Nineteen: A Daughter's Memoir of Reckoning and Recovery by Leslie Johansen Nack
Memoir, 368 pages
Published October 14, 2025, by She Writes Press
For fans of Stephanie Thornton-Plymale's American Daughter and Cea Sunrise Person’s North of Normal comes Leslie Johansen Nack’s emotional follow-up memoir about her battle with addiction following a traumatic childhood—and her inspiring journey toward healing and happiness.
In the mid-1970s, Leslie Nack’s family returned from sailing to French Polynesia and began the integration process into American life again, which included being tossed back and forth between an alcoholic, mentally ill mother and an abusive, overbearing father.
To find love and acceptance, Leslie chases a myth that throws her into the path of nefarious older men, where she eventually falls into drug and alcohol addiction. Her father dies in his plane in the jungles of Mexico when Leslie is nineteen, but his abuse lingers in her psyche. She spirals, her only solace her next fix—until, somehow, she finds the grace, despite her abjectly dysfunctional family background, to believe in her worth. This newfound self-love changes everything for her, and finally she is able to find her way to sobriety and recovery.
Raw and intense but ultimately hopeful, this sequel to the popular memoir Fourteen tells the rest of Nack’s turbulent—and incredible—story.
My thoughts about Ninteen ~~
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first lines.)
First line—"It was October 22, 1975, and we were three days from San Diego in the cold, North Pacific Ocean when I looked behind me as a wall of water three stories high rose.
Nineteen is a story of family dysfunction, but also a story of family love and forgiveness. At times it was hard to read as it wasn't easy to see how Leslie's family treated her. Through a lot of grit and self-love she was able to overcome the damage done and end up in a better place.
This is a very well written look into Leslie's life as we witness her ups and downs. This is actually the sequel to the book she wrote, Fourteen, which cover a slightly younger part of her life. I'm drawn to read that one too to get better understanding of the life she led. This is the perfect coming-of-age story that held my attention to the end.
I received an ARC of Nineteen and this is my honest opinion.
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About the author
Leslie Johansen Nack is the author of two award-winning books: her debut memoir, Fourteen, and her historical novel, The Blue Butterfly. Her forthcoming sequel, Nineteen: A Daughter’s Memoir of Reckoning and Recovery, concludes her raw and deeply personal story, chronicling her path to sobriety and a renewed sense of hope.
Nack graduated from UCLA with a degree in English literature and overcame past traumas to raise two children in a healthy, loving home. She is a member of NAMW, the Historical Novel Society, and the PNWA. She lives outside Seattle with her husband.
Connect with Leslie
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