That said, from the very first chapter I felt this was different. Claudia and Morgan have written something that was as riveting as anything I have read.
Yes, it was voyeuristic, sad, even titillating, but not in the way you would expect. Yes, it was also a tell-all story, but more than the sum of its parts.
As I read through each page and chapter, I got the sense that writing this book may have been somewhat cathartic, a kind of cleansing, where she was able to release some of her intense emotional feelings. Her story is intense and at the same time it was inspirational.
I found her life spread out for the reader to make what they will of it; but that didn't matter. It was evident from the beginning Claudia Christian was not going to hold back in telling her story.
Her spiral down the rabbit hole is clear for the reader to grasp as failed relationships, bad judgement and poor decisions only compounded her depression and drinking. That in turn creates further bad decisions and behaviour. You start to think the rabbit was not getting out of this hole.
But we have the benefit of watching from the side lines. It is always easier for someone on the outside to sit in judgment and say, “how could she not have seen that coming?” Humans tend to judge before they think, it has always been one of society’s failings in my opinion. Maybe that’s why I gravitate toward science fiction where I can imagine that in the future humanity has purged its own demons of blame and judgement.
It is hard to imagine Claudia living through that downward spiral every day. The writing is very good at conveying her pain, confusion and sense of loss including her fears.
At the same time we see a Claudia that has the courage of Commander Susan Ivanova and she introduces us to her 'Monster', where this monster is of her own making and it takes both courage, strength, and the love from family and her real friends to overcome the monster that may well lie in all of us. In reading her account of how the addiction took hold I sensed her fear. Fear of losing her past, fear of screwing up the present and fear that there would be no future.
Claudia herself writes that, “…it's a book I've written to help others – it's a story of hope for those suffering from alcohol addiction and their families…” It is a story of hope, that much is clear.
Claudia went to AA and therapy (one occasion I would describe as scary at best) and she does not hold back in telling about the numerous stops and starts in trying to get her addiction under control. I began to feel a bit demoralized myself after reading about the binge purge cycle she found herself in.
She is finally at her lowest point when she learns about something that may just work for her. This is when Claudia introduces us to the ‘Sinclair Method’ for treating alcohol addiction. She is adamant that this is what saved her life. Sceptical at first, she tries it and it really worked! Reading about her climb out the dark pit her monster (with her help) dug for herself is a moving.
Millions of people suffer from alcohol addiction worldwide and millions die each year. Claudia has found a treatment that has worked for her and she is sharing that with the world.
While this is the first time I have heard of the ‘Sinclair Method’, I am sure it will not be the last. This method has worked wonders for her and her story gives us concrete examples of what it has been able to do.
Babylon Confidential is a compelling read and I would recommend it to anyone. The writing is clear and descriptive. It weaves humour with the sad reality that is addiction but it also does not ask for pity. It asks for your attention, your understanding and it is an open and honest telling of her life; her rise, fall and with lots of hard work and some help from family and friends (and of course of the ‘Sinclair Method’), her getting it together to rise again.
'Babylon Confidential: A Memoir of Love, Sex, and Addiction’ is available in hard cover and eBook formats through Amazon online and book stores in the U.S. and through Chapters Indigo and its affiliated book stores, and Kobo online in Canada.
