Could you stop drinking just by reading a self-help book or two? For many former gray area drinkers, the answer is actually yes. It’s true—the right book, or a few—can actually help you drink less or ditch alcohol altogether.
There is a new wave of “quit-lit” books that all share the belief that contrary to what big alcohol and big rehab want you to believe, transcending alcohol use doesn’t have to be a miserable cycle of relapse and redemption. You don’t have to live “one day at a time” forever.
Instead of going through a 12-step program where participants are rewarded for “white-knuckling it,” quit-lit books help the reader to stop wanting alcohol in the first place by seeing it for what it really is.
In this post, I’ll share my all-time favorite quit-lit books to stop drinking that helped me curb my own drinking once and for all. After reading these books, you will see your beliefs and attitudes have changed dramatically toward alcohol, making it much more straightforward to stop drinking, no willpower needed.
These books are like powerful vitamins for your mental health. Ready to change your life?
Contents
1. Drinking Sucks!
My favorite book on the list, Drinking Sucks!: Dominate Alcohol, Get Fit, Be Happy by Chris Scott, founder of Fit Recovery, is perhaps one of the most comprehensive books on the topic of alcohol abuse and how to stop drinking. That’s because not only does he address the emotional and psychological reasons for drinking, but he also covers the neurochemistry and biology of heavy drinkers.
He argues that to recover from gray area drinking or alcohol dependence, it’s essential to start with your body and brain’s physical needs, then work your way up to healing from the psychological, social, and spiritual factors that led to the undesired drinking patterns.
He explains how you can’t turn alcohol into a moot substance unless you address all of these levels on the hierarchy of alcohol recovery:
Chris gives all the science and reasons for why this method works and shares exactly how you can repair your biochemistry, change your neural pathways, and transform your lifestyle into one that is truly conducive to staying alcohol-free.
He also created an online course, Total Alcohol Recovery 2.0, which helps to make an action plan for quitting drinking, which I highly recommend, having taken it myself.
If you prefer listening to a podcast, he is also the host of Elevation Recovery, which you can listen to on any podcast player or YouTube.
2. Alcohol Explained
After reading Drinking Sucks, if you want to further “reverse brainwash” yourself about alcohol, the best book you can turn to is Alcohol Explained (the first five chapters are available for free) and its follow-up companion book, Alcohol Explained 2.
Author William Porter draws heavily on the classic book by Allen Carr, The Easy Way to Quit Drinking, which was based on the methodology behind his first book, The Easy Way to Stop Smoking. According to Carr, smoking and alcohol addiction are primarily psychological. The purpose of his books is to lead you to decide to quit smoking or drinking upon completing the book.
Porter expands upon the work of Carr, making a much more complete guide to stopping drinking that debunks every single reason that people have for their alcohol consumption.
According to his site, “Alcoholism and problem drinking seem illogical to those on the outside; indeed, it is equally perplexing for the alcoholic or problem drinker. This book provides a logical, easy-to-follow explanation of the phenomenon and detailed instructions on how to beat it.”
Having read it, I can say that Alcohol Explained delivers on this claim!
3. Quit Like a Woman
Next, I highly recommend Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker. Holly’s book covers almost everything in the first previously mentioned books while exploring alcohol addiction through a feminist, social justice-y, and new-age lens.
From her point of view, we live in a culture that’s obsessed with alcohol, so not drinking becomes a radical choice. But is refusing to abandon oneself really all that radical? Shouldn’t we normalize the choice to abstain from booze?
Quit Like a Woman is a very good read that will keep you thinking as you turn the pages, seeing alcohol, the media, and programs like Alcoholics Anonymous in a new way. She covers everything from finding the root problem, how to stop drinking, and what to do once you’ve stopped. She also addresses those questions and concerns that you might be too afraid to ask, like, “What is sex like, sober?” and “Will I ever have a life again if I stop drinking?”
Bottom line – read this book. Even if you’re not a woman, she shares a world of information on how to heal yourself.
4. This Naked Mind
Another quit-lit crowd favorite is This Naked Mind by Annie Grace. Like Alcohol Explained and Allen Carr’s books, Annie helps to dispel the illusions that all heavy drinkers have fallen prey to and remove the reader’s psychological dependence on alcohol.
Annie clearly presents the psychological and neurological components of alcohol use based on the latest science and reveals the cultural, social, and industry factors that support alcohol dependence in all of us.
For me, this sobriety book was full of epiphany-inducing insights into the reasons we drink and how the stigma of alcoholism and recovery keeps people from getting the help they need. Thanks to Annie, I started living a sober life much more confidently.
With the facts that she presents so clearly, you start to see just how crazy our society is for protecting alcohol despite the disastrous consequences that it has on countless people’s lives.
5. Sober Curious
Author of Sober Curious Ruby Warrington wants everyone to know that you don’t have to hit rock bottom to stop drinking alcohol; thank you very much! Warrington, once a glitzy magazine writer and social butterfly with a penchant for boozing alongside the London elite, had a bit of a reckoning regarding alcohol and its place in her life.
This reckoning turned her to become what she calls “sober curious.” She started to wonder, what would my life look like if I eliminated the booze and the disastrous day-after effects?
I thoroughly enjoyed reading his book, as almost everything she shared aligned all too well with my own drinking experiences and break-up with booze. She shares helpful learnings and profound insights that can help anyone who is “sober curious” to go all in and embrace the alcohol-free life.
If you’re just starting your journey to going alcohol-free, haven’t had a drink in years, or have never even drank at all, these brutally honest non-fiction books are sure to make you feel seen and supported.
If you’re not sure you want to give up alcohol, but are deciding to take a break for something like Dry January, these books will help you tremendously.
If you’re still hungry for more quit-lit, I’d also recommend these Amazon finds:
- Intoxicating Lies by Meg Geisweite
- The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray
- How to Do the Work by Dr. Nicole Lepera
- Girl Walks Out of a Bar by Lisa Smith
- The Sober Diaries by Claire Pooley
- Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget by Sarah Hepola
- Sober On A Drunk Planet: The Unexpected Shortcut To Finding Happiness, Health And Financial Freedom by Sean Alexander
Are there any other books you’d add to the list? Let me know in the comments!
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