Ballad of a Sober Man

2020 BIBA Winner for Best Memoir!

A successful emergency physician full of narcissism and ego wakes up in detox, his life having burned to the ground.

Dr. J.D. Remy—physician, father, husband, and medical missionary—awakens one morning to find himself in rehab for alcoholism. His destructive behavior has resulted in the loss of his marriage, children, career—and almost—his life. Faced with the challenges of rebuilding a foundation, Dr. Remy must accept that he is an alcoholic and summon the courage to tame the demons that caused such dire circumstances.

Over time, he makes new connections in sobriety and rekindles friendships from his former life. With the aid of old friends and his new sober network, he navigates his program as a professional in long-term recovery. He must overcome unemployment, a devastating divorce, the estrangement of his children, social stigma, and the coronavirus outbreak.

Armed with the gift of desperation, a strong twelve-step program, and his recovery “mosh-pit,” he learns to accept and let go, confronting the worst of his character flaws to emerge on the other side as a better version of himself. Ballad of a Sober Man is a raw and realistic memoir of one man’s difficult journey through recovery, as he interacts with an eclectic cast of characters, finds romance in a brave new world, and battles a global pandemic…