Hey there! On January 10, 2023 I hit my “rock bottom” and am finally (
) giving this sober thing a real try. I have been “trying” to quit since October 2022. Today marks my FIRST weekend without a drink since February 2022. And the only reason I was sober then was because I was away for a month for mental abuse recovery.
My therapist recently recommended I read the book, “Quit like a woman” by Holly Whitaker.
On Friday I bought the book and started right away and WOW!!! I am only a few chapters in but I find myself glued to it. The part where she talks about alcohol having ethanol in it and how we are drinking the same thing we use to make rocket fuel just blew my mind. I never really gave any strong thought into what I was actually ingesting. And let me just tell you that I could not stop thinking about it and it definitely had a hand in helping me stay away from alcohol over the weekend!
So, because I believe this book has the potential to help me further I thought it would be great to start a discussion on topics from the book that blew our minds and are helping us on this journey of making “the radical choice to not drink in a culture obsessed with alcohol”.
I absolutely love that book and recommend it often. Glad you are also finding inspiration in it!
So spot on! I really appreciated this book, as well. Have read it more than once! There’s a lot of really great “quit lit” out there that has helped me tremendously.
I definitely love the book and I also recommend it. It’s been quite some time since I have read it.
Yes. That book was definitely on my list in the early months. I read quite a few and will likely Re read several.
That book and Annie Grace ‘s book called This Naked Mind are a great wake up call with information on how alcohol interacts with the body and brain. I also think it is important to understand how much hogwash has been thrown to us about alcohol so that a lot of money can be made.
Once I really understood the science of alcohol addiction and the psychology of all the marketing bullshit that has been poured into us, I found it to be pretty rational to decide that I had to become a person who doesn’t drink alcohol anymore. I’ve had more than enough.
The books and this community with so many people willing to share their stories has really helped me work in forming a new identity and new habits. I’m a person who doesn’t drink alcohol. I have several other ways to relax, to celebrate, to pass the time, and to use my money. They all work better than drinking and I feel much better on a day to day basis. It has been a lot of work and I will have to keep doing this work as long as alcohol is around for me to leave alone. Since I live in a drinking culture and all my friends and family drink, I have to keep working on this identity. I am very fortunate to have a husband who has joined me in sobriety, so our home is pretty easy these days.
The real knowledge and the power to change habits is what I learned from reading those books.
Congratulations on the start of your journey. Keep working hard to give yourself the freedom of life without alcohol. I’m 14 months in and my life is definitely going well without the drinking. Give yourself this gift, it is excellent.
That’s a good one and I’ll add that Holly started a sober community that has online meetings. Tempest is the name. Community is a major help and one of the great gifts of sober living.
Unfortunally I couldn’t find it in Dutch (because it doesn’t exist
) so working trough the original one.Like it so far!
What chapter are you on?
Not far: chapter 2 
The book has just arived.
I just started Chapter 4.
Has there been anything that has stuck out to you in the book yet?
That my youth was completely different then hers. I have no eye openers yet, just curious when they appear. For me it’s difficult to read because it’s not in my language. So progress is slow.
That has to be extremely hard. I couldn’t imagine reading a book in another language… good for you. That’s amazing!
My name is Ashley by the way. I am from USA. I am married and we have 4 children. Tomorrow marks my first week since my last drink. I have been actively trying to quit since October 2022 and this is the furthest I have got. I am actually really proud of myself. I just wish it didn’t take me to hit what I consider is my rock bottom to finally get this journey started. But they do say that it usually takes for you to hit rock bottom to start… so here I am. I am pretty hopeful this time around!
Nice to meet you Ashley 
I’m Claudia, mother of 3 adult children and also married. Sober for a longer stretch for the second time.
Congratulations with your 1 week milestone! 
And oh, I’m Dutch
I can understand how this would be the case. It is very much centered on her own experience as a white, financially secure, woman in the US and our culture.
I think for me, Chapter 4 (I think?), where she talks about reading Alan Carr’s book was a little lightbulb and a lot that she discusses in Chapter 5.
As always, not all books / stories will resonate for everyone. And bravo for tackling in English…such a wonderful thing to have more languages you understand. 
Have you read the Alan Carr book she mentions?
This one I have not read. I am not sure if Sass has, but it’s super popular among the recovery crowd. I am not certain I have met anyone who didn’t enjoy it.
I’ll check this out!!
I always recommend Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol. (Or alcohol and women….can’t recall). It’s about 50% memoir and 50% science. It’s very good.
OMG. I CANNOT buy another book! 
I know what you mean!!! LIBRARY. 
I too enjoy Drink and recommend that book quite often. I liked Quit Like a Woman just fine, but relate more to Laura McKowen’s We are the Luckiest book. The Recovering by Leslie Jamison is also fantastic, but more memoir.