Quit Like A Woman ★★★★☆
- Sophie Bjorkquist
- Jun 8, 2021
- 2 min read
Quit Like A Woman: The Radical Choice to not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol (Click Here To Buy)
★★★★☆
Quit Like A Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol by Holly Whitaker is a non-fiction book about alcohol.
I read this as an audiobook checked out from the library and read by the author.
Whitaker chronicles her experience drinking and how she got sober using Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Drinking. Whitaker argues that alcoholism is a negative label and how alcohol is actually bad for everyone, not just those who have a problem with it. Whitaker turns against the standard experience of sobriety, discussing the roots of AA and how it was made for white men and not women or minorities. Per Whitaker, women are already beating themselves down with negative self-talk about powerlessness and defects of character, so why would we do that more? Whitaker’s path to sobriety includes the integral map consisting of I, It, We, Its. She talks about the importance of mothering yourself, kundalini yoga, and the difference between discipline and commitment.
My main take away with Whitaker is reframing how we look at alcohol and how we approach sobriety. I have been sober since 8.13.12 and I remember how often I was the only woman in a meeting and also the somewhat strict guidelines placed around their definition of having and maintaining sobriety. I appreciate how Whitaker acknowledges that there is more than one path to sobriety and emphasizes the individuality of the experience. This is something we need more of - it’s hard enough to get sober without someone telling you there is only one way to do it. I also appreciate how Whitaker takes exercising and nutrition into account, as sobriety really is a whole body experience and about so much more than not drinking.
If you liked Quit Like A Woman, I also recommend Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski, The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van der Kolk, Rising Strong by Brené Brown, and Untamed by Glennon Doyle.
Ms.Bjork
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