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A review by theconstantreader
High Sobriety: My Year Without Booze by Jill Stark
5.0
I wanted to read this book to give a kick in the right direction to do what I've been thinking about for some time now, and that is having a booze-free period. I've done these in the past and always felt great but this time I've been slower to get enthused about the idea. I needed some inspiration and I found it in this book.
Stark comes across as highly likeable but also - and perhaps more importantly - highly relatable. It probably also helped that at the time of taking on her year long sobriety from alcohol, she was basically exactly the same age as I am now and we both have pretty similar drinking habits and life circumstances, only I'm in a long-term relationship. I think it was all the similarities that made this book so impactful for me. I'd read Pooley's The Sober Diaries back in 2020 and while I found it insightful, it didn't hit home in the same way as this book did.
I really appreciated Stark's exploration of what constitutes problem-drinking. She demonstrated an appreciation for the complex nature of the issue and the stigma that surrounds it. No matter how you define your relationship with drinking, one message comes through very clearly in this book: alcohol is not good for you no matter your relationship with it. I really think we'll be looking back on drinking in the future and judging it much the same way way we now do smoking. We'll be wishing we as consumers did more to dismantle the very industry that compromised our health and the health of those we loved.
While her overall voice came across as compelling and even-handed, and her personal experiences matched mine, her intimate understanding alcohol via her profession as a reporter covering this subject matter meant that she was well versed with statistics and facts to really punch her message home. The way she deeply covered topics on what role alcohol plays in our national identity, social lives, personal health, work cultures and the advertising industry, made for a much more compelling analysis then what could have been provided only by one person's account of living an alcohol free year. It was also really nice that the book was focused on Aussie examples!
When I saw Stark's new book Higher Sobriety come out, I then found this one so started here. I'm now really excited to read about 10 years later, where did Stark go to from here and what does her relationship with alcohol look like today. I'm also hoping to better understand whether the proliferation of zero free alcohol options over the past 10 years has improved our nation's relationship to drinking. I'll report back!
Stark comes across as highly likeable but also - and perhaps more importantly - highly relatable. It probably also helped that at the time of taking on her year long sobriety from alcohol, she was basically exactly the same age as I am now and we both have pretty similar drinking habits and life circumstances, only I'm in a long-term relationship. I think it was all the similarities that made this book so impactful for me. I'd read Pooley's The Sober Diaries back in 2020 and while I found it insightful, it didn't hit home in the same way as this book did.
I really appreciated Stark's exploration of what constitutes problem-drinking. She demonstrated an appreciation for the complex nature of the issue and the stigma that surrounds it. No matter how you define your relationship with drinking, one message comes through very clearly in this book: alcohol is not good for you no matter your relationship with it. I really think we'll be looking back on drinking in the future and judging it much the same way way we now do smoking. We'll be wishing we as consumers did more to dismantle the very industry that compromised our health and the health of those we loved.
While her overall voice came across as compelling and even-handed, and her personal experiences matched mine, her intimate understanding alcohol via her profession as a reporter covering this subject matter meant that she was well versed with statistics and facts to really punch her message home. The way she deeply covered topics on what role alcohol plays in our national identity, social lives, personal health, work cultures and the advertising industry, made for a much more compelling analysis then what could have been provided only by one person's account of living an alcohol free year. It was also really nice that the book was focused on Aussie examples!
When I saw Stark's new book Higher Sobriety come out, I then found this one so started here. I'm now really excited to read about 10 years later, where did Stark go to from here and what does her relationship with alcohol look like today. I'm also hoping to better understand whether the proliferation of zero free alcohol options over the past 10 years has improved our nation's relationship to drinking. I'll report back!