Recommended Reads
These are some of the classic ‘quit lit’ books that helped me massively especially in the early days and beyond. They aren’t In any particular order but the first few are my absolute faves and I’d urge you to read at least two of them ASAP – one from each list!
Obviously I’d like you to buy mine!
Happy Healthy Sober – Ditch the booze and take control of your life.
It has a complete ‘How to’ Get the Buzz without the booze, taking you across a 30 day period, then there is a huge lifestyle section which covers nutrition, fitness, meditation, sleep, creativity et al, with contributions from leading experts such as William Porter, Dr Aric Sigman, Dr Gemma Newman and many more. Buy it on Amazon here
On NLP / Power of the mind / motivation…
Annie Grace – This Naked Mind
The one that started it all for Annie Grace – and the title of her podcast and live event. She documents her story and her research around alcohol. I especially liked the fact that she actually went back and drank a bottle of wine alone and filmed the experience. Buy on Amazon HERE
The 28 Day Alcohol Free Challenge – Andy Ramage and Ruari Fairbairns
A handy guide through a challenge from the OYNB community guys who have done some amazing work encouraging people to fitness too. Buy on Amazon HERE
Jason Vale – Kick the drink easily
Annie refers many times to Jason Vale and his book which is over ten years old now
kick the Drink easily – his is less personal more hard hitting and really powerful to train your brain to recognise the hold that alcohol had over you. Jason is a friend and tells me many people – even happy ‘normal’ drinkers have read the book whilst on his retreats (he runs juicy oasis in Portugal and another retreat in Turkey (highly recommended for a 7 day detox) and have given up drinking despite having had no desire to! This was the book that enabled me to stop drinking for a full six months once, why did I start again? Probably because I thought I had it ‘cracked’ and I didn’t have the concept of the joy of sobriety. Buy on Amazon HERE
Allen Carr – The easy way to control alcohol
Jason doffs his cap to Allen Carr who he personally trained with to stop smoking (he later became an Allen Carr coach). There’s also ‘The easy way for women to stop drinking’
Much the same – either works. Buy on Amazon HERE
William Porter – Alcohol explained
William is one of our group’s experts and his book is excellent – not so personal or with too much persuasive language but William has used his analytical brain to really look at alcohol, its effects on us and why we drink. I loved his explanation of the addictive quality of alcohol as its very simple and powerful. Buy on Amazon HERE
William Porter – Diet and Fitness Explained
Again it’s a very straightforward approach to our relationship with food and fitness. Buy on Amazon HERE
For inspiration and encouragement…
We all know that emotions not logic ioniser action so while it’s great to arm yourself with the facts about alcohol nothing beats a personal story. Reading Clare Pooley’s book The Sober Diaries was what keep me going, when I wanted to give up I remembered when she had gone through weak points and re- read how she overcome them – we all need someone ahead of us!
Clare Pooley – The Sober Diaries
Clare realised she wasn’t as present for her young children as she would like to be, she started a blog Mummy was a secret drinker which led to this brilliant book, she documents it all the highs and the lows, it’s very relatable especially to parents – and there’s no doubt being alcohol free makes you a better parent. When I felt like giving up I kept going back to this to see what Clare did at that stage in her sobriety journey. Buy on Amazon HERE
Catherine Gray – The unexpected joy of being sober
Possibly one of the best books I have ever read, on any topic!, she is such an evocative writer and takes us through her rock bottom moment through to her surprise at enjoying sobriety – her story is interspersed with really helpful suggestions and resources and the most powerful account of her family and friends letters to her – she asked them to write an honest letter about how they felt about her when she was drinking. Don’t miss this book! She has also written ‘The Unexpected joy of being single’. A fantastic poignant look at relationships and self love – relevant even if you aren’t single! Buy on Amazon HERE
Lotta Dann – Mrs D is going without
I loved this funny memoir from an Aussie housewife and mum, Lotta didn’t have a rock bottom moment, but was definitely a grey area drinker, she documents her struggles with a sense of humour – check out the podcast episode with her too where we talk at length about the importance of self-care. I also loved ‘Mrs D is going within’. So many people ditch he booze and then start to look into meditation mindfulness yoga et al, check out Lotta’s humorous account of her experiences as a ‘spiritual newbie’. Buy on Amazon HERE
Augusten Burroughs – Dry
Not for the faint hearted, there are no fluffy bunnies or rainbows in this hard hitting account of several rock bottoms from the best-selling author of Running with scissors Augusten – this is as grimy and dark as it gets and it’s a fascinating insight into the world of rehab and AA but there’s is so much beauty and hope in his jaw droppingly beautiful writing. I also loved… Buy on Amazon HERE
Augusten Burroughs – Lust and wonder
It’s another memoir not specifically about addiction but the challenges of his sobriety underpin it – this book contains the powerful phrase – Something like … ‘The downside of being sober is there is excuse for being fucked up’. Buy on Amazon HERE
Jo De Rosa – Quantum Sobriety
Jo was an alcohol and cocaine addict who found freedom through meditation
She now runs Quantum Sobriety 5 day rehab retreats The book offers a very mainstream approach to meditation and mindset, even if you are new to spirituality this book offers manageable meditation exercises. Buy on Amazon HERE
Lisa Smith – Girl walks out of a bar
Lisa was a hot shot lawyer apparently functioning well till she wasn’t – When she finally faced up to the fact that she needed a drink to start the day she sought help. Check out the podcast episode with Lisa too. Buy on Amazon HERE
Ruby Warrington – Sober curious
Oh what a title!, Ruby is originally from the UK but living in New York where she runs Club Soda NYC not to be confused with club soda online community here in the UK This book covers mindful drinking and encourages how we can deal with ‘sober firsts’ (first birthday, wedding etc). Buy on Amazon HERE
Lucy Rocca – Glass half full – a positive journey to living alcohol free
….. and several other books including ‘The Sober Revolution- calling time on wine o clock’. Lucy was one of the first women in he UK to raise the question of whether wine o clock is a great idea for women. She runs the Soberistas community. Buy on Amazon HERE
Sarah Hepola – Blackout remembering the things I drank to forget
A rock bottom to recovery story. Buy on Amazon HERE
Amy Liptrot – The Outrun
A beautifully descriptive memoir which takes Amy from addiction grime and grunge of rehab in London to the windy wilds of Ireland – I swear you can see into her soul! Buy on Amazon HERE
Rebecca Weller – A happier hour
A light-hearted memoir from an Aussie ‘grey area drinker’ This book really highlights how suprising it can be to find joy in choosing not to drink. Buy on Amazon HERE
Amber Tozer – Sober stick figure
A raw and real memoir from a US gal who went to AA As you can guess from the title there are some great stick figure illustrations.pf Amber. Buy on Amazon HERE
Russell Brand – Recovery freedom from our addictions
I love Russell but this isn’t for everyone – it’s his highly irreverent take on the 12 steps with a lot of f**ks in there! Buy on Amazon HERE
Jack Trimpey – Rational Recovery
Thought the ‘wine witch’ was a phrase coined by a sober influencer in recent years? Nope this absolute classic book is by Jack Trimpey a former US social worker who drank heavily for 20 years. He eschewed AA and the concept of being powerless and formed rational recovery teachiing people how to recognise the ‘addictive voice’ its a big old tome, but fascinating to see just how long the ‘voice in the head’ concept has been around. Buy on Amazon HERE