Presley Cox’s ALCOHOLPRISM is a short book of poetry designed to provide varying viewpoints of substance abuse, not only alcoholism, but can certainly be applied to other forms of addiction as well.
In the introduction, the author states: Addictions “help us get through the day. They help us push down emotional pain, and there’s plenty of that going around. We need our addictions, at least for a while. Eventually, they turn around and bite us.” Cox takes an unflinching look at addiction and puts it in a form that both served as a means of therapy for him as a recovering alcoholic and which he hopes will serve as inspiration for others, regardless of whether the reader is an addict or simply wants to have some sort of understanding of what being an addict is like.
Addictions of all sorts are prevalent in modern society and dredge up strong emotions and opinions on both sides of the divide: character flaw or disease? Vilify or empathize? Author Presley Cox removes the stigmas that surrounds addiction and substance abuse and puts a human face to it, leaving the judgments for others to argue about—an impressive feat given his own struggles with alcoholism and the judgments he surely must have encountered, both from himself, and those around him. The poetry he’s written probably won’t win any awards, but to consider it in those terms misses the point completely. The wisdom is contained in their simplicity and Cox’s ability to reduce the topic to its barest and most vulnerable moments is striking.
There is nothing enigmatic or ambiguous about his verses. ALCOHOLPRISM will serve as a great “pick-me-up” for those struggling with addiction and will give those on the outside looking in a better understanding of addiction and what addicts go through.
~K.J. Pierce for IndieReader