins her quest to uncover the roots of love and sex addiction, every bit as toxic and damaging to life as heroin. Love Junkie charts Rachel Resnick's harrowing emotional journey from addiction to intimacy, from despair to hope. By peeling back one painful layer after another, what she discovers is a glaring pattern: she is addicted to the fantasy of romantic bliss, marriage, and children. Yet all her relationships proved impossible. At the root of her issues: a Dickensian childhood experience. Finally she confronts her alcoholic mentally ill mother' suicide. In this groundbreaking, compulsively readable memoir, Resnick flays her own psyche in search of the truth, cracking open one of the more elusive and pervasive addictions of our time.
I received this book as part of Elle's early reader program. I was picked this time as a non-fiction reviewer. They pick a theme for the month and send you three books to read on that topic. At the end of the year, you also review the top non-fiction books from the other months. This months theme, loosely, was mental illness and addiction. I probably wouldn't have picked this book up if it weren't for this program.
I received this book as part of Elle's early reader program. I was picked this time as a non-fiction reviewer. They pick a theme for the month and send you three books to read on that topic. At the end of the year, you also review the top non-fiction books from the other months. This months theme, loosely, was mental illness and addiction. I probably wouldn't have picked this book up if it weren't for this program.
I have pretty much been staying away from the "I had a terrible childhood and now it ruined my life" type books. I have found them, for the most part, to be depressingly similar. The authors put themselves in poor situations time and time again, and wonder why the outcome never changes. This one wasn't much different.
Resnick claims to realize she is a love junkie, and maybe she really does see the problem and want to change. However, this book seems to be written more to shock, and as a catalog of her sexual exploits. The writing also rambled a bit, switching from past to present without much rhyme or reason. Overall, it was a quick read, but not very satisfying. 2 stars
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