A Drink with The Problem Drinker Kyle Kouri
I have never reviewed or even written about a memoir before. For me, the question has always been how I can critique a view of someone’s life and history. It’s not a genre I have even grazed near because I just didn’t know how to handle it. That was until The Problem Drinker, which offered me a unique approach. I had access to the subject and pitched that we have a drink to have a real conversation instead of a typical interview.
Describing The Problem Drinker isn’t an easy task because it feels like a snapshot of who a human being is. Kyle is brutally honest about himself, his world, and everything in it. There is a level of authenticity to how he writes this debut. Kyle is a problem drinker, not someone who is struggling with drinking. In the book, it’s treated like a pastime or just a natural part of his life. But all around it is turmoil, heartache, and life itself. Between large life events, Kyle opens up his own rib cage to let the reader understand him a bit better.
I have been lucky enough to befriend Kyle after being introduced to him by his girlfriend, CJ Leede, who is a character in the book too. I have interviewed and spoken with CJ many times, so going straight from her book Headlights into this was a unique experience. You can feel Kyle, as a character in her book, in the most loving homage to her partner. But in The Problem Drinker, you get a real look at what love is. How love is formed in ordinary and everyday life, while never feeling mundane. The way Kyle writes about the people he loves is what will make this book stick with me for some time.
This conversation ranges from music to food to drinking stories, and everything in between that makes us human. It is an open and honest conversation that works as a companion piece to the incredible book. Make sure you check out the short film as well!
About The Problem Drinker
Kyle Kouri’s debut non-fiction collection is full of ‘whiskey courage’ staring at the abyss of family, writing rejection, relationships, and his own drinking. From hijinks at AWP to hustling in the movie business, Kouri bridges the gap in drama between indie and horror.
At turns hilarious and heartbreaking, The Problem Drinker is the story of an artist living with another artist, yearning to move the needle in his career, amidst a sea of personal tragedies and comedies. If F. Scott Fitzgerald had one foot in the 2020s horror scene, that’s the spirit of Kouri’s caustic and big-hearted, lush and refreshingly candid debut.
About Kyle Kouri
Kyle Kouri is an award-winning actor, writer, filmmaker, and producer. He received his MFA in Fiction from Columbia University, where he served as the online arts editor for the Columbia Journal. He is the co-founder of Slashtag Cinema, a film production company.