The Book That Changed The Way I Think About Alcohol

Happy Friday, sweet friends! Taking a break from The Friday Five to share the book that changed the way I think about alcohol…

If you’re new around here, you can read more about my spontaneous sobriety in this post and my one year sober post here.

I’ve shared a lot about stopping drinking alcohol and becoming a non-drinker, and it’s always met with questions. So, I’m hoping I can clear some of them up in this post…

As a society, when it comes to alcohol, we focus on the drinker, not the drink.

If I don’t drink alcohol, I must be an alcoholic, right? There must be something wrong with me, rather than the addictive toxic substance that I choose not to drink. Right?

Alcohol is an addictive substance. For everyone. The more you drink it, the more you want to drink it.

Also, it’s toxic. Like, really really toxic. You guys, it’s ethanol.

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In January 2019, I knew I wanted to quit drinking. I also knew, though, that I didn’t have a “problem.” I wasn’t an alcoholic. Right?

I didn’t have a roadmap for stopping drinking something that literally EVERYONE in my orbit drinks, and seems to enjoy drinking.

Still, I knew I was done. I had given alcohol 20+ years of my life, and I wanted to see what life could be without it.

Not knowing where to turn, I did what I always do: searched for books and podcasts and anything I could get my hands on to learn more about this new “non-drinking” life.

I shared a few of my favorite Quit Lit books in this post, but the one book that I recommend to every single person who is re-thinking her relationship with alcohol is This Naked Mind by Annie Grace.

This book breaks it ALL down:

How we’ve been conditioned as a society to think that drinking alcohol is normal and even…good for us.

The effects alcohol has on our bodies and minds – even just that one glass of wine.

And most importantly, it unravels all of it. It reprograms our minds to the dangers of alcohol and opens our eyes to just how addictive and toxic it is…for everyone.

Annie Grace is brilliant in how she lays it all out. She’s done the research, and this book is science-based.

There’s no judgement. Just facts.

She also recommends that you keep drinking while you’re reading the book. I had already decided to quit a few months before starting the book, so I didn’t have that experience.

If you’ve ever considered your relationship with alcohol or just want to learn more about what that wine actually does to your body, I HIGHLY recommend this book.

I’d love to hear: Have you ever considered quitting alcohol?

Are you interested in more posts like this about my experience?

Let me know in the comments…