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Night Navigation by Ginnah Howard

Night Navigation

by Ginnah Howard

  • Critics' Consensus (3):
  • Readers' Rating (27):
  • Published:
  • Apr 2009, 304 pages
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There are currently 27 reader reviews for Night Navigation
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Julie

Not an easy read
If you are looking for a light, easy read, this isn't your book. This is a fabulous book that seems so true to life because the author lived it.

As the wife of a recovering addict (my husband was 2 years sober when we met), there were so many painful parts to this story. Ginnah Howard digs deep and comes out with a fantastic, realistic story about living with an addict, loving an addict, being an addict and dealing with mental illness.

You won't be disappointed in this one.
Kari

A very realistic and interesting book
I really liked this book. Both the mother's and son's voices felt very realistic. It is written in a way that takes you along on the same emotional roller-coaster that are described in its pages. I have some experience with mental illness, and also with alcoholism/AA, both through my husband's family. That made me recognize certain things in the book, like how Mark kept trying, failing, trying again, and how his mother always ended up being there for him, no matter how agonizing. I don't think you need to have any experience with mental illness/chemical abuse to enjoy this book, but I feel that it added depth tomore
Rachelle

Excellent Book
I found this to be a great read. As a mental health professional I found myself reading a story that I've seen play out more than once with families I've worked with. Del, the enabling mother struggling to want to give her son "tough love" but also wanting to just protect him a little longer. Mark, lost in a world of drugs, self medicating his mania, struggling to find a way out only to fall back into all of it. This is not a "light" novel, its dark and angsty and angry and anxious and you will quickly find yourself drawn into their world.
Jane

Night Navigation
This is a powerful book. Not only did the author have to have "used personal experience" to write this book, she had to have lived the life of an addict or a co-dependent to get the tone of this tale exactly right.

I have a brother who went through drug addiction, and I watched my mother live the life of the mother in this book. Watching the addicted person ruin his life is bad enough, but also having to watch the decline of the co-dependent in the relationship is doubly bad because you feel like they have the power to step away from the craziness. In reading this book I think Ms. Howard has adequately presentedmore
Betsy R. (Gig Harbor, WA)

Night Navigation is reality
The book Night Navigation is a novel but reads as a memoir. It is a difficult book to read, but its honesty about the cycles of despair and hope inherent in a relationship with someone who is addicted is dead-on. Mark's diagnosis of bipolar disorder is an understandable one that often comes with addiction. Because of my own experiences, I related deeply to Del, Mark's mother, who both hated and loved him enough to help even while she often made things worse. This is an important book but its dark and graphic subject matter may mean that not enough people read it. I hope not because it provides insight that mostmore
Carol J. (Isle, MN)

Tough, realistic read
Not an easy book to read due to the topic, but realistically written. Even without a child with an addiction one can identify with Del's desire to fix her son's life. I believe the author accurately portrayed the ups and downs of the life of the addict and those around him.

I would recommend the book for anyone dealing with addiction, personally or peripherally. Some interesting insights as to the ripple effects of addiction.
Vicky

Interesting Portrayal of Addiction
I really enjoyed the dual perspectives from mother and son on the son's addiction as well as mom's response to the addiction. I found that I wanted to keep picking the book up and read it later into the night than I should have. Even the peripheral characters had depth - mom's boyfriend as one. There was a lot going on - with their lives- the addiction, mental illness and past relationships with other characters and deceased family members.

I'd recommend it for book clubs since there are many decisions - good and bad - and consequences. We'd probably all see a part of our selves in someone.
Power Reviewer
Wendy

Night Navigator
This is an interesting book detailing the lives of a drug addict and his enabling mother. The plot moves through a short time period in their lives and clues to familial relationship that may have led to the son's addiction bubble to the surface throughout. I enjoyed this but the book left me with unanswered questions about the family history. It was also a little slow starting.

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