Michael Gregory Stephens

Having grown up in a large family with 8 siblings, in a house filled with so many people it was hard to be noticed in the crowd, with an alcoholic father who gets in fist fights with his sons at least once before they move away, Michael Stephens did what many people would. He turned to drugs and alcohol. However, this isn't some unique circumstance or some isolated incident that would become the family scandal. No, it seems many of his siblings turned to the same devices. Apparently in Stephens' family, alcoholism is hereditary.

Where the Sky Ends isn't necessarily about the drugs and alcohol specifically, though. Throughout most of the book he only briefly alludes to his previous addictions, and his years of sobriety. This is more of a family history, the damaging effects alcoholism has had on his family and his relationship with his father, and the his struggles understanding his own feelings about his father's death - the man he never loved or felt connected to, but also the man he has come to parallel in so many ways.

Where the Sky Ends might be 'just another book on alcoholism.' It's a terrible and far too common disease, and likewise there are plenty of memoirs out there discussing it. I can't compare it to others, I don't know if there is anything about it that makes it stand out from the crowd, and I can't say that it is some eye-opening book filled with so much insight and enlightenment. All I can say is I enjoyed reading the book, and I'm glad I came across it.… (mais)