Eilene Zimmerman
Alumna Eilene Zimmerman is the author of the memoir Smacked: A Story of White-Collar Ambition, Addiction, and Tragedy.
Photography courtesy of Eilene Zimmerman

In her new memoir, Smacked: A Story of White-Collar Ambition, Addiction, and Tragedy (Random House, 2020), alumna Eilene Zimmerman delves into how her ex-husband—a highly educated, affluent partner at a California law firm—struggled with a secret drug addiction that took his life. Zimmerman DC’85 deftly explores painful personal revelations, such as her own denial, insights from the medical community on the forces that can drive anyone to destructive behaviors, and how she found forgiveness and redemption. The Boston Globe hailed the book as “poignant … an engrossing narrative laden with elements of pathos and mystery.”