Nice Recovery
From an interview with Zoe Whittall, Quill & Quire,
March 2010
Unlike many addiction memoirs, Nice Recovery isn't a hot mess tell-all. Like Juby herself, it's honest and funny but avoids oversharing.
M.A.C. Farrant, The Globe and Mail
Juby tells her story with such warmth and honesty that it's easy to empathize with both her ascent into alcoholism, for that's what it was for her, and then her spiralling downfall. Her story is also interspersed with the same wonderfully incisive humour that distinguishes her novels, though she is careful to avoid flippancy...her story is, quite simply, an inspiration.
Deirdre Baker, Toronto Star
Apologies and amends have an important role in Vancouver Islander Susan Juby’s hilarious, moving memoir Nice Recovery. Most readers know Juby as the author of the Alice books and other off-beat young adult novels. Here she is autobiographer, confessing her teenage alcoholism and drug habit. She does this with compulsively readable, self-deprecating wit, a candid voice and an entertainer's penchant for the lively turn of phrase. … A cautionary tale, yes, but with energy derived from a spirit of compassion and sympathy. It's as wise, witty and engrossing as any young adult novel I've read recently.
Steven Schelling, Westender
Juby’s journey through addiction and out the other side is thoroughly entertaining, for both adults and older teens… with its honest, forthright presentation of fact, Nice Recovery goes a long way towards reviving a reviled and often (rightly) suspect form of expression.
Bill Robertson, Star-Phoenix
[An] alarming, blunt, and delightfully written memoir… This is a brave and helpful book. It's actually entertaining while it's being ghastly.
Jocelyn Dimm, CM Magazine
Four stars, highly recommended
Alexis Keinlin, Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune
Juby's sheer honesty and straightforward language is engaging. This book is easy to read, and could be read by an adolescent, a parent or an educator. By recounting her story, Juby shows how teens can get into substance abuse, and details the hard process of recovering and enjoying life without chemical stimulants.
Anyone who reads this book will learn something, whether it be about why some people are more prone to addiction or about the recovery process. This is a very important book, and one that should help parents, educators and teens. The book could be an excellent talking tool or guide to start discussions about why people start to drink, and how some people turn to substances to try to help themselves deal with their own insecurities.
By bravely sharing her own story, Juby has undoubtedly helped adults and teens talk about or deal with their own substance issues.