Not the best recovery biography I've ever read but ok. Jumped around a bit too much and I found myself having to reread parts to catch on to the timeline. ( )

Pull out your powdered wigs and gavels, everyone, because judgments are incoming!

Blackout Girl is a book about one woman's journey into addiction at age 12 to her recovery 10 years later. Along the way, terrible, terrible things happen because of her poor decisions, the company she keeps, and her family. Yes, her family. I place partial blame on her parents. Jennifer Storm has a lot of love for her father and disdain for her mother. It's clear she doesn't blame her father for his poor parenting skills or lack of involvement, but there is a lot of blame for her mother along the way. I blame all three equally for the route Jennifer's life took. This book hits all of the qualifications for addiction: traumatic emotional event? Parental divorce? Siblings involved with a "bad crowd"? No parental rules, supervision, or involvement? Between the cutting, the drugs, and the staying out all night, I wanted to stage an intervention with the entire family.

I believe some people do have a genetic disposition for addiction, and Jennifer Storm also lived in an environment that created the perfect storm for her life's journey. Kudos to her for finding her way out before she killed herself, and she seems to have come to terms with who she is and has a relatively normal adult life.

You will want to shake her and her parents along the way, but stick with the story until the end to hear what she had learned and how she made a commitment to change her life one day at a time. Then go hug your kids and tell them to never, ever touch drugs, and ground them for a week just to be safe. Just kidding! Mostly. ( )

I enjoyed this memoir more when it got towards the end, and Jennifer was in her healing process. The beginning and middle parts were difficult for me to read, mainly because I felt so angry at her for her actions. Her behavior was so self-destructive...and I felt sorry for her parents.
This is why I gave it a three star rating. However, towards the end of her story, I warmed up to her a great deal. She overcomes her addictions, attends college, and chooses a profession that is perfect for her. I found this to be a good but challenging read. ( )

Reviewed by Dianna Geers for TeensReadToo.com

Based on her real-life experiences, Jennifer Storm shares her difficult but triumphant story. Drinking, blackouts, drugs, addiction, and suicide attempts were all parts of her life in her teens and early twenties.

As you read about Jennifer's experiences, you will be amazed --- because the entire time you are reading her story, you know that she is writing her story, so she has to get better, right? And there are things so out-there that one would either think that there is no way this person would ever have a normal life or that the story must be fiction. But both of those thoughts would be incorrect.

What I loved about this book was that Jennifer was not afraid to share the ugly side of her addiction and substance abuse--it took her to some very daunting places that many would be too ashamed to share. I also was happy that hers was such a success story. When Jennifer decided that she was finished with that lifestyle, she was truly finished. (Of course, she received help to do so.)

Often times, our strengths are also our weaknesses....the fact that once she decides to quit using, she is able to do it will offer hope to many, because it can happen. However, for those who have tried to stop but have relapsed, I hope it doesn't send them the message that a relapse means they won't be able to get better the next time. Or the next. Or the next.

Regardless, Jennifer's story is one worth reading. My best wishes to her and her continued success. ( )