Thoughts on My Alcoholic Escape from Reality

Nagata Kabi, of My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and My Solo Exchange Diary fame, returns with another manga memoir. Whilst her previous works did provide fascinating insights into her life, it seems that that it also came along with quite a high price – and that is what My Alcoholic Escape from Reality focuses on.
Once again, Seven Seas Entertainment has licensed Nagata’s work for English release.An emotional new diary manga about critical illness from award-winning creator Nagata Kabi.
Nagata Kabi’s downward spiral  is getting out of control, and she can’t stop drinking to soothe the ache of reality. After suffering from unbearable stomach pains, she goes to a clinic, where she is diagnosed with pancreatitis – and is immediately hospitalised. A new chapter unfolds in Nagata Kabi’s life as she struggles to find her way back to reality and manga creation in the wake of her breakdown.

My Alcoholic Escape from Reality focuses on a relatively small period of Nagata Kabi’s life compared to her previous works – her hospitalisation after being diagnosed with pancreatitis. Nagata has certainly had a turbulent life, and in some way this could serve as a cautionary tale when it comes to the effects of drinking.
It’s not just alcohol that Nagata Kabi is battling with in this manga, though. She is still feeling guilty about how she portrayed her parents in her previous works, although it seems that they have a much healthier relationship compared to before.

Nagata Kabi is also a manga artist, and that is something she also has to keep up with during her hospitalisation. That feeling of guilt she carried towards her parents also affects her works, and she steps away from diary manga such as this one. It should go without saying that it didn’t take, but perhaps that was for the best. She had to work up the confidence to do so, though.

It is plain to see that Nagata Kabi has not led an easy life, but it certainly makes for some fascinating reading. The topics she covers here can get pretty heavy, but there is a sense of optimism buried in there, eventually. Getting to that point was just one of the many struggles that Nagata Kabi had to overcome, though.
This is definitely something that those who have read My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and My Solo Exchange Diary will want to pick up. Extremely compelling stuff here.