It was love at first taste for fifteen-year-old Tadhg Hickey when he drank a can of Scrumpy Jack on the night of his exam results.Straight away it provided a cure for that constant feeling of 'something wrong, something not quite right', a way of numbing anxiety and childhood trauma.He realised he was extraordinarily good at drinking and energetically threw himself into a life of pubs, parties and staying pissed, while also managing to become a comedian.But alcohol had the last laugh ... A Portrait of the Piss Artist as a Young Man shows us the often-hilarious lengths of self-deception an alcoholic will go to, the horrific consequences of addiction and the redemptive process of recovering from this deadly but ultimately treatable illness, and remaining sober.A deeply touching memoir and with a side of self-help, Tadhg's easy-going writing style belies his serious message - that each of us has the power to change our lives.