Title: Every Day is a New Day: A Story of Faith

Author: Jenny Teeters

Genre: Memoir

 

Jenny Teeters was living a lie. She was keeping her severe alcoholism from family and friends. Yet, alcohol dictated her needs. Her need to have a drink early and often led to a car accident where she was nearly arrested by police. Jenny had battled addiction and disease throughout most of her life from drugs to eating disorders. The successes she had in life in both her career and family covered for the hiding of her various addictions.

In November 2019, Jenny had reached her rock bottom moment and came clean to her husband and daughters. Her road to sobriety had commenced. She went to a rehab facility and began drying out. Jenny would begin mending fences in her relationships and within herself upon attending meetings and completing the 12 steps.

Jenny Teeters tells her story of addiction and recovery in a compelling manner from start to finish. The book begins with a moment that nearly led to her addiction being unmasked, but fortune enabled her to escape a reckoning. The book is part emotional catharsis as well as a manual for fellow addicts seeking a helping hand. Teeters’s words evince a deep spirituality, which was a great help with her sobriety. While being a guide for others, Teeters’s language conveys sympathy for those ready to face their addictions.

Jenny is the primary person in the book, yet the autobiography discusses her relationships with family and friends and how alcohol nearly fractured every one of them. She is frank in discussing the exorbitant amounts of alcohol consumed over a typical day. A night of too many drinks led to regrettable behavior around friends and work colleagues. The toxic hold that booze had over her life led her to make unsuitable financial decisions. The daily binges turned into blackouts at night and fuzzy memories the following day. The desire to atone for these past transgressions comes through as sincere in each chapter.

The transition from addiction begins with the moment of clarity, when the addict admits their problem. Despite her admission to herself and her family, the journey to wellness was long and hard. Teeters acknowledges the importance of avoiding the triggers to relapsing and the need for a sponsor to aid in getting better. The 12 steps of sobriety are portrayed as a marathon and not a sprint in how she overcame her addictions. Teeters would need to complete each step according to the satisfaction of her sponsor before moving on to the next one.

The ability of self-reflection is stressed in working the program and staying sober. The author ponders how her need to be noticed at an early age led her down the dark road to addiction. The soul-searching that she must do to help herself is on display throughout the book.

This is a book about overcoming dependence and showing the way for others to do so. The author shares many deeply personal and painful moments from her past. The book would benefit from a few quotes from her family about her progress since November 2019.

Every Day is a New Day is an unsparing look at overcoming alcohol abuse and how Jenny Teeters was able to face this battle head-on. The author provides an encouraging road map for those currently lost in destructive tendencies. This is an outstanding book.

 

 

This Editorial Review was written by the Book Review Directory staff. To receive a similarly honest, professional review for one of your own books, click here.