Dust off that library card, or give the local bookshop a call, because here are the top five 'Quit-Lit' titles that most helped me in my journey to becoming alcohol free! All of them are good reads - many I finished in a couple of sessions, and all played their part in my (ultimately) booze-free existence. I'll go in reverse order...
My Top Five recommended Quit-Literature Books are:
Number 5: The 28 Day Alcohol Free Challenge by Andy Ramage and Ruari Fairbarns
This book is, effectively, a workbook, and the perfect tool if you fancy a 28 day break from alcohol. It features an honest outlook and daily chapters to carry you through your alcohol free experiment, plus support online through their website.
It reports in remarkable accuracy what to expect on your 28 day journey, plus lots of hints and tips to better enjoy your experience and feel healthier and more positive about life in general. After completing this book I went on to their 90 day challenge, and really had a lot of fun with it. It's also fairly short, so makes for an easy, digestible read.
"Great if you love a workbook step by step approach, and lots of hints and advice. 8/10"
Number 4: The Sober Diaries by Clare Pooley
The Sober Diaries follows a year in Clare's life as she battles her addiction with alcohol and is uplifting and funny and heartbreaking all at the same time. It is highly relatable for any of us going through the same journey, and features heartwarming stories and nightmarish tales that are upbeat and honest. This woman has so much grit and determination, and she writes beautifully.
"Perfect if you are looking for an uplifting, funny story with a positive ending - 9/10"
Number 3: The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray
This book promises to make you "happier, healthier, wealthier, slimmer and sexier", and it doesn't disappoint. A lively, jaunty read, it uses Catherine's own story and inputs from experts and offers a humorous and self-effacing look at her journey to sobriety.
I found I could identify with a lot of chapters in the book, and actually read this in the early months of going alcohol free. It was helpful and honest and full of exciting promises of what lay ahead in my own journey, an absolute delight to read. It left me in no doubt that I was on the right path to alcohol freedom.
The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober now comes with a companion journal, something I wish I had kept when I was in my early stages.
"Fabulous for filling in your first few alcohol free evenings! 9/10"
Number 2: The Alcohol Experiment by Annie Grace
Two words... THIS WORKS!
The Alcohol Experiment is the perfect companion book if you are about to embark on a month long break from drinking alcohol - for example for Dry January, Dry July, Dry Spring or Sober October.
The book features loads of research and humour, and the facts will surprise you in a million ways. I actually read this book after I had read This Naked Mind (below), but you can read them in any order. Either way, I found the month flew by, and I loved all the daily snippets and explanations of any side effects of giving up the booze, and found them all very helpful and simple to understand.
After my month off I did go back to drinking, but the amount I drank shrank considerably, as did the reasons behind it. It definitely stayed with me, and now you can purchase a companion log book to go with it and journal your experience. I wish this was available when I went through it myself - I'd have loved to have been able to read back on my thoughts and experiences!
"Highly recommended for those who want a break from alcohol - 9/10"
Number 1 Most helpful book goes to.... Annie Grace's This Naked Mind!
It really could not have been any other book here. My absolute number one, guilt-busting feel good read is also by Annie Grace herself. Her wit and humour is relentless, and the book reads very easily.
The book focuses on cutting down alcohol, but many reviewers reported that they were able to simply give up drinking altogether, without willpower or any feelings of regret or missing out. It can be repetitive, but this is completely deliberate, and the pace is almost unputdownable. I personally read this in two sessions, and if I did not have work the following morning I would have read it right through.
Led by proven scientific and neurological research it focuses on the effects alcohol have on your brain, and - guess what? It really is not your fault! Just hearing this alone allowed myself to forgive myself. Her premise is to strip away all guilt and blame, and the awful reprimanding voice in your head every morning when you awake with a hangover. I first read this in 2019, and it was a real eye-opener. It did not leave me ever again, it was life changing, and I had several very long periods of moderating alcohol or giving alcohol a nice long break, before stopping altogether in 2022.
This Naked Mind follows Annie's own journey throughout, and her candour and honesty is refreshing. I found it easy to liken my own journey to hers, which made me feel less alone.
I have since re-read this book several times, and just like watching a movie you love over and over again, you find something new and informative every single time.
"I give this book 10/10! Buy it and change your life for the better!"
SAVER ALERT!!!
At the time of writing Amazon were doing a great deal on four of the above books - Head over to the FOUR BOOK COLLECTION for great savings!
Thanks for reading, I hope you love these reads as much as I did!
Amanda x
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