Addiction is a Family Affair By Jodi Takhar

“Jagged Little Lies,” is the second book in the Jagged Series by Lorelie Rozzano. Lorelie is a person in long-term recovery who has worked at Edgewood, a treatment center in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Like myself, Lorelie has been on both sides of addiction, as the addict and as the family member.

In this book, she draws in the family perspective in several different forms. Declan is a son, whose addiction has taken him to jail. Susan is Declan’s mother. She wants desperately to help her son, but can’t until she deals with her own addiction that has crept into her world as a result of the stress of watching her son slowly kill himself. Miranda is Declan’s girlfriend and partner in crime. We see how she enables him to the point where her life is in shambles.

We also get a picture of recovery from Lyndsey our main character in the first book in the trilogy, “Jagged Little Edges.” Lyndsey is in recovery and hell bent on helping anyone she can. She takes in her friend Dee’s son while her friend continues to battle addiction. She becomes involved with Susan through her work and she is able to help other family members through the family program at the treatment center where she works. Lyndsey is learning how to live a sober life and we get to see that it is not always easy. There are struggles, but she can get through if she just doesn’t pick up a drink or a drug.

The Addict Isn’t The Only One To Suffer

Once again Lorelie has written a masterpiece. She has brought together so many pieces of the addiction puzzle in a manner that I could relate to as a mother, an addict, a counsellor and a girlfriend. I understood all the different roles so clearly, and saw myself in everything the characters did. The anger, frustration, and desperation were very evident. I felt very connected to Lyndsey, but also to Susan even though they each had different struggles. The common theme was the powerlessness they both experienced in the world of addiction and the people they cared about.

To Recommend or Not To Recommend

Would I recommend “Jagged Little Lies” as strongly as “Jagged Little Edges”? Absolutely. Most of the time we find the second book is not as interesting as the first, however, that is not the case here. I found “Jagged Little Lies” to be more captivating and the perspective of addiction opened up to include more relationships and the reality was captured in the story.

I am excited the story does not end here. There is a third book to round this series into a trilogy. My next read will be “Jagged No More.” I can’t wait to see what happens next with Declan, Susan and Lyndsey.

For more information on the Jagged series click here

For more information on Jodi Takhar visit her website at www.familiesdorecover.com