ISBN10 1913211037
	
ISBN13 9781913211035
 
The brave and vulnerable poetry collection of Elisabeth Horan's past relationship with alcohol. Unflinchingly honest, Horan holds a light for those who feel they will not reach the other side of addiction.
 
"This is the hole. I go there
On Sundays. I go there after dinners
Before school --- mid work day
After lunch with the boss Mondays

The hole has Hangover coal
To paint my face to smudge
In the acne, rosacea, colloscum"
 
“Alcoholic Betty, we know the story. She died. Or did she? Through the “hours of penance” that is alcoholism and its attendant chaos-math and aftermaths, recurrent false dawns and falsetto damnations, Elisabeth Horan forges a descent/ascension pendulum of fire poems that are not “a map to martyrdom” - but a call to “go nuclear - Repose. Repose.” Alcoholic Betty, we know the story. She died. She died so she could live.” - Miggy Angel, Poet, Author and Performer 
 
"Horan pulls no punches with this incredibly personal, raw, apologetic exposé. This is writing from the very base of the gut, which begins with the most difficult of confessions, and ends with a reformed character "standing unafraid." A very visceral, at times moving read, where the reader shares the journey of an addict fighting their instincts and reaching for something more." - Paul Robert Mullen, Poet
 
"Elisabeth Horan invents new words for pain, tendrils at first, wrapping around ankles to pull us under, show us hurt we may relate to, or torment we may be shocked by. And then a rushing river washing over the heart, leaving us white-knuckled and in need of rest. These poems are a menagerie of raw emotion, weaving the story of a life filled with ache. Alcoholic Betty is a voyage through one woman’s agonizing path towards redemption." - Mela Blust, Poet