1. The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray

This book changed my life, it resonated with me in a way that nothing has before, I honestly cannot sign its praises enough; reading it was like an epiphany moment and I just could not put it down.

Two-thirds of The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober is about what comes after the quitting, after the day one. ‘What will life be like if I quit? How will I cope with anxiety, with New Year’s Eve, with a first kiss? Will it be worth the gargantuan lifestyle change?’

In this book Catherine Gray shows that sober life offers you so much more: rather than spending all day sleeping off your hangover, you can leap out of bed at seven and go for a run, join your friends for a brunch, take yourself to the spa or spend the afternoon shopping. You can still date, have fun and dance. You can go to parties and weddings. You can do anything a drunk person can do – with the added bonus that you are unlikely to make an idiot of yourself while you’re at it.

From the author: “The book is a tri-brid of self-help, a report and a memoir. It’s for the sober-curious, as well as the trying-to-be-sober and the already-sober. It’s for people who want to quit drinking for six months to save for a house deposit and clear up their skin, as well as those who want to quit for good. It’s rich with inspirational takeaway tips, shocking stats, illuminating science, never-read-before insights from experts, convincing research as to why sobriety is better, and diary excerpts from my life drinking vs. my life sober.”

Her follow up, Sunshine Warm Sober: Unexpected Sober Joy that Lasts, written in Gray's eighth year of sobriety, builds on this beautifully and is an ode to the longer terms benefits of booze-free living.

3. Quit Like A Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol by Holly Whitaker

*The book that inspired Chrissy Teigen and Sex and The City's Miranda to quit drinking*

We live in a world obsessed with drinking. We drink at baby showers and work events, brunch and book club, graduations and funerals. Yet no one ever questions alcohol’s ubiquity—in fact, the only thing ever questioned is why someone doesn’t drink. As a society, we are obsessed with health and wellness, yet we uphold alcohol as some kind of magic elixir, though it is anything but.

American author Holly Whitaker, began her own journey to sobriety in 2012 after developing an alcohol dependency throughout her 20s. Although life-changing, her recovery unveiled the male-centric frameworks that exist within recovery programmes and the patriarchal forces at play in the alcohol industry.

Since then, Holly has gone on to create her own sobriety school, as well as detailing her battle with addiction in her debut book, Quit Like A Woman. Discussing recovery through a female lens, she aims to give insight into our obsession with drinking, why alcoholism is a gendered issue and the strength that can be found in going sober.

From the author: “Spending a night out drinking is akin to dismantling every piece of protection we have—our cognition, our decision making, our reaction time, our memory, our standards, our voice. If we thought about alcohol in this way—as something that undermines our collective momentum and personal agency and vitality and self-worth—what would that mean for us? What if we all rejected the poison—then what? I’ll tell you what: world domination, bitches.”

5. A Girl Walks Out of a Bar by Lisa F. Smith

Lisa was a bright young lawyer at a prestigious New York law firm, she worked hard and played hard, just like her colleagues. But behind closed doors, her addictions to alcohol and cocaine quickly spiralled out of control.

Lisa drank and used drugs around the clock but managed to keep it all hidden for the most part. She was a high functioning addict until one morning she... wasn't. With blood in her urine and a glass of wine in her hand just to get out the door for work, she finally reached out for help.

Her raw depiction unveils the pressures of her job (20% of lawyers have substance abuse problems, she reports) as well as the personal costs of addiction, including divorce, ill health, and self-loathing. I found myself rooting for this extraordinary woman as she travels the path to recovery, healing, and triumph over addiction; her story will inspire both those who have been there and those who have not.

From the author: “After hitting bottom and going to detox for five days, I went back to the job I was in and kept quiet about my addiction. I stayed sober, and about a year later, I joined my current firm. Years later, when I started to write publicly about my addiction and recovery, I told my colleagues. I trusted and respected them. I didn’t want them to learn my story on the Internet. It was difficult to share, but the response I received was overwhelmingly positive. I am lucky to be in a compassionate and supportive environment. Not everyone is so fortunate, though. I still recommend thinking long and hard before opening up in a law firm. But, I hope, that can change over time.”

Written by Sarah

Sarah has been sober for over 2 years and lives in Hastings, UK with her husband Jake and their two cats Ben and Jerry. She is also vegan and deeply passionate about animal welfare.

Sarah loves early mornings and will often be up from 5am watching the sun come up, it’s safe to say that sobriety has unlocked the early bird in her!

Since going sober she has been focusing on self-care, taking control of her mental health and setting healthy boundaries, this has resulted in Sarah finding new joy in things such as meditation, yoga, journalling, reading and long hot baths.

Sarah is a keen exerciser and loves to move her body whether that’s going on a long run, dancing round the living room like no one’s watching, or lifting some weights, exercise keeps her sane.

She wants to show everyone that giving up alcohol doesn’t mean you’re missing out on anything, if you want to know more about Sarah check out her webpage: https://linktr.ee/sobersare_