Okay, put this one down on the list of books I recommend. This time around, I present to you Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood by Koren Zailckas. These are the memoirs of a New Englander who chronicles her ten years of hard drinking, starting at age fourteen. Koren has a way of speaking with the horrors of alcohol abuse through her high school and college days without getting too gory in the details. Between the bad dates, the blackouts and the vomiting, Koren manages to avoid any jail time or hurting someone else. I would say that this is a good cautionary tale for the women regarding drinking and living. I read this with amazement. I don’t consider myself too far of the chart as far as relating to the youth: I was in high school in the 90’s. On the other hand, I wouldn’t have even known where to begin to get hooch. At any rate, this book is getting mad props from Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times. She’s been traveling to college campuses trying to prop the book and to enlighten some of the women out there regarding alcoholic excess. It’s probably not too late or too early to grab this book for your coed daughters and nieces and sisters.