“There are so many amazing options now whether that be beer, wine, spirits, proseccos,” Jamie adds, which can help you still feel included. Jamie and Tom both go for an alcohol-free Pilsner as their Christmas tipple of choice while Kali’s more of an alcohol-free wine kind of girl. “If you make it your personality, you kind of stick to it.” Tom says his first sober Christmas was “really refreshing – mainly because I didn’t ruin Christmas Day”.

The first attempts at 0% wine remedied this with lots of sugar and additives, but now processes have been refined and improved, an achievement reflected in sales. These sophisticated nolo drinks account for 13% of low ABV beverage sales. Wines are now being launched at every price point and for every occasion – from a celebration to a midweek tipple. Rumer Willis’ 2017 Dry January experiment changed her relationship with alcohol. ‘I wasn’t getting super drunk or anything like that. I think it was more so it would take about three or four days to recover after those nights out.

Most Read

Through failed relationships, serial hook-ups, blackouts, and all of the shame that comes with these experiences, Garza writes a riveting memoir narrating a journey of exploration as she seeks therapy. Eventually, she begins a 12-Step program to find relief, if not salvation, from her addictions. Although the details of our addiction and recovery stories may be different, the core of our experiences is often the same. Identifying with others who have been through the hell of addiction and made it to the other side can provide a cathartic sense of relief, providing both hope and the opportunity to feel seen and perhaps a little less alone. We are a multimedia platform dedicated to the power of really, really great stories, connecting folks all across the “sober” spectrum with storytelling of hope, honesty, inspiration, and community. Tom, Jamie and Kali all say their friends and family have been really supportive of their decision not to drink.

• We are a multimedia platform dedicated to the power of really, really great stories, connecting folks all across the “sober” spectrum with storytelling of hope, honesty, inspiration, and community.
• Once they got married and moved in together, he couldn’t hide the extent of his drinking anymore — or ignore that he had a problem.
• Nolo wine is quickly developing from a drink that is bearable to one that is a luxury.
• Since quitting the booze, it’s been a rollercoaster journey for Steph, who has launched three businesses.
• A separate study published by the CDC and the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 2020 found 3 out of 4 people who experience addiction eventually recover.
• I started popping tiny speed pills to keep me going after an all-day bender.

High-profile writer Cat Marnell answers the question in the gripping memoir of her life as she battles bulimia on top of an addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. Dresner battles through sex addiction and starting over in her 40s after she went as low as she could imagine. But she ultimately forges a path ahead to find a new life worth living.

What accounts for the rest of a person’s risk?

Tom Holland participated in Dry January in 2022 and his decision to go a month without alcohol led to full-time sobriety. Blake Shelton is determined to “stop drinking” in the new year. Since quitting the booze, it’s been a rollercoaster journey for Steph, who has launched three businesses.

One way to avoid those awkward conversations or your uncle trying to pour wine into your glass is to let your loved ones know you don’t want to drink in advance. That fear can feel even stronger at Christmas, with all the parties and catch-ups that often involve drinking. For anyone thinking of cutting down on drinking this festive season, Kali, Tom and Jamie shared some of their top tips with BBC Newsbeat.

To save lives, overdose antidote should be sold over-the-counter, advocates argue

More than just a memoir, this book is about the societal traps that lead us to drink, how drinking affects our brains and our bodies, and the psychology and neuroscience behind it all. Eventually, she goes through a series of 9-to-5 jobs that end with her living behind a Dumpster due to a descent into crack cocaine use. But in this gripping memoir, she turns it all around with the help of a family of eccentric fellow substance users and friends or strangers who come to her aid. This gripping tale is about the resilience of spirit combined with the worst of modern urban life. Cupcake survives thanks to a furious wit and an unyielding determination and you’ll want to read her inspiring (and oftentimes frightening) tale. Janelle Hanchett chronicles the story of embracing motherhood through the devastating separation from her children at the height of addiction.

I grimaced as it went down, but I reveled in the layer of padding the alcohol put between me and the real world, as if someone had wrapped the block of ice constantly pressed against my soul in a fluffy towel. More than just a sip out of someone’s glass, the cold beer with a lime that my new stepdad handed me was all mine. I remember lying down, getting a little woozy, and later, eating some crackers to settle my stomach. Whether you want to better understand the mindset of addiction or find inspiration in how they got out of it, these memoirs are nothing short of inspiring. With incredible wit and skill, Sacha Scobie manages to tell you both what alcohol used to mean for her and how her sober life is going now. She relied on alcohol, so now that this is no longer an option she has to re-evaluate everything in her life, which leads to some great and very witty observations on her newfound life.

Dry by Augusten Burroughs

I hadn’t even lived a decade, and I hurt so much I wished it were over already. Mary Karr is known for her wit and charming style, and in these pages, she discusses pretty much all her life struggles, not only those with alcohol. This memoir is poetic and a treat for lovers of beautiful writing.

• This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks.
• All of the pain I’d been trying to deny, all of the wounds I’d been trying to ignore, and all of the memories I’d been trying to repress came slithering out of the darkness.
• This book shares a new approach to combating addiction and other self-damaging behaviors.

Off to college I went, at a major university in Washington, DC, with plans to study chemistry with a minor in psychology in a pre-med curriculum. None of my roommates, five in a dorm suite, drank or partied like I did. Within a week I was able to find another room with three sophomore roommates who were just like me.

Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp

Winning career accolades by day and drinking at night, Knapp brings you to the netherworld of alcohol use disorder. I spent over a decade knowing that I was supposed to be someone else but constantly getting further inspirational stories of sobriety and further away from that. So for me, the things that have been difficult like friendships and relationships are different now that I can stand up for myself and set boundaries and I know what I want.

• Without drinking, she says she’s a more attentive friend but she admits it’s a bit harder to find your feet on the dancefloor.
• If Kali’s feeling tempted to have a drink, she just opens her notes app.
• Once a life in recovery and a life of complete abstinence from alcohol became more normal for Laura, she began to excel in her chosen profession – writing.
• She also divulges the details on her emerging feminism, an alternate way out of her own addiction, and a calling to create a sober community with resources for anyone who is questioning their own relationship with alcohol.
• Studies also show racial bias makes it harder for Black and Hispanic Americans to find treatment.
• Well, at least point things in a far more positive direction, if only for a little while.

Gradually, then suddenly.” For anyone who has experienced a descent in alcoholism, that’s a pretty apt description of how it goes – gradually, then suddenly. Research shows that listening to or reading stories affects our brains. Listening to the stories of others in therapy groups can change people’s perspective.