Everything is Horrible and Wonderful: A Tragicomic Memoir of Genius, Heroin, Love, and Loss

Today's Nonfiction post is on Everything is Horrible and Wonderful: A Tragicomic Memoir of Genius, Heroin, Love, and Loss by Stephanie Wittels Wachs. it is 288 pages long and is published by Sourcebooks Inc. The cover is yellow with a picture of Harris Wittels on it. The intended reader is someone who is interested in family memoirs. There is some foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

Blurb from Hoopla- The space between life and death is a moment. But it will remain alive in me for hundreds of thousands of future moments. One phone call. That's all it took to change Stephanie Wittels Wachs' life forever... Her younger brother Harris, a star in the comedy world known for his work on shows like Parks and Recreation, had died of a heroin overdose. How do you make sense of such a tragic end to a life of so much hilarious brilliance? In beautiful, unsentimental, and surprisingly funny prose, Stephanie Wittels Wachs alternates between her brother's struggle with addiction, which she learned about three days before her wedding, and the first year after his death, in all its emotional devastation. This compelling portrait of a comedic genius and a profound exploration of the love between siblings is A Year of Magical Thinking for a new generation of readers. A heartbreaking but hopeful memoir of addiction, grief, and family, Everything is Horrible and Wonderful will make you laugh, cry, and wonder if that possum on the fence is really your brother's spirit animal.

Review- A moving memoir of love and loss. Stephanie Wittels Wachs records her life with her brother Harris Wittels and what his loss did to her and her family. It is heartbreaking to read about her family trying to help Harris deal with his heroin addiction but it is an uphill fight and Harris is not fighting. In the end he overdoses and throws his family into a group depression that Wittel Wachs carries with her every day. I did not find much humor in this book but it was moving and tragic with a family weathering a great loss. If you enjoy memoirs or where/are a fan of Harris Wittels then you should give this a look.

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library's Hoopla account.