A raw and powerful memoir of addiction and recovery, across three continents and multiple drugs, from early childhood through adulthood. Following an obsessive mind trying (and failing) to find relief, The Black Pool is a gripping thrill-ride through violent, chaotic underworlds. Tracing the roots of an illness through the failures of youth and adolescence and finally back to childhood, it's about all the wrong places where addicts look for transcendence - from work, to relationships, to writing, to anger.

It shows what happens when everything falls apart. It shows us rock bottom and the start of the journey to recovery from there. It's a memoir shot full of holes and shocking clarities. And towards the end, it achieves something like serenity - something like recovery.

Tim MacGabhann is the author of the novels Call Him Mine and How to Be Nowhere, the memoir The Black Pool, the short story collection Saints, and the poetry collection Found in a Context of Destruction, which is out next year.

Gabriel Flynn is a writer based in Berlin. His debut novel, Poor Ghost! was published this year.