By Patrick Holmes
Three. Two. One. That’s all it took to hope for change in the next year for Jess. The countdown for the new year was the end of her long-standing relationship with ex-boyfriend, Ben. Her life now began to hit rock bottom on the hour where everyone believed their lives could only go up from there.
“The Morning After Memoirs,” by Kate Michaels is a novel constructed through alcoholism, hook ups and women in their late 20’s trying to be younger again. It just the right dose of entertainment needed to release a laugh after maybe every 25 pages.
The read consists of a failed relationship, an almost 30-year-old woman pining after every guy who gives her the slightest attention, and a hysterically sexual and teenage oriented lifestyle.
“I was determined to get my life back on track,” said Jess, twenty pages into book. Almost every ten pages was her, either alone or with friends, trying to put some alcohol into her system. While people cope in many different ways, she chose her poison, alcohol.
Throughout the book, Jess works through life issues almost as if she is having a midlife crisis, despite her relatively young age. A reality for Jess is that she is boy crazy, shown through her obsessive crushes over her co-worker turned-boss Mark, “Hot Waiter Number Two,” Paul, friend of a friend Stuart, and a plethora of other acquaintances.
Jess behaves as if she is back in her teenage years, although she is legally allowed to consume as much alcohol as she wants, wherever she wants. Despite the many sexual encounters, stupid mistakes and bad decisions, the main character’s progression through the book allows her to grow.
While she is trying to get her life back together, many people can empathize and care that Jess is at least trying, no matter how many mistakes she makes. With the realization that she needs to make changes in her life, she does, little by little.
She is a whiny, conceited, almost thirty years old in the
beginning, who cheats on her longtime boyfriend on New Year’s Eve. With each chapter and life event, it seems that she gets closer and closer to rock bottom, as each decision she makes leads her to being even more single, semi-jobless and living back with her parents.
Family values are not Jess’s specialty, as she insists that her brother is annoying, her sister is awkward, and her dad is the epitome of the word, “weird.” Her mother is the only one who is closest to her, and yet she still categorizes her into the family she never wanted.
“I felt like I wanted to get my phone out and take a selfie of this momentous occasion where I actually had my shit together,” said Jess. Despite all the alcohol she has consumed, she is aware of the changes being made and the progress being taken. She has gone from a lonely, frazzled mess to slightly okay and semi-successful Jessica.
“The Morning After Memoirs” is an example of a present day woman and her daily escapades, however stereotypical and alcohol based the plot may seem. Through countless sexual partners and love interests, Jess finds herself face to face with a decision. She turns 30, survives Christmas with her family, and has an unexpected New Years Eve. You’ll be quite surprised with the ending, and most likely be a bit jealous.
