In her memoir, “Drinking: A Love Story,” Caroline Knapp provided an open and honest account of her 20 year struggle with alcoholism. In April 2002, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. And two short months later, she passed away. We continue to receive condolence messages from readers whose lives she has deeply touched. In honor of National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, we wanted to take a moment to share 5 of the more than 700 condolence messages we have received:
- I checked the audio version of Drinking: A Love Story, read by Caroline Knapp, out of my local library and took it on long road trip. I was so moved by the raw honesty of her writing I had to stop the car more than once to gather my composure. She was clearly a very brave woman and I’m glad that she was surrounded by a loving circle of friends and family when she died. I look forward to reading her latest book, though I find the fact that it is her last devastating.
- thank you for having this guest book. It is through Caroline’s death that I become aware of her work. I will readall of them. Caroline you may be the one that can help my daughter turn around her alcohol problems.
- Just like almost everyone else, I got Drinking, A Love Story at the library…then bought a copy for myself and my daughter. Got on Google to tell her she changed my life and found out that I can’t say it to her. But thank you to whoever is keeping this Guest Book available. It gives us all a chance to at least talk to each other and also to her family about how much her writing has meant to so many. What a legacy.
- Like so many others here, I just read Drinking and was deeply moved by it. I was curious to learn more about Caroline and was stunned to read of her death. I have been a kind of fog all day, just plain sad that she’s gone and hoping I can find a way to make the best use of her hard-won and wonderfully expressed wisdom. She was a great soul and we are lucky to have her in our lives.
- Drinking, a Love Story helped me to come to terms with my own addiction and self-loathing. Caroline Knapp truly made a difference in my life. Her book made me feel as if I was not alone.
We encourage you to visit the Guest Book for Caroline Knapp to read additional condolences and memories, or to share your own.
