Synopses & Reviews
"For those of us wrestling with demons ― and who isn't? ― Lush is a solace and as powerful as red wine." ― Claire Dederer, bestselling author of Love and Trouble: A Midlife Reckoning
When Loose Girl author Kerry Cohen reached her early 40s, she realized she had a drinking problem. Yes, she could get up on time, bring her kids to school, make dinner, chat with friends, and all around have a normal day, but, throughout it all, Kerry was waiting for her five o'clock glass of wine. Maybe two glasses. Maybe a bottle. Just enough to blur the edges of her life that had become a monotony of vacuuming, carpooling, and disagreements with her husband. Kerry had replaced one addiction with another, instead of seeking sex she was seeking merlot. Instead of intimacy, she craved the fuzziness of a nice buzz.
What she also realized was: she wasn't the only one.
LUSH is a gripping memoir that examines Kerry's struggle with alcohol, a struggle that a rising number of middle-aged women are facing today as alcohol dependency amongst females drastically increases. A wonderfully poignant and relatable follow up to her memoir Loose Girl, LUSH follows Kerry as she attempts to rediscover the awe in her life, leaving past mistakes, regrets, and the bottle behind.
Review
"Kerry Cohen applies her legendary wit and sagacity to women's often subtly destructive dance with alcohol. With great vulnerability and dynamic prose, Cohen examines her own descent into the bottle, its ruinous consequences, and her courageous fight to find her footing in her real life again. This is a story you won't soon forget." Jillian Lauren, New York Times bestselling memoirist of Some Girls: My Life in a Harem and Everything You Ever Wanted
Review
"I love this book. I am this book. Kerry Cohen has written a memoir that wrestles with the subtleties, the ambiguities, the sheer alluring horrifying real-life mess of mid-life alcohol addiction. For those of us wrestling with demons — and who isn't? — Lush is a solace and a stimulant as powerful as red wine." Claire Dederer, bestselling author of Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses
Review
"Raw, intimate and brave, Lush tears apart the usual advice about drinking and addiction (guess what, AA isn't the only answer), and chronicles Cohen's journey toward a healing that at first she can only image. Gorgeously written and audaciously intelligent, here is a controversial and compelling look at finding your own way back." Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Is This Tomorrow and Pictures of You
About the Author
Kerry Cohen is a doctor of clinical psychology and works as a licensed therapist in Portland, Oregon. She is the author of the memoirs Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity, Seeing Ezra: A Mother's Journey Through Autism, Unconditional Love, and the Meaning of Normal, and Girl Trouble. Her work has been featured in the New York Times and Washington Post, and she has been a guest on Dr. Phil and Good Morning America. Her story was also featured on WE Network as part of the documentary The Secret Lives of Women.