Unexpected Joy of Being Sober Journal


Book Description

A guided sobriety journal for motivation, with prompts and reminders for Dry January, Sober Spring and beyond. Whether you are going cold turkey or trying your sober-curious hand at Dry January this year, Catherine Gray provides an ideal practical solution with The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober Journal. Packed with motivational prompts and reminders, this guided sobriety journal encourages you to be present, slow down your thoughts, identify your patterns and, most importantly, be honest with yourself. There is a growing body of research that supports the positive benefits of journaling, be it helping you to stick to your goals or drastically improving your mood and emotional wellbeing. In fact, the healing power of journaling has been proven to be so beneficial that the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous have incorporated it into the famous 12 Step Program. Gray's refreshing and easy-to-follow strategies will inspire you to kick the drink and live a sunshine warm sober life.




Sunshine Warm Sober


Book Description

The long-awaited sequel to THE UNEXPECTED JOY OF BEING SOBER 'Exquisite' - Fearne Cotton, Happy Place 'A paean to the longer-term pleasures of staying booze-free' - The Guardian 'The kind of book that changes lives, and very possibly saves them' - The Lancet Psychiatry 'A reflective, raw and riveting read. A beautiful book on what it takes to root for yourself' - Emma Gannon, Ctrl Alt Delete 'No other author writes about sober living with as much warmth or emotional range as Catherine Gray. Her deep insight into the subtle psychologies of drinking, and of life, means that everything she writes is both utterly relatable and stretches our minds. Hers is a rare wisdom.' - Dr Richard Piper, CEO, Alcohol Change UK What's it like to give up drinking forever? We know now that being teetotal for one, three, even twelve months brings surprising joys and a recharged body... but nothing has been written about going years deep into being alcohol-free. As Catherine Gray, author of runaway success The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, streaks towards a decade sober, she explores this uncharted territory in her trademark funny, disruptive and warm way. This is a must-read for anyone sober-curious, whether they've put down the bottle yet or not. Praise for The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober: 'Fascinating' - Bryony Gordon 'Truthful, modern and real' - Stylist 'Brave, witty and brilliantly written' - Marie Claire 'Gray's tale of going sober is uplifting and inspiring' - Evening Standard 'Not remotely preachy' - Sunday Times 'Jaunty, shrewd and convincing' - Sunday Telegraph 'Admirably honest, light, bubbly and remarkably rarely annoying' - Guardian 'An empathetic, warm and hilarious tale from a hugely likeable human' - The Lancet Psychiatry




The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary


Book Description

**From the Sunday Times Bestselling Author** Life-affirming - THE TELEGRAPH Wonderful - INDEPENDENT She made it her mission to learn how to be default happy rather than default disgruntled - RADIO 4 - WOMAN'S HOUR Take a leaf out of Gray's book and be kinder to yourself by appreciating life just as it is - IRISH TIMES This book came to me in an hour of need - during lockdown when I had to focus on the positive, appreciate simple things, not lose my shit, and value each day. It was a pure joy for me and held my hand - SADIE FROST Interesting and joyful. Lights a path that could help us to build resilience against society's urging to compare life milestones with peers - LANCET PSYCHIATRY Underwhelmed by your ordinary existence? Disillusioned with your middlin' wage, average body, 'bijou' living situation and imperfect loved ones? Welcome to the club. There are billions of us. The 'default disenchanted'. But, it's not us being brats. Two deeply inconvenient psychological phenomenons conspire against our satisfaction. We have negatively-biased brains, which zoom like doom-drones in on what's wrong with our day, rather than what's right. (Back in the mists of time, this negative bias saved our skins, but now it just makes us anxious). Also, something called the 'hedonic treadmill' means we eternally quest for better, faster, more, like someone stuck on a dystopian, never-ending treadmill. Thankfully, there are scientifically-proven ways in which we can train our brains to be more positive-seeking. And to take a rest from this tireless pursuit. Whew. Catherine Gray knits together illuminating science and hilarious storytelling, unveiling captivating research showing that big bucks don't mean big happiness, extraordinary experiences have a 'comedown' and budget weddings predict a lower chance of divorce. She reminds us what an average body actually is, reveals that exercising for weight loss means we do less exercise, and explores the modern tendency to not just try to keep up with the Murphys, but keep up with the Mega-Murphies (see: the social media elite). Come on in to this soulful and life-affirming read, to discover why an ordinary life may well be the most satisfying one of all.




The Sober Diaries


Book Description

BY THE AUTHOR OF NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER THE AUTHENTICITY PROJECT, THE BRAVE AND FUNNY MEMOIR THAT IS CHANGING LIVES. How one mother gave up drinking and started living. This is Bridget Jones Dries Out. Clare Pooley is a Cambridge graduate and was a Managing Partner at one of the world's biggest advertising agencies, and yet by eighteen months ago she'd become an overweight, depressed, middle-aged mother of three who was drinking more than a bottle of wine a day, and spending her evenings Googling 'Am I an alcoholic?' In a desperate bid to turn her life around, she quit drinking and started a blog. She called it Mummy Was a Secret Drinker. This book is the story of a year in Clare's life. A year that started with her quitting booze having been drinking more than a bottle of wine every day. It sees her starting a hugely successful blog, then getting and beating breast cancer. By the end of the year she is booze free and cancer free, two stone lighter and with a life that is so much richer, healthier and more rewarding than ever before. Sober Diaries is an upbeat, funny and positive look at how to live life to the full. Interwoven within Clare's own very personal and frank story is research and advice, and answers to questions like: How do I know if I'm drinking too much? How will I cope at parties? What do I say to friends and family? How do I cope with cravings? Will I lose weight? What if my partner still drinks? And many more.




The Sober Curious Reset


Book Description

In this upbeat "reset" guide from the author of Sober Curious, a leading voice in the new sobriety movement walks through 100 days of discovering the joys of an alcohol-free lifestyle. Ruby Warrington's 2019 book Sober Curious was an illuminating conversation starter that asked you to consider, "Would life be better without alcohol?" thus sparking a global wellness trend of "curiosity" on how to gain one's genuine confidence and happiness without the crutch of alcohol. In The Sober Curious Reset, Rubygoes a step further by inviting you into a 100-day process of radically rethinking your drinking. Each "day" features observations, exercises, and insights, offering a more profound process of self-discovery than common month-long programs like Dry January or Sober September. Ruby's friendly, honest, and totally non-judgmental tone helps you unmask the deeper "whys" behind your drinking, understand why 100 days is so transformational, and how to create a truly sustainable shift in habits -- and on to living a life with more presence, focus, and overall well-being. The Sober Curious Reset is not about preaching total abstinence -- rather, it's about empowering you to make the right drinking choices, whatever this may look like for you. Ruby's 100 days is all about changing your relationship to alcohol to lead a life with more clarity, confidence, and connection.




Getting Sober


Book Description

"Honest, direct, comprehensive, and practical." --Bestselling author Mary Pipher "Kelly Madigan Erlandson’s book will help many who are beginning their trudge on the road to happy destiny." --Christopher Kennedy Lawford, author of Symptoms of Withdrawal: A Memoir of Snapshots and Redemption Already hailed as "a thoughtful and comprehensive guide to those early, crucial days of sobriety," this groundbreaking new book is different from anything else on the market. As an alcohol and drug counselor for more than 20 years who has helped thousands into recovery, the author does not focus on trying to diagnose the problem; instead, she compassionately guides you through the first 30 days of sobriety--the most crucial part of recovery. She gives you practical, day-by-day advice for becoming and staying sober--from removing alcohol and alcohol-related items from your house to picking the recovery program that fits your needs.




The Sober Girl Society Handbook


Book Description

UPDATED WITH A BRAND NEW CHAPTER ON SOBER CURIOSITY *Voted an Independent best self-care book for 2021* *Voted one of Heat's best self-help books to help you reach your full potential* If you've ever woken up feeling anxious, or cringing with embarrassment, about something you did or said whilst drunk the night before, this book may just change your life. Whichever way you look at it, it's hard to avoid how alcohol really makes us feel: terrible. After years of partying and hangovers started taking a toll on her mental health, Millie Gooch gave up alcohol and has never looked back. Offering tips and advice on staying sober and curious in a world obsessed with booze, this handbook will change your life for ever, by showing you not only why you should drink less, but how. Millie shares essential information to empower you to transform your relationship with alcohol so that you can lead your most fulfilling life. Whether you're sober curious or determined to make a more permanent change, it's time to join the Sober Girl Society! It's time to join the Sober Girl Society: 'I LOVE this book already, just received today and I can't put it down!' 'I recommend this to anyone; whether they want to stop drinking permanently, or even would just like to cut down on their drinking.' 'I love how relatable and non-preachy this book is.' 'Approaches what can be a tricky and confusing subject for many with humour and wit.' 'Perfect for those reconsidering their relationship with alcohol. Brilliant book.'




Unwasted:


Book Description

“Triumphant, moving, and wildly entertaining. This is an unabashed and completely relatable account of getting clean and getting a life.”—Steve Geng, author of Thick as Thieves The single glass of wine with dinner . . . the cold beer on a hot day . . . the champagne flute raised in a toast . . . what I’d drink if Hunter S. Thompson wanted to get wasted with me . . . these are my fantasies lately. Too bad I've gone sober. When Sacha Z. Scoblic was drinking, she was a rock star; the days were rough and the nights filled with laughter and blackouts. Then she gave it up. She had to. Here are her adventures in an utterly and maddeningly sober world—and how she discovered that nothing is as odd and fantastic as life without a drink in hand. . . “A gripping, inspiring tale that picks up where most sobriety memoirs leave off . . . This is a story for anyone trying to enact meaningful change in their lives.”—Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, #1 New York Times-bestselling coauthors of The Nanny Diaries “Hilarious and heartbreaking, Unwasted is a traveler’s guide to the perilous, wondrous land of sobriety. Scoblic’s scorched, sweet prose is the work of a writer at the top of her form.”—Jennifer Finney Boylan, New York Times-bestselling author of She’s Not There “Scoblic’s testament to life on the wagon is pertinent and raffish, marked by considerable candor and humor. A dryly witty, spirited memoir.”—Kirkus Reviews




The Unexpected Joy of Being Single


Book Description

Single in your late twenties or, hold the phone, in your thirties or beyond? Oh hi! You're in the right place. Over a third of us are now single. With the single camp growing at ten times the rate of the actual population, it is now the norm to be single well into our thirties - the average marriage age for women is 35 and 37 for men. But nobody seems to have told society, romcom makers, songwriters, marriage-hungry mothers, 'tick-tock' uncles, our mates or us that. Cue: single anxiety. Love addiction. Spending hours scrolling through dating apps. Being inconsolable when he/she doesn't text. Humming 'Here Comes the Bride' when they do. Catherine Gray went through all of this. And then some. She took a whole year off dating to get her love-hooked head straight. How do we chill our boots about our single status? Detach from 'all the good ones are gone!' panic? And de-programme from urgent, red, heart-shaped societal pressure to find your 'other half*'? We know intellectually that single is far preferable to panic-settling, yet we forget that almost constantly. Why? Psychologists and neuroscientists tell us? Let's start the reverse-brainwash and locate our happily-single sanity, for good. Are you in? *Spoiler: you're already a whole person.




The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober Journal


Book Description

The guided sobriety journal inspired by the Sunday Times bestseller Ever sworn off alcohol for a month and found yourself drinking by the 7th? Think there's 'no point' in just one drink? Welcome! Quitting drinking, whether for a month or for life, is enormously satisfying, but also fiendishly difficult. -There's the getting started ('But I have that party next week!') -There's the feeling clenched and socially anxious. -Throw in a sizeable amount of social pressure and suspicious questions ('So, do you have a drinking problem?' -Finally, chuck in the hundreds of pro-drinking messages we see every day; films where a round of shots always comes with a whoop; fridge magnets that say 'I don't trust people who don't drink'; pub clapboards announcing 'Strong people need strong drinks'; and memes declaring 'Beer: it's a holiday in a glass.' Whew. It's no wonder we find it tricky to stay teetotal. But don't worry. We're going to tackle all of the above. I'm going to give you tools that enable you to clear all of these stumbling blocks with the grace of a gazelle. So, let's get started, shall we? PRAISE FOR CATHERINE GRAY'S WRITING: "An icon of the Quit Lit movement." - Condé Nast Traveller "Fascinating." - Bryony Gordon. "Not remotely preachy." - The Times "Jaunty, shrewd and convincing." - The Telegraph "Admirably honest, light, bubbly and remarkably rarely annoying." - The Guardian "Truthful, modern and real." - Stylist "Brave, witty and brilliantly written." - Marie Claire "Haunting, admirable and enlightening." - The Pool 'No other author writes about sober living with as much warmth or emotional range as Catherine Gray. Her deep insight into the subtle psychologies of drinking, and of life, means that everything she writes is both utterly relatable and stretches our minds. Hers is a rare wisdom.' - Dr Richard Piper, CEO, Alcohol Change UK