From Beer to Eternity

I just read Gary Morland’s From Beer to Eternity, a little story of addiction and beyond, and was instantly hooked by the tell-it-like-it-is voice of the narrator who I knew instantly was going to tell me the no-nonsense truth about his life with alcohol. And I was not disappointed. In a quick series of jump cuts, Gary wastes no time in summarizing his childhood with an alcoholic father, his aimless adolescence, and his life-long pattern of finding the shortcut to pleasure and avoiding responsibility which primed him for alcohol’s lure. All this without blame, excuse, or agenda.

But what’s most captivating is the way Gary takes us not only inside his life, but also inside his head once he starts drinking and realizes he has no control over it. So many memoirs about escaping the bottle titillate and torture the reader with the drama of their protagonist’s drinking sprees. Gary doesn’t bother with that. He cuts to the chase detailing what it’s like to live with the lying voice addiction has embedded in his brain which constantly manipulates with whispers of guilt and shame. Until, one day he’s so tired of hiding and denying, he blurts out the truth to his wife, “I’m an alcoholic.”

Next comes the part I think I love the best, the nuts and bolts of a supernatural event he can’t completely explain. I won’t be a spoiler and tell you exactly what this looks like. Suffice it to say, it’s like you’re sitting across from Gary in a diner and he tells you he’s gonna tell you about some spiritual stuff that happened to him, and if you’re not into spiritual stuff, this might not be for you. And, if you’re already a Christian, it might not even sound spiritual enough. You can split or stay at any time. But we don’t split. We keep reading because Gary’s voice is so full of personality and obviously about to spill something immensely important he’s learned through desperate trial and divine intervention.

To my fellow writers, Gary’s book is not meant to be a literary masterpiece, but it is powerful in its guileless simplicity and much can be learned about the literary use of voice by reading Gary’s down-to-earth portrayal of the gospel in an ordinary life.

To my fellow humans, you or someone you sat with at your Thanksgiving table is likely struggling with alcohol, especially during this pandemic that has super stressed us all. So, I can’t recommend Gary’s book enough. Without Christian jargon or psycho-babble, he gets at the unbearable hopelessness of a life dependent on drink and/or drugs. May his very short, inexpensive e-book, offer the hope you or your loved one has been waiting for, hope that God sees, God knows, and he’s ready and able to rescue with plans for the life you’ve always craved because God made you for something better, a significant life, a life of freedom from the head games and heartbreak of addiction. 

Click here to find Gary’s book on Amazon.