Wasted: A Story of Alcohol, Grief and a Death in Brisbane (Elspeth Muir, Text)

After tobacco, alcohol is shown to cause the most drug-related deaths in the world. It’s one of many facts that are threaded through Elspeth Muir’s intricately crafted memoir Wasted. But research and statistics are not the most compelling reason to read Muir’s intelligent debut. Her poetic voice and vivid recollections of her younger brother, whose life was cut short when he jumped off a Brisbane bridge while drunk, offer an intimate portrait of a grieving family and a nation unable to reconcile itself to the harmful effects of its drinking culture. This is a darker, more philosophical exploration of alcohol dependency than Jill Stark’s 2013 memoir High Sobriety. Muir’s book straddles that half-confessional, half-reportage line; her style is reminiscent of writers such as Chloe Hooper and Helen Garner. Muir is not afraid to reveal her imperfections and her account of her boozy adolescence and young adulthood shows how alcohol, when taken in excess, can escalate a situation from celebration to commiseration. Wasted is also a study of grief—how it can live in a person like a terrible hangover. This book will help you think critically and compassionately about those who seek solace in alcohol.

Emily Laidlaw is a Melbourne-based writer and editor

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