Hangovers in Japan

Samari Shelby grows up in La Jolla, a Southern California beach town. She is your typical surf rat, but at the age of seventeen, decides to turn her surfboard in for a pair of toe shoes. Too old become a ballet dancer, she opts for being a chorus girl, and ends up traveling the world in a variety of different shows. In Japan, one of the clubs turns out to be Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) where she witnesses shocking violence, as well as girls being held against their will, addicted to shabu, Japan's super meth. Desperate to get out, she finally finds work in a legitimate club where Yakuza are not allowed entry. It is there she meets the inimitable Haruto, a charismatic, rich man who dazzles her with his individualistic style. He charms her into marrying him, and even though her intuition tells her it probably won't work: the cultural divide is too wide, and he has a temper, she is tempted by the luxurious life of leisure. And more importantly, she really does love and adore Haruto. But soon the marriage unravels: Haruto is never home, and later she discovers he's having affairs. Even more troublesome, he begins to beat her. She knows she needs to get out, but she feels stuck. Stuck by her alcoholism. It started off innocently enough: hitting the international night club scene to dance and speak English, drinking moderately. But, gradually, she succumbs to drinking ludicrously large amounts of alcohol and realizes not a day goes by without the ubiquitous hangover. Yet even in her drunken malaise, she knows she needs to get out of Japan to save her life, if the alcohol or Haruto don't kill her first. Samari has written a bold, brutally honest book, with a unique voice. Her book will give you an inside peak into the underbelly of Japanese society, as well as the world of the elite, where the chameleon, Samari, seems to transition back and forth from almost seamlessly. She's either at Haruto's side, rubbing elbows with Japan's gentry or snorting lines of shabu in janky joints. Samari lets us know what typical life is for many gaijins (slang for outsider, mainly used for Caucasians), and lots about Japan's underground culture. This book is a tragicomedy that will break your heart when you're not laughing at Samari crazy antics. Anyone that has a problem with alcohol can be helped by reading Samari's circuitous journey to recovery. She unequivocally feels, if she can stop drinking, anyone can.

• • Author: Samari Shelby
• • Publisher: Independently published
• • Publication Date: Oct 17, 2019
• • Number of Pages: 174 pages
• • Language: English
• • Binding: Paperback
• • ISBN-10: 1700482866
• • ISBN-13: 9781700482860