Recovery Road Analysis

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Saturday night parties are what most high school teenagers look forward to when bringing on the weekend. Drinking, smoking weed, and fighting are “fun” to these young adults, right? Recovery Road is the story of Madeline, who is not only recovering from heavy drinking problems, but partying and anger issues as well. This is a story that I got pulled into more than I had expected to. I enjoyed it, because I was able to sympathize with the characters struggles throughout the book, watch the young adults be peer pressured, and lastly, I got to watch Madeline overcome her terrible addictions. After a long history of parties, fights, substance abuse, and arrests, Madeline Graham finds herself stuck in rehab at Spring Meadows. Madeline is one of …show more content…

Evidently, after Madeline’s time was up at the rehab center she was able to go back home, and was soon forced to attend school, where she meets friends who wouldn’t judge her for her past life. After a year of being free of alcohol, Madeline picks her life up and turns it around. After attending school, she starts to realize an increase in her grades, and she is not going to give up. Maddie hasn’t hurt anyone but herself, and because of that, she takes her fate into her own hands and decides she wants to be a normal, healthy teenager. “You can change things. You can repair mistakes. You can restart your whole life if you have to. But some things you never get back.” (Nelson ) Maddie, in my opinion is a very sympathetic, yet strong girl. Being peer pressured is a stressful situation, especially after just getting out of …show more content…

While in rehab, Madeline meets other addicts who are emotionally damaged for a variety of different reasons. She struggles to stay sober in the world of high school, where alcohol and marijuana are easily available at every teen party. The point is made that unexpressed problems lead to addiction, and once an addict stops using, those problems are still there and must be addressed. This story also shows the real difficulty for an addict to stay sober. Sobriety is a “two steps forward, one step back” process that takes dedication, work, and patience. The consequences of bad choices are loud and clear. The world of drug use is not glamorized in any way. The ending of this book is ultimately hopeful as we see one character transform