Sven Birkerts

Lessons and Carols

Counseling, Grief & Mental Health

“Memoirs composed of sections are tempting to a writer, but the deeper difficulties belie the seeming ease. The overall rhythm, the weave of recurrence, the manipulation of the timeline—every element must be tuned by instinct. John West has that instinct. In Lessons and Carols, he offers a wincingly vivid account of freeing himself from the long embrace of alcohol. Self-scouring at every turn, the memoir eventually pays off in shocks of joy and affirms the grounding sobriety of parenthood.”