The world is a horrible place, isn’t it? And so much is expected out of each and every one of us, in the world and in ourselves, but almost none of us can truly live up to either of them. So we might look for a little easy gratification, in drugs and alcohol. Or in the case of Joey in this book, an addiction that feels like a requirement to live, that stemmed from an accident that had him on painkillers at a really young age. And Kathleen Glasgow told a lovely and layered tale with this subject I can’t recommend enough.
This book is told not from young drug addict Joey’s point of view but his little sister Emory’s, but who tells this story is not the most pressing. Most drug addictions lead to anger and damage but most definitely don’t lead to the height of tragedy as the death of the innocent high school classmate Candy MontClair. Candy was offered a ride home from a party with Joey driving and Emory with them, Emory suggesting Candy get a ride from them, and a car accident that leads to her death sends Joey to rehab for the summer (could’ve gone a whole lot worse).
And let’s back up just a bit. Emory and Joey come from a very wealthy family. Their mother helped design and pave way for pretty much their entire town, and their father is a big shot lawyer. The writing’s on the wall that they come from money, so it’s not like financial stress was ever in the cards. Their parents are neglectful and dismissive, though. And when Joey returns from rehab, about two dozen restrictions and conditions are put in place by their mother, and if he wants to stay in their household, he has to swallow his pride and abide. And sometimes tough love can get an addict on the road to recovery. But when these restrictions include not being able to see any of his friends, and maintaining good grades while holding down a job with frequent AA meetings, it becomes clear that something bad is bound to happen.
Being the cause of the injury or death of someone else is a huge fear of mine. It would be insane for me NOT to have that. I don’t know if I would ever be able to look myself in the face again if it was my fault a sweet innocent child or youth or adult met their end. And I can’t imagine being young and having to bury my best friend, let alone my son or daughter. We also get the feeling Joey has hated himself for a long time and was waiting for something like this to happen, and becoming someone with that much self-doubt is another thing for me to fear, and Glasgow does a great job of showcasing Emory watching from the sidelines and trying to both make things better and not screw things up more.
There’s also a side story involving a couple of the classes Emory is in. One is an English class where students are so tired of the books they are assigned, either because they have outdated principles, they don’t appeal to them, or the school units are so disorganized that some are assigned a book they’d already read a year prior. I will admit the backlash the students give the teacher in an attempt to read whatever they want is something I was proud of and felt was blown out of the water a bit too much at the same time. If anything, I think the book has a point that more current literature that would appeal more to teens should be considered in some English classes. None of the books I ever read in an English unit really inspired me to pick up more books.
But back to the main theme. One of the biggest things that I think gets overlooked in addiction cases is that flawed parenting is often a factor, and there is not just one way of looking at it. Sometimes it’s not just the poor and addicted-themselves parents that go about recovery wrong but strict, educated, rich and secured parents too. I also appreciate when a work of entertainment acknowledges the very real plights and struggles of teenagers. I don’t know at what point my life was simplest, but it was definitely not during the years I was Emory and Joey’s age.
To put it plainly, for this kind of story, what Glasgow had to get right was the insecurities of addicts and teenagers, and to display that these traits are susceptible to us all, plus think about how changes to a lifestyle to benefit their recovery are important but not always the best solution if given too forcefully. She succeeds on all three. Not to mention there’s a perfect final act. It involves a chilling event that makes you truly wonder how everything is going to end. I enjoy it when books don’t follow a predictable route on its way to the conclusion to keep us guessing. It also sends all the right messages about looking out for those down on their luck and not letting responsibilities get in the way of family. I’ve been considering her other works for a while now, and at this point my expectations for Girl In Pieces have gone considerably up.
William J. McGinn 
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