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The Sober Lush: A Hedonist's Guide to Living a Decadent, Adventurous, Soulful Life--Alcohol Free
A sober hedonist's guide to living a decadent, wild, and soulful life--alcohol-free.
In a culture where sipping "rosé all day" is seen as the epitome of relaxation, "grabbing a drink" the only way to network; and meeting at a bar the quintessential "first date," many of us are left wondering if drinking alcohol really is the only way to cultivate joy and connection in life.
Jardine Libaire and Amanda Eyre Ward wanted to live spontaneous and luxurious lives, to escape the ordinary and enjoy the intoxicating. Their drinking, however, had started to numb them to the present moment instead of unlocking it. Ward was introduced to Libaire when she first got sober. As they became friends, the two women talked about how they yearned to create lives that were Technicolor, beautifully raw, connected, blissed out, and outside the lines . . . but how? In The Sober Lush , Libaire and Ward provide a road map for living a lush and sensual life without booze. This book offers ideas and instruction for such nonalcoholic joys as:
• The allure of "the Vanish," in which one disappears early from the party without saying goodbye to a soul, to amble home under the stars
• The art of creating zero-proof cocktails for all seasons
• Having a fantastic first date while completely sober
• A primer on setting up your own backyard beehive, and honey tastings
For anyone curious about lowering their alcohol consumption or quitting drinking altogether, or anyone established in sobriety who wants inspiration, this shimmering and sumptuous book will show you how to keep indulging in life even if you stop indulging in alcohol.
In a culture where sipping "rosé all day" is seen as the epitome of relaxation, "grabbing a drink" the only way to network; and meeting at a bar the quintessential "first date," many of us are left wondering if drinking alcohol really is the only way to cultivate joy and connection in life.
Jardine Libaire and Amanda Eyre Ward wanted to live spontaneous and luxurious lives, to escape the ordinary and enjoy the intoxicating. Their drinking, however, had started to numb them to the present moment instead of unlocking it. Ward was introduced to Libaire when she first got sober. As they became friends, the two women talked about how they yearned to create lives that were Technicolor, beautifully raw, connected, blissed out, and outside the lines . . . but how? In The Sober Lush , Libaire and Ward provide a road map for living a lush and sensual life without booze. This book offers ideas and instruction for such nonalcoholic joys as:
• The allure of "the Vanish," in which one disappears early from the party without saying goodbye to a soul, to amble home under the stars
• The art of creating zero-proof cocktails for all seasons
• Having a fantastic first date while completely sober
• A primer on setting up your own backyard beehive, and honey tastings
For anyone curious about lowering their alcohol consumption or quitting drinking altogether, or anyone established in sobriety who wants inspiration, this shimmering and sumptuous book will show you how to keep indulging in life even if you stop indulging in alcohol.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published June 2, 2020
433 people are currently reading
2882 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Eyre Ward
16 books1,389 followersAmanda Eyre Ward’s new novel. LOVERS AND LIARS, will be published in May, 2024! It is the story of a librarian in love.
Here is a very long bio: Amanda was born in New York City in 1972. Her family mved to Rye, New York when she was four. Amanda attended Kent School in Kent, CT, where she wrote for the Kent News.
Amanda majored in English and American Studies at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. She studied fiction writing with Jim Shepard and spent her junior fall in coastal Kenya. She worked part-time at the Williamstown Public Library. After graduation, Amanda taught at Athens College in Greece for a year, and then moved to Missoula, Montana.
Amanda studied fiction writing at the University of Montana with Bill Kittredge, Dierdre McNamer, Debra Earling, and Kevin Canty, receiving her MFA. After traveling to Egypt, she took a job at the University of Montana Mansfield Library, working in Inter Library Loan.
In 1998, Amanda moved to Austin, Texas where she began working on Sleep Toward Heaven. Amanda finished Sleep Toward Heaven, which was published in 2003. Sleep Toward Heaven won the Violet Crown Book Award and was optioned for film by Sandra Bullock and Fox Searchlight. To promote Sleep Toward Heaven, Amanda, her baby, and her mother Mary-Anne Westley traveled to London and Paris.
Amanda moved to Waterville, Maine, where she wrote in an attic filled with books. Amanda’s second novel, How to Be Lost, was published in 2004. How to Be Lost was selected as a Target Bookmarked pick, and has been published in fifteen countries.
After one year in Maine and two years on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Amanda and her family returned to Austin, Texas.
To research her third novel, Forgive Me, Amanda traveled with her sister, Liza Ward Bennigson, to Cape Town, South Africa. Forgive Me was published in 2007.
Amanda's short story collection, Love Stories in This Town, was published in April, 2009.
Her fourth novel, Close Your Eyes, published in July, 2011, received a four-star reiew in People Magazine, won the Elle Lettres Readers' Prize for September, and inspired the Dallas Morning News to write, "With CLOSE YOUR EYES, Austin novelist Amanda Eyre Ward puts another jewel in her crown as the reigning doyenne of 'dark secrets' literary fiction."
Close Your Eyes was named in Kirkus' Best Books of 2011, and won the Elle Magazine Fiction Book of the Year. It was released in paperback in August, 2012.
Amanda's fifth novel, The Same Sky, was published on January 20, 2015. It was named one of the most anticipated books for 2015 by BookPeople and Book of the Week by People Magazine. Dallas Morning News writes, "Ward has written a novel that brilliantly attaches us to broader perspectives. It is a needed respite from the angry politics surrounding border issues that, instead of dividing us, connects us to our humanity."
The Same Sky was chosen as a Target Bookmarked pick.
Amanda's new novel, The Nearness of You, was published on Valentine's Day, 2017.
Amanda's new novel, THE JETSETTERS, was chosen by Reese's Book Club and Hello Sunshine and became a New York Times bestseller. Her novel THE LIFEGUARDS was published in 2022.
Ask me anything and stay tuned for news about LOVERS AND LIARS and TV and film projects based on Amanda's work!
Here is a very long bio: Amanda was born in New York City in 1972. Her family mved to Rye, New York when she was four. Amanda attended Kent School in Kent, CT, where she wrote for the Kent News.
Amanda majored in English and American Studies at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. She studied fiction writing with Jim Shepard and spent her junior fall in coastal Kenya. She worked part-time at the Williamstown Public Library. After graduation, Amanda taught at Athens College in Greece for a year, and then moved to Missoula, Montana.
Amanda studied fiction writing at the University of Montana with Bill Kittredge, Dierdre McNamer, Debra Earling, and Kevin Canty, receiving her MFA. After traveling to Egypt, she took a job at the University of Montana Mansfield Library, working in Inter Library Loan.
In 1998, Amanda moved to Austin, Texas where she began working on Sleep Toward Heaven. Amanda finished Sleep Toward Heaven, which was published in 2003. Sleep Toward Heaven won the Violet Crown Book Award and was optioned for film by Sandra Bullock and Fox Searchlight. To promote Sleep Toward Heaven, Amanda, her baby, and her mother Mary-Anne Westley traveled to London and Paris.
Amanda moved to Waterville, Maine, where she wrote in an attic filled with books. Amanda’s second novel, How to Be Lost, was published in 2004. How to Be Lost was selected as a Target Bookmarked pick, and has been published in fifteen countries.
After one year in Maine and two years on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Amanda and her family returned to Austin, Texas.
To research her third novel, Forgive Me, Amanda traveled with her sister, Liza Ward Bennigson, to Cape Town, South Africa. Forgive Me was published in 2007.
Amanda's short story collection, Love Stories in This Town, was published in April, 2009.
Her fourth novel, Close Your Eyes, published in July, 2011, received a four-star reiew in People Magazine, won the Elle Lettres Readers' Prize for September, and inspired the Dallas Morning News to write, "With CLOSE YOUR EYES, Austin novelist Amanda Eyre Ward puts another jewel in her crown as the reigning doyenne of 'dark secrets' literary fiction."
Close Your Eyes was named in Kirkus' Best Books of 2011, and won the Elle Magazine Fiction Book of the Year. It was released in paperback in August, 2012.
Amanda's fifth novel, The Same Sky, was published on January 20, 2015. It was named one of the most anticipated books for 2015 by BookPeople and Book of the Week by People Magazine. Dallas Morning News writes, "Ward has written a novel that brilliantly attaches us to broader perspectives. It is a needed respite from the angry politics surrounding border issues that, instead of dividing us, connects us to our humanity."
The Same Sky was chosen as a Target Bookmarked pick.
Amanda's new novel, The Nearness of You, was published on Valentine's Day, 2017.
Amanda's new novel, THE JETSETTERS, was chosen by Reese's Book Club and Hello Sunshine and became a New York Times bestseller. Her novel THE LIFEGUARDS was published in 2022.
Ask me anything and stay tuned for news about LOVERS AND LIARS and TV and film projects based on Amanda's work!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
October 9, 2020
The hipster's guide to the most pretentious things to do while sober written by "WRITERS". The language was so gooey and the writers so full of themselves- please don't waste your time. I read the whole thing thinking it might get better, and it never did. "We love clips of Jack Smith films and abstract video art and interviews with Grace Jones and psychedelic animated short films, of dolphins, to trigger new mind states without chemicals" Seriously? OMG
March 17, 2021
I've long been aware that I don't have the healthiest relationship with alcohol and have tried a few sober stints. One of the things that causes me to relapse is that I've bought into the brainwashing that drinking is somehow decadent, wild and rock'n'roll.
In The Sober Lush, Jardine Libaire and Amanda Eyre Ward show that actually the real rebellion is *not* to drink, and that it's perfectly possible to be hedonistic and adventurous without alcohol, and to live a life of genuine joy and connection.
In some beautifully written, inspiring chapters, they offer guides to getting out of boring parties early, getting creative in the kitchen, dating whilst sober, cultivating new hobbies, and more.
On the negative side, it does all feel a bit white and privileged, and not everyone has access to the resources or opportunities offered, but for me personally this was an uplifting and encouraging read, that made me feel a lot more positive about living alcohol free.
In The Sober Lush, Jardine Libaire and Amanda Eyre Ward show that actually the real rebellion is *not* to drink, and that it's perfectly possible to be hedonistic and adventurous without alcohol, and to live a life of genuine joy and connection.
In some beautifully written, inspiring chapters, they offer guides to getting out of boring parties early, getting creative in the kitchen, dating whilst sober, cultivating new hobbies, and more.
On the negative side, it does all feel a bit white and privileged, and not everyone has access to the resources or opportunities offered, but for me personally this was an uplifting and encouraging read, that made me feel a lot more positive about living alcohol free.
September 22, 2020
I loved the premise and appreciated so many of the ideas but the use of third-person for each of the author's parts drove me absolutely crazy; there are so many ways to co-author a book without resorting to third-person.
January 4, 2021
The social pressure to enjoy alcohol in this country is astounding, and so it is no wonder that Americans have a difficult time reflecting on their consumption and intentions when partaking. I consider myself to be sober-adjacent, considering the infrequency in which I drink alcohol, my distaste for its flavors, and a family history of alcohol abuse. Yet I always worry that I will never self actualize until I learn to enjoy beer LOL. This book validates sobriety, sober adjacency, and temporary sabbaticals from the substance such as Dry January or June or September.
This book felt like a less intense, less MLM-y version of Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol, which I did not finish because I do not think meditating cures addiction. ANYWAY. The Sober Lush also reminds me of themes from The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, and asks why we unintentionally center our gatherings around alcohol.
I'd recommend this to anyone considering a life untainted by substances, whether it's for a month or for good.
This book felt like a less intense, less MLM-y version of Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol, which I did not finish because I do not think meditating cures addiction. ANYWAY. The Sober Lush also reminds me of themes from The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, and asks why we unintentionally center our gatherings around alcohol.
I'd recommend this to anyone considering a life untainted by substances, whether it's for a month or for good.
May 4, 2021
I'm not sure if I should blame the authors or the editor or the publisher. Penguin Books should not be to blame but should TarcherPerigee (arm of Penguin)? These white women remind me of the Austin version of Portlandia characters. Are you fucking kidding me? Life is better without alcohol as long as you eat things with a toothpick? My biggest issue with the book is that the whole fucking things is in this horrendous third person plural narrative as if these 2 friends are 1 collective sober Siamese twin without ever once having the difference of opinion on anything. I have 2 hours left in this book and I think I am going to spare myself this special torture and move on to either something vapid on purpose or more substantive literature.
June 20, 2020
This is the book I wanted to write. The book I never want to stop reading! Brilliant writing. Highly recommend for anyone who, like me, is terrified of living a boring life, and sober. This book should be mandatory for anyone looking for inspiration in living alcohol free.
June 3, 2020
Returned after listening for an hour. The Oscar de la Renta dress, dinner in Hampton’s, cashmere sweaters, no thanks. And the narrator sounds like an SNL skit. It reads very phoney.
November 14, 2020
This is really hard for me to rate. It was incredibly helpful to me as I navigate cutting my alcohol consumption. It gave me a lot of hope about not being a prudish buzzkill if I decide to forgo cocktail hour. It also helped me formulate some good ideas about how to talk to people about my decision. I also got suggestions about a lot of books I’d like to read.
Amanda and Jardine value all the same things I do and they even have a similar writing style as mine. I think that’s what rubbed me the wrong way the most about their book: I wanted to edit all their self-indulgent stylistic sentences that I could too easily imagine myself writing myself. And while I love the vignette style chapters in theory, in practice it became tedious. Perhaps it needed more substance and fewer examples. Or maybe it just needed to be a slimmer volume. I’m also not convinced they handled the “two author problem” very well. I wonder if it would have been better to compose alternating chapters in dialogue, like trading eights.
Oh and I consider myself to be fairly well-off financially and if *I* find myself wondering where all their money comes from for their extravagant lifestyle, you may have a bit of an audience problem on your hands. Most people can’t afford to jet off on random trips, even if the tickets are cheap, because we have to show up for work. More example of realistic and inexpensive decadence might have helped. There’s a big privilege issue in this book.
Amanda and Jardine value all the same things I do and they even have a similar writing style as mine. I think that’s what rubbed me the wrong way the most about their book: I wanted to edit all their self-indulgent stylistic sentences that I could too easily imagine myself writing myself. And while I love the vignette style chapters in theory, in practice it became tedious. Perhaps it needed more substance and fewer examples. Or maybe it just needed to be a slimmer volume. I’m also not convinced they handled the “two author problem” very well. I wonder if it would have been better to compose alternating chapters in dialogue, like trading eights.
Oh and I consider myself to be fairly well-off financially and if *I* find myself wondering where all their money comes from for their extravagant lifestyle, you may have a bit of an audience problem on your hands. Most people can’t afford to jet off on random trips, even if the tickets are cheap, because we have to show up for work. More example of realistic and inexpensive decadence might have helped. There’s a big privilege issue in this book.
July 22, 2021
This book is trying VERY hard. There were parts I liked, but the authors desperately NEED you to know how cool they are. It lost a full star when they name dropped Matthew McConaughey for literally no reason.
November 5, 2020
Life-giving nourishment to the newly sober, thank you, thank you, thank you for writing this book. <3
April 17, 2025
Tolles Buch für reiche, weiße Amerikanerinnen im mittleren Lebensabschnitt…für alle anderen…eher nicht.
July 2, 2020
The best book I’ve read this year. A positive and fun book about sobriety. It made me think more positively and mindfully about everything, not just sobriety. Inspiring and the writing was so beautiful I read some pages multiple times. Loved it!!
January 28, 2021
I was warned it was a Hedonist’s guide in the title but this caused me almost as much nausea as anything I have ever experienced before. This was a battle between my OCD and need to finish what I started and my ADHD which experienced slow torture from this endless self indulgence. It literally has no narrative at all just a steady stream of bragging about what they are spending money on instead of alcohol now. You want to read about how you are missing out on artisan bread and specialized honey — you’ll love it. I will say if it helped one alcoholic, I applaud that. I was warned I would hate this but didn’t listen. Speaking of listening, the audiobook reader lives up to this review. She’s horrible but maybe she’s being true to the book.
March 12, 2021
This had potential. The introduction left me excited to read something new in the sober lit genre.
What I got was radical self indulgence and then...”boycott bathing if you want to”.
Then they totally lost me.
Also, writing an entire book from the third person is so frustrating to read. And not just one third person perspective, but TWO!
Ugh. This was really terrible. I’m so disappointed!
What I got was radical self indulgence and then...”boycott bathing if you want to”.
Then they totally lost me.
Also, writing an entire book from the third person is so frustrating to read. And not just one third person perspective, but TWO!
Ugh. This was really terrible. I’m so disappointed!
January 9, 2024
This started out absolutely insufferable and I almost put it down about an hour into the audiobook. I'm not alone in this - many of the reviews on Audible say the exact same thing. The epitome of the Sex and the City generation - middle-class white ladies finding meaning through candles and baths. I'm not sure when it started to win me over, but it did. Instead of rolling my eyes at their gushing compliments on the joys of picking flowers, I started to think of the various hobbies I used to do before drinking became the One and Only Hobby. It - eventually - made me want to write. About sobriety, about the price of mocktails (SERIOUSLY WTF WHY ARE THEY 12 DOLLARS THERE'S NO ALCOHOL IN THEM), about making it through my birthday, Christmas, AND New Year's without taking a drink. I know, hold your applause! *pats self on back*
So I guess I liked it, in the end.
So I guess I liked it, in the end.
December 10, 2023
My sober friend ordered this for me since I was interested in mock-tails and she said there were some cute recipes on this book. I ended up reading the entire thing since I have also been sober curious for some time now.
This book isn’t exactly a guide, however it does cover how beautiful and full of sparkle life can be with no alcohol. Loved it
This book isn’t exactly a guide, however it does cover how beautiful and full of sparkle life can be with no alcohol. Loved it
August 9, 2022
I really wanted to love this book. I was hoping it would be the quit lit book I needed right now— one that celebrated with me the punk rock feeling of liberation from alcohol and not like most the others that drag me down into a worrying storm of depression, deep-digging, and sadness. And it was *almost* there. The concept is great! The execution… is excruciating.
First of all the third-person they (two authors who clearly MUST be seen) write in gets unbearable.
Secondly, these women are just insufferable. This ended up feeling like what I imagine a quit lit book written by the staff of Goop would be. And I can’t stand Goop. Pretentious, cloying, twee. Ugh.
I wanted something less serious, something more celebratory, something less deep to dive into on my path to sobriety than the quit lit books I’d been reading, and I guess I found it? But it just reads as so very shallow & instagrammingly surface. I had to quit when I got to the chapter on bread. Yes, I wanted something light and happy about sobriety, but something in the way these two cheerfully write what feels like an Instagram-era Martha Stewart guide to entertaining, I found myself wondering if these ladies had even had issues giving up drinking or had just done their obligatory party-girl performances on the way for this “hedonist’s guide” because every overly-wrought, poetically-waxed word and name drop just started to feel very performative. I guess I need my shallow to be just slightly more deep than this. Just another “look-at-me/see me” show. A whole chapter on honey?! Give me a break. But don’t worry, the chapters are rarely more than a page and half because it’s really just like reading an in-flight travel/lifestyle magazine.
EDIT: I felt guilty for my review up there and turned to the next chapter (PINICS, BIG + SMALL) to see if I’d spoken to soon and found this passage which perfectly summarizes exactly what’s driving me nuts about this book:
“We love thermoses of iced coconut milk with ginger, Indian quilts, and friends lying around and napping and sky-gazing together. We comb back yard sales for fake-gold picnic utensils and big old wicker baskets with leather straps, foldable rattan chairs and old unraveling Persian rugs and a portable espresso maker (it exists and it’s cheap and easy!). We love the idea of opening up a minivan at the edge of a forest and unloading a dog, a cooler or two, and a wireless speaker to play proper picnic music like Leonard Cohen, the Isley Brothers, Cocteau Twins.”
First of all the third-person they (two authors who clearly MUST be seen) write in gets unbearable.
Secondly, these women are just insufferable. This ended up feeling like what I imagine a quit lit book written by the staff of Goop would be. And I can’t stand Goop. Pretentious, cloying, twee. Ugh.
I wanted something less serious, something more celebratory, something less deep to dive into on my path to sobriety than the quit lit books I’d been reading, and I guess I found it? But it just reads as so very shallow & instagrammingly surface. I had to quit when I got to the chapter on bread. Yes, I wanted something light and happy about sobriety, but something in the way these two cheerfully write what feels like an Instagram-era Martha Stewart guide to entertaining, I found myself wondering if these ladies had even had issues giving up drinking or had just done their obligatory party-girl performances on the way for this “hedonist’s guide” because every overly-wrought, poetically-waxed word and name drop just started to feel very performative. I guess I need my shallow to be just slightly more deep than this. Just another “look-at-me/see me” show. A whole chapter on honey?! Give me a break. But don’t worry, the chapters are rarely more than a page and half because it’s really just like reading an in-flight travel/lifestyle magazine.
EDIT: I felt guilty for my review up there and turned to the next chapter (PINICS, BIG + SMALL) to see if I’d spoken to soon and found this passage which perfectly summarizes exactly what’s driving me nuts about this book:
“We love thermoses of iced coconut milk with ginger, Indian quilts, and friends lying around and napping and sky-gazing together. We comb back yard sales for fake-gold picnic utensils and big old wicker baskets with leather straps, foldable rattan chairs and old unraveling Persian rugs and a portable espresso maker (it exists and it’s cheap and easy!). We love the idea of opening up a minivan at the edge of a forest and unloading a dog, a cooler or two, and a wireless speaker to play proper picnic music like Leonard Cohen, the Isley Brothers, Cocteau Twins.”
September 3, 2020
Highly recommend! This book was fantastic.
Preface: Earlier this year, I planned to focus more on health, so I decided to reduce the frequency and quantity of alcohol I consume. I learned how to have a nice time in a group setting or at dinner without a drink and how to “have just one (or two)” AND THEN STOP. **I did not plan quit alcohol completely.**
As a person who lives in Beer City USA (my city has over 40 breweries, several wine bars, so many gastro pubs with craft cocktails), drinking with friends is a pastime on its own. Additionally, we can drink in all of the movie theaters, we have many summer events that are BYOB downtown... and so, it seemed daunting to find something to do that didn’t involve drinking. I also had a fear that it would be awkward with friends & family if I didn’t drink or had just one.
This book helped me find ways to enjoy myself while enjoying my friends while they are enjoying cocktails. The book taught me ways to stretch our time in the way a drink after dinner would, to indulge in decadence. It also reinforced my healthier relationship with alcohol by providing many stories, some - however unfortunate - were relatable.
And now, in the last month or so, our city has a few areas downtown that allow you to carry open drinks around town (Don’t get me wrong, I am excited for this - however it offers a new challenge to not over indulge... it will also be hard to not indulge in just one, given the newness of it)... This book is truly helpful and I am looking forward to revisiting it in the next year or so.
Thank you to the authors for sharing their experiences & stories.
Preface: Earlier this year, I planned to focus more on health, so I decided to reduce the frequency and quantity of alcohol I consume. I learned how to have a nice time in a group setting or at dinner without a drink and how to “have just one (or two)” AND THEN STOP. **I did not plan quit alcohol completely.**
As a person who lives in Beer City USA (my city has over 40 breweries, several wine bars, so many gastro pubs with craft cocktails), drinking with friends is a pastime on its own. Additionally, we can drink in all of the movie theaters, we have many summer events that are BYOB downtown... and so, it seemed daunting to find something to do that didn’t involve drinking. I also had a fear that it would be awkward with friends & family if I didn’t drink or had just one.
This book helped me find ways to enjoy myself while enjoying my friends while they are enjoying cocktails. The book taught me ways to stretch our time in the way a drink after dinner would, to indulge in decadence. It also reinforced my healthier relationship with alcohol by providing many stories, some - however unfortunate - were relatable.
And now, in the last month or so, our city has a few areas downtown that allow you to carry open drinks around town (Don’t get me wrong, I am excited for this - however it offers a new challenge to not over indulge... it will also be hard to not indulge in just one, given the newness of it)... This book is truly helpful and I am looking forward to revisiting it in the next year or so.
Thank you to the authors for sharing their experiences & stories.
September 25, 2020
While I appreciated the sentiment of this book, I found a lot of the ideas surrounding sobriety to be incredibly privileged and unrealistic for the average person. I am middle class, doing fairly well for myself, and even I had to roll my eyes when they were like "go to Italy and eat pasta! Who needs wine, anyway?" etc. Not all of us can afford to do many of the things in this book.
That being said, I did enjoy many of the stories and anecdotes and could relate on some of them.
That being said, I did enjoy many of the stories and anecdotes and could relate on some of them.
November 29, 2020
I loved the idea of this book, and am a firm believer that sobriety doesn't mean boring! This book on the other hand, was a bit boring.
June 15, 2023
I feel bad rating it this low, but I had to drag myself to finish it. I did enjoy it, though. But I realized about 2 sections in that, while advertised as a book for everyone, is not really. It is very heavily ex-alcoholic-centered, which, fair. That is the point of the book. As someone who is already sober (I don't really like alcohol), this book had a few stories that were interesting and I might try, but a lot of the stuff was moot.
I liked some of the stories, but a lot of them were basic self-care tips? Which, nice, but also does not help me at all. And some were just... unaffordable. They come from the position of writers, where they have a lot of free time and don't have to go to work every day. Not everyone has their amount of time or flexibility.
Also, it was weirdly hard to relate to the book because of the existing dependence on alcohol. Again, this book is not for me, but the fact that they mentioned everything, from parties to free time to TRAVELING all centered around alcohol was so wild to me. And the fact they said it was a 100% normal thing that everyone does was a bit ostracizing. I get the parties, but really? TRAVEL? I never thought about that, so it was weird to know that some people tie alcohol to everything.
Also, side note that really did make the quality suffer. I found that the chapters that were fewer than 2 pages (1.5, or 1 page) did not have as much of an impact. They felt too short to have an engaging message in them. It felt more like an advice column or an ad. The ones that were 2-3 pages long were significantly better than the shorter ones because they gave themselves time to work up to the point.
Overall, some of their ideas were interesting but overall, not helpful for anyone who isn't an alcoholic, really.
I liked some of the stories, but a lot of them were basic self-care tips? Which, nice, but also does not help me at all. And some were just... unaffordable. They come from the position of writers, where they have a lot of free time and don't have to go to work every day. Not everyone has their amount of time or flexibility.
Also, it was weirdly hard to relate to the book because of the existing dependence on alcohol. Again, this book is not for me, but the fact that they mentioned everything, from parties to free time to TRAVELING all centered around alcohol was so wild to me. And the fact they said it was a 100% normal thing that everyone does was a bit ostracizing. I get the parties, but really? TRAVEL? I never thought about that, so it was weird to know that some people tie alcohol to everything.
Also, side note that really did make the quality suffer. I found that the chapters that were fewer than 2 pages (1.5, or 1 page) did not have as much of an impact. They felt too short to have an engaging message in them. It felt more like an advice column or an ad. The ones that were 2-3 pages long were significantly better than the shorter ones because they gave themselves time to work up to the point.
Overall, some of their ideas were interesting but overall, not helpful for anyone who isn't an alcoholic, really.
November 17, 2023
I thought the premise sounded interesting and different from a lot of the quit lit out there. Rather than talk about the negative effects of alcohol, why not talk about the positive impacts of not drinking and all the ways you can still live a full, vibrant, wild life? Sounds great!
Except the book was a mess. From the strange use of the third person and collective “we”, to the topics that bounced around without any cohesion, to the strangely long list of ingredients that the authors determined are “luscious”, I struggled to follow along or understand the greater point. On top of that, the authors seem a lot like the kind of people who can’t help but try to one-up you on how cool they are.
There are far better quit lit books out there that examine the positive side of abstaining, and I’d recommend those! Quit Like a Woman, Sober Curious, and This Naked Mind (currently reading) come to mind.
Except the book was a mess. From the strange use of the third person and collective “we”, to the topics that bounced around without any cohesion, to the strangely long list of ingredients that the authors determined are “luscious”, I struggled to follow along or understand the greater point. On top of that, the authors seem a lot like the kind of people who can’t help but try to one-up you on how cool they are.
There are far better quit lit books out there that examine the positive side of abstaining, and I’d recommend those! Quit Like a Woman, Sober Curious, and This Naked Mind (currently reading) come to mind.
October 7, 2024
I don't know how to tie up this one. I really enjoyed how they were short little reminders of how just to enjoy the little things in life and just to take a step back and remember what you used to enjoy. Even if your not looking at this from a thing to get sober point of view I think their are some very good lessons you can take with you.
May 28, 2024
1.5 stars
October 11, 2021
I have read over 8 books about the alcohol free life - some of them raw and beautiful and others more informative. This one, is pure magic, making the sober lifestyle seem lush (just like the title) but also mysterious, cool and eclectic. I enjoy the writing style and the short chapters too. Big fan of these women
January 14, 2024
DNF. Not relatable.
July 19, 2020
I was absolutely in love with this book before I read one word of it. I’m not a drunk down by the river with a brown paper bag or a person hiding under a bridge looking for the last sip of vodka in a tossed out bottle I’m a mom, a wife , a friend, and a well educated women from the suburbs trying to navigate a lush life sober. I’m so thankful for these gals working to break the stigma of avoiding alcohol and the tips for surviving it. Well done ladies.
December 21, 2021
A beautiful book written by writers. Let me clarify - I mean that the authors seem to know the craft of writing as opposed to being people who usually do something other than write, but choose to write a book to share their knowledge. The book is full of ethereal, vignette-style sections that show the beauty and happiness that can come from a sober life. Some of the stories are self-indulgent and overly luxurious which may feel unrealistic for some readers but I appreciate them as something sober people feeling lost can reach for or dream about. The point of the story in my opinion is not to tell sober people what to do or even tell people they need to be sober. Instead the authors give options and show that it is absolutely possible to have as much, if not more, happiness while sober. I'm over a year sober and I feel myself wavering sometimes but this book helped me dig my heels in the dirt to remain committed. It reminds me that I'm not missing out by being sober. I'm choosing to live a more clear life and do what is best for me.
August 23, 2020
I loved this book. It would be especially perfect for someone who is newly sober but it's also a worthwhile read for anyone who wants to live life more fully, more presently, and more creatively. It's FULL of great ideas for how to live an adventurous life and the best part is the authors are both professional writers so it's really beautifully written.
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