Book Review
Title: Six Days in Detox by Dianne Corbeau
Genre: Memoir, Addiction
Rating: 5 Stars
Six Days in Detox is a Memoir about the author Dianne and her struggle with drugs and alcohol. It opens with Dianne’s relapse and hospitalization as she is treated for addiction withdrawals as well as a pre-existing mental health condition. While she is treated kindly by the staff at Cape Cod she is soon transferred to a new facility that deals with dual diagnosis. Dianne realizes during her intake at the facility that she isn’t going to be treated well since they’ve removed all of her existing medication meaning that she is in severe pain throughout that first night. Dianne also meets her adversary in treatment in someone she only refers to as medman. Throughout all of this her loyal friend Alexander is at her side and I immediately connected with him on a very personal level.
During her first day at this new facility Dianne is treated poorly by the staff and the leading psychiatrist. They withhold her medication leading to severe withdrawal seizures and a whole host of other symptoms and they refuse to help Dianne with them or treat her poorly for making them help her. After one of the worst nights of her life and fighting with multiple staff for her medication but there is some hope as Dianne gets a visit from Alexander. Alexander is Dianne’s advocate so he deals primarily with the doctors and treatment on her behalf and when he hears how Dianne is being treated he immediately jumps into action. He tries to deal with the situation by himself but is unable to make progress but he does assure Dianne that he will contact Dr Holden and get him to sort everything out for her but until then she has to hang in and survive.
We soon some of Dianne’s history it turns out that she was homeless by the age of eight and went into rehab for the first time at 19. There she met other addicts who left a lasting impression on her and these people inspired Dianne to stay sober. However, with any form of addiction there is a great chance of relapse and that’s what has been happening to Dianne for the past two years. During her second night Dianne’s symptoms are worsening and she is still receiving little to no medication or help from the staff there. At this point given the pain she is in Dianne seriously contemplate suicide and prays that Alexander can get her help before it’s too late.
Throughout day 3 Dianne is thinking about ways you can get out of this facility and even requests it multiple times only to be ignored. However, if we’ve learnt anything of her past it’s that Dianne is a fighter and she isn’t given up now. Dianne has had a hard life but after being picked out as an artist she met an older man who took on the role of father figure to her until his death in the 9/11 attacks. What makes Dianne’s current situation even sadder is that she has remained sober for 26 years before relapsing. In his daily visit to the facility Dianne tells Alexander about the way she is being treated and that she is going to refuse any medication apart from her pills for her manic depression which she does that night absolutely stumping medman.
During day 4 Dianne spends a lot of it in a haze but in this haze she revisits key moments from her life. During these hours something shifts in Dianne and she is determined to see this through to the end. All Dianne wants is a life outside addiction and she is determined to get that even if it means spending a week in hell. There is a further complication when Dianne is informed that she’s going to be sharing a room with a schizophrenic woman. This woman heavily reminds Dianne of her birth mother and the abused she suffered as a child. She expresses these feelings to Alexander when he visits and since she only has two days left Dianne decides she’s going to push through with this cruel treatment and wait for her real life to begin afterwards.
Dianne battles through day five but she takes some comfort in the knowledge shall be leaving the next day and begins counting down the hours. She also takes some comfort in some of the other patients like Monty who seems to understand her situation without words and becomes an almost comforting presence to Dianne. She also begins to make amends with the people she lied to during her relapse. Reading about Dianne’s emotional state while she calls her friends and explains what happened was heart-breaking and while some forgive her and understand where she’s coming from some don’t, which Dianne knows is deserved but it doesn’t make it any less painful.
Dianne’s final day in the facility is one filled with tense emotions as she is excited and anxious to finally leave but fully aware that her journey is far from over. She knows there are many opportunities for the staff to stop her leaving but Dianne keeps herself in check until who discharge papers are signed. As her time in the facility comes to a close Dianne does end up making a single friend in Heather who is very similar to her with many years of sobriety under her belt before relapsing. Dianne extends an offer of help to Heather knowing the exact situation she is in and gives her some advice on surviving this facility as both know it’s one of the worst to be in.
Overall, I found Six Days in Detox to be a heartfelt and heart-breaking look into addiction and mental health and it clearly shows the emotional and mental scars these disorders leave on people. The memoir also doesn’t end happily in the traditional sense while Dianne leaves the facility she still has a long journey ahead of her. At almost 50 years old, it seems like Dianne is finally starting her life and the willingness to apologize to those she hurt and reach out to those in the same position shows a massive amount of growth in Dianne as a person in only six short days. If you’re looking for a realistic and introspective look into mental health disorders and addiction then I’d highly recommend this memoir.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
I received this review copy for consideration from the author.
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