Pour Me a Life

Written by A. Gill

Narrated by Tim Andres Pabon

An astounding and brilliant memoir, A.A. Gill's Pour Me a Life is a riveting meditation on the author's alcoholism, seen through the lens of the memories that remain, and the transformative moments that saved him from a lifelong addiction and early death.

Best known for his hysterically funny and often scathing restaurant reviews for the London Sunday Times, journalist Adrian Gill writes about his near-fatal alcoholism in this extraordinary lucid memoir. By his early twenties, at London's prestigious Saint Martin's art school, Gill was entrenched in his addiction. He writes from the handful of memories that remain, of drunken conquests with anonymous women, of waking to morbid hallucinations, of emptying jacket pockets that “were like tiny crime scenes,” helping him puzzle his whereabouts back together. Throughout his recollections, Gill traces his childhood, his early diagnosis of dyslexia, the deep sense of isolation when he was sent to boarding school at age eleven, the disappearance of his only brother, whom he has not seen for decades. When Gill was confronted at age thirty by a doctor who questioned his drinking, he answered honestly for the first time, not because he was ready to stop, but because his body was too damaged to live much longer. Gill was admitted to a thirty-day rehab center-then a rare and revolutionary concept in England-and has lived three decades of his life sober. Written with clear-eyed honesty and empathy, Pour Me a Life is a haunting account of addiction, its exhilarating power and destructive force, and is destined to be a classic of its kind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ascent Audio
• Release date: Oct 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781469065168

A. Gill

A.A. Gill was born in Edinburgh, but has lived in London for most of his life. He is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair.

Reviews for Pour Me a Life

[Sadia Shahid · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Recommended for up and coming writers. They could pick up a thing or two about writing. I liked his narrative and writing style with meticulous attention to descriptions.

The last few chapters weren’t that great or interesting. It felt like he simply wanted to finish the book.

[faradaydon_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Were it possible I would give this 10 stars. Simply one of the best books ever.

[janjanfreeman · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Perhaps I thought this book about sobriety might be funny and clever because the author's name is abbreviated to A.A., when he is called "Adrian" throughout the book. On the other hand, I also thought it could be a sobering (pun may or may not have been intended) insight on how addiction affects a person. A vast majority of us have at least encountered someone battling one addiction or another but how many of us have been the person struggling to overcome it?Although I do commend the author for his bravery to be open and honest about his life, alcoholism, and even dyslexia, it just was not a book that kept my interest. Now, I do not mean that in a cold-hearted sense. I am not a reviewer that was scoffing at each page whilst directing my nose higher in the air with each page turned. I am not discounting his experience at all. It is the manner in which the book was put together that I was not altogether pleased with. Instead of this being a book about drowning in alcohol and finding a way to breathe again, this book is instead a rambling monologue of memories patched together. The author reveals that his own father published an autobiography before he passed. In my opinion, this book felt more like an obligation in order to achieve paternal approval (post-mortem) rather than chronicling his journey to overcome addiction. Struggling with dyslexia was something unexpected, however, it still did not seem to be enough to hold my interest. It felt like I sat next to someone on the subway who gave me random pieces of his life story. It was disappointing, to say the least. For those who may be sensitive: there are themes of addiction, alcoholism, open marriages, and foul language.Please note: a copy of this book was generously provided through the Penguin Random House First To Read program in exchange for an honest review.

[brittanylyn · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Personally, this was not a book for me. While insightful and honest, I had a very difficult time with the prose. It was wordy and although there were some beautifully written lines, much of it felt forced. I really enjoyed the more direct narrative of Gill's memories and experiences. However, there were many descriptors that instead of enriching the book made it feel cumbersome. This was not the immersive experience I was anticipating but I do praise Gill for sharing his story.