Before I Let You Go by Jakki Clarke
“Do you or someone you love suffer from the disease of addiction?” I hear this commercial or ones similar at least 20 times a day, through nearly all means of media. And the sad truth is, due to the staggering opioid crisis currently burying our nation, the painful answer for many of us is yes, yes I do.
Kelly Rimmer’s novel Before I let you go (Graydon House Books, 2018) is a gut-wrenching portrait of two sisters braving the battle of addiction: one the tragic addict, the other the enmeshed enabler, both struggling with the dystopia that substance abuse unfurls without mercy.
Rimmer’s eloquent prose captures the horror of having a front row seat to a loved one’s slow suicide through their use of drugs, then being tasked with dealing with the fallout and consequences of the wreckage they’ve caused, while equally demonstrating the addict’s desperate, wretched fight to escape a hell like no other: a prison of her own creation. The portrayal is balanced, gripping and absolutely heart-breaking. But like with any good novel, she lends us hope. And really, with such a devastating topic, could you ask for anything more?
I highly recommend it.
– Jakki