The Next Round: What happens after you change your drinking?
The Next Round: What happens after you change your drinking?
We review some new books about sobriety and mindful drinking. You will find our previous reviews here. We give Amazon links for the books for convenience, but please support your local bookstore if you have one!
Sabrina says her book is “part memoir and part self-help and recovery guide”. And there is a lot in this book, starting with definitions of alcoholism and ending at Quantum Consciousness Process. In between, there are excerpts from the author’s journal entries, self-help tools, information about withdrawal and detox, and much else.
Buy New Dawn from Amazon UK // Amazon US // Amazon Canada // Amazon Australia
Subtitled “Navigating the world alcohol-free”, this is a 60-page booklet published by a small independent publisher in the US. The author takes the reader through all aspects of travelling while not drinking alcohol, from planning your journey to all kinds of details you might want to consider while on the road. There are chapters on different types of events. Teresa also lists some destinations that could be of interest to a sober traveller, including the American Prohibition Museum in Savannah, Georgia.
Now this book is not exactly new. In fact, it was first published in 1909! But I recently came across a reprint of it, and thought it would be worth including. The full title is What To Drink; The Blue Book of Beverages; Recipes and Directions for Making and Serving Non-Alcoholic Drinks for All Occasions which is almost book-length in itself.
The book and the recipes are obviously rather old-fashioned, but some of the recipes sound glorious. There are lemonades, punches, cocktails, syrups, hot drinks and much more. Just to give one example, here’s how to make a “Cucumber cocktail”: mix 2 tablespoonfuls of peeled chopped cucumber, 1 teaspoonful of grated horseradish, 1 teaspoonful of chopped onion, 1 teaspoonful of chopped celery, and salt “to taste”; drain and mix with little French dressing and serve very cold. I have not yet tried this concoction, but I am tempted…
Buy What to Drink from Amazon UK // Amazon US // Amazon Canada // Amazon Australia
In Nigel’s own words, his book is the story of “how a 50-something-year-old, who had been locked into the habit of drinking alcohol for 35 years, finally woke up and said, ‘I want a different life’. Mixing his personal story and various ways of supporting change in habits, Nigel takes the reader throught the first year and beyond of quitting alcohol.
Walking Back to Happiness is well written and engaging. My only note of criticism is Nigel’s attitude to moderation, which he considers a “mirage”. We’ll just have to disagree on that point I suppose. But I suppose his book is in the “quit lit” world and written for those aiming at complete sobriety.
Buy Walking Back To Happiness from Amazon UK // Amazon US // Amazon Canada // Amazon Australia
Ben has been in recovery for 11 years. He attended AA but found the idea of Christian God in the 12 steps a struggle. Although he still follows the 12 steps, he has adjusted them to align with his Rational Satanic perspective on life.
The book has some of Ben’s personal story, and a sprinkling of science. The main content is a step by step walk through the AA 12 steps, with Ben’s commentary on how he has modified them for himself. He is a good writer and has clearly read and thought about the topic deeply and widely. Not to everyone’s taste perhaps, but I found Uncover Satan an interesting read.
Buy Uncover Satan from Amazon UK // Amazon US // Amazon Canada // Amazon Australia
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