Recovery comedian Moshe Kasher has written a memoir, Kasher in the Rye that is disturbingly funny and chock full of stories about his addictions and his final redemption… which by the way all happens by the time he is 16. Moshe is the child of two deaf parents who split up and raised him in two mutually dysfunctional households in Oakland and Brooklyn. He recounts his early life and troubles and how he finally hit rock bottom. The book will make you laugh out loud at the honest if not crude at times picture of what the mind of an addict is like.
Moshe Kasher narrates his story in a surprisingly arresting, and successful style. Hanging out with the poor kids in Oakland becomes quite an adventure for this overweight white boy who quickly takes on ghetto cultural aspirations (8 Mile, anyone?) to fit in with the crowd. He parties with and then picks on the local rich kids for cheap thrills. He hangs out with the homeless in squats and develops a seemingly incurable appetite for blunts and cheap wine. At age 13, he first uses LSD: “The bad part about mind-expanding drugs when you are 13 years old is that there isn’t really much to expand upon.” Moshe does many stints in rehab and ends up institutionalized, “One of the coolest things about being locked up in a mental hospital when you’re 13 is… wait, I’m thinking.” Ultimately Moshe finds redemption, “Why that day was any different, I don’t know,” he writes. “Something had died in me. My will had died. My childhood had died.”
If you have a moment, check out this great book about addiction and recovery. Recovery based humor can be a dark path at times, but when it is done right the impact of the stories never leave you and make you stronger. This is one of those books.
Click here to find out more about Kasher in the Rye by Moshe Kasher
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