Quit Lit Review: 11 Books to Help You Get and Stay Sober
All the quit lit I read during my first two years of sobriety
The first few months and years of sobriety can feel like an expanse of empty time. Because we aren’t hobbling out of a bar or having that third mimosa with Sunday brunch, space is freed up for other things. This leaves many of us seeking stories or instructions, a friend, a guide, an explanation for why it feels so weird. We might see less of our own friends, but find friendly voices on the pages of books that tell us we aren’t crazy, we aren’t sick, and, most of all, we are not alone.
Books have the power to change lives. The written word can comfort, entertain, inform, and sometimes even heal. There’s something magical about blocking out everything else to focus on one person’s story and words. It feels like a gift—like a power-up that can keep us moving forward.
For some, the choice to get sober is a catalyst for getting the words out. The quit-lit genre ranges from gritty memoir to science-based self-help to examinations of alcohol’s role in modern life. I’m grateful to quit-lit authors for sharing their stories, perspectives, and gifts—and I’m excited to share them with you.
The list below is not exhaustive, but it includes all the quit lit I’ve read since getting sober in 2022.
11 Books to Help You Get and Stay Sober
This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life
Many tout This Naked Mind as the book that changed their relationship with alcohol forever. Annie Grace is candid about how, although her drinking persona was normalized and socially accepted, she felt something dark happening behind the veil of networking cocktail hours.
Many people find Annie’s story relatable because she didn’t hit a rockbottom or blow up her life before making the decision to stop drinking. She dismantles the illusions about alcohol that keep millions stuck in “gray area drinking” (a term coined by Jolene Park). Anyone familiar with the Allen Carr Easyway Method books will recognize the way Annie breaks down the uselessness of engaging with addictive substances. The simple breakdown of how the habit is created elicits a eureka moment. People report being done with alcohol before even finishing the book.
Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol
Quit Like a Woman, by Holly Whitaker, upends the destructive notion that drinking alcohol is a rebellious feminist act, demonstrating that a glass of whisky at the end of the day is not the best way for a woman to come into her power. The book’s primary audience is women and other marginalized groups, but its points about quitting drinking and taking back our power are universal. You will never look at a beer commercial the same way again.
Alcohol Explained: Understanding Why You Drink and How to Stop It
Alcohol Explained, by William Porter, explores the role of alcohol in our lives from an objective, scientific perspective. The book is a fantastic resource that delves into what alcohol does to us physiologically and psychologically. It is a thorough examination of all the processes at work behind alcohol addiction and why quitting can be such a difficult battle. This book is great for people who want to know everything about alcohol. To sum it up in one sentence: alcohol is bad for your mind, body, and spirit.
The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease
The Biology of Desire, by Marc Lewis, Ph.D., explores the idea that addiction is not a disease but, rather, evidence of the body working as intended. He explains that addiction is the result of very normal mechanisms, whereby the addictive substance or behavior hijacks a person’s motivation and becomes their primary focus. In addition to alcohol, the book covers a range of substances and habits, including meth, pills, heroin, and disordered eating.
Dry Humping: A Guide to Dating, Relating, and Hooking Up Without the Booze
Dry Humping, by Tawny Lara, assures readers that sobriety doesn’t mean your love life is over. To the contrary, it might be better than ever! This how-to guide offers tips on mindset and practices for bringing our most authentic self into romantic relationships and all relationships.
The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober
The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, by Catherine Gray, is part memoir, part instructions about how to become a sober person and be happy about it. Her colorful language oozes character and personality and leaves the reader eager to share a non-alcoholic seltzer and a story with her.
Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget
Blackout, by Sarah Hepola, is a gritty, raw, and uncensored story of what it’s like to be in active alcohol addiction (which, for some, can be triggering). To me, it feels like she’s peeling away the glitz and glamor layered atop the party lifestyle and looking at all the ugly situations and emotions hiding under the surface. This book took me back to the partying days of my twenties and how we all normalized and laughed at the fact that we put ourselves in dangerous and unhealthy situations every time we went out.
Stash: My Life in Hiding
Stash, by Laura Cathcart Robbins, is about a high-profile, wealthy woman who was having trouble sleeping and then developed a pill addiction. Throughout the book, the narrator is battling active addiction in real time. She is candid and raw, explaining how burying her feelings of inadequacy led to burying big parts of herself and, ultimately, burying the fact that she had a potentially life-threatening dependence on prescription medication.
We Are The Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
We Are the Luckiest, by Laura McKowen, is one of those vulnerable and personal stories that focuses both on what it was like to suffer and what it was like to get better. I love her message that it is actually this struggle that makes us great; it’s nothing to be ashamed of and opens our lives and hearts to bigger and better possibilities. One of the best kept secrets of sobriety is that, even though we might sometimes feel like we’re missing out on something, giving up drinking brings something much better.
Wishful Drinking
Wishful Drinking, by Carrie Fisher, is a one-woman show converted into a memoir. It’s meant as entertainment, poking fun at the spectacle and chaos that came with being the child of celebrities. While it zips along like a monologue punched up with relentless jokes, the heart of the story is Carrie’s love for her mother and daughter.
Like a Normal Person
Like a Normal Person is my story. It doesn’t start with an intense rockbottom or give research-based instructions on the best way to yoga or meditate your way out of all the rawness of sober feelings. It’s like Eat, Pray, Love but more like Starve, Curse, Obsess. I wanted to capture both the magic and the pain of new sobriety and the idea that giving up one substance can tear your life apart, but can also bring your whole self back together.
It’s a story about finding my voice, and I’m interested in hearing yours. I don’t want to see how you made over your wardrobe or house. I want to hear your recovery story, and see how you made over your soul.
Share your favorite quit lit in the comments!
What quit lit has supported your sobriety journey?
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So many powerful reads here, Julie. QUIT LIKE A WOMAN, WE ARE THE LUCKIEST, and THIS NAKED MIND played a monumental role in my decision to get and stay sober.
And huge celebration of YOUR book! I have no doubt your voice and story will inspire and help so many. ❤️
I would add "Never Enough" by Judith Grisel, a neuroscientist. It has helped me beyond measure.