But in the end, the alcohol does more harm than good. When you start out the day overstimulated and out of balance, by the end of the day, you need that alcohol to quiet your mind and go to sleep. That means addressing past trauma, healthy eating, and setting yourself up for success. Her main point is that to stop drinking, you have to be able to live with yourself. I’ve only had a couple of friends that ever made an issue of it, and it definitely says more about them than me.Įven though I don’t need help with abstaining, I still found some of Whitaker’s advice helpful. It helped that I’m cheap, and it saved me a lot of money. I also detest feeling sick, so I stopped drinking when I woke up with a headache one morning and decided it wasn’t worth it. Although I went through some binging nights in college and law school, I never craved alcohol and did just fine without it. At first I was disappointed because I was expecting more of a memoir and learning about her story than a self-help book for something that I really don’t need. Why did it take so long for people to understand the connection between smoking and lung cancer? Why do I only have vague ideas of moderate alcohol being good for you and no knowledge of the connection with cancer?Īfter Whitaker discusses the evils of alcohol and her own struggles, the second half of the book outlines her new company and its approach to helping people get sober. In addition, the CDC states, “The less alcohol you drink, the lower your risk for cancer.” Whitaker compares the tobacco industry with the alcoholic beverage industry in this section of the book, and although the two cannot be directly compared, there are some troubling similarities. And both the Mayo Clinic and CDC say that if you don’t drink, don’t start drinking for health benefits. But both the Mayo Clinic and CDC say that there is a cancer connection, even with moderate drinking. As far as health and alcohol, I most often hear that a glass of red wine is good for your heart. (39)Īt first I thought that Whitaker may have been exaggerating when it came to the cancer claims, so I did a little extra digging. “Women who drink three alcoholic beverages a week have a 15% higher risk of breast cancer.” (35) And 90 percent of all college campus rape involves alcohol. Alcohol is linked to at least seven cancers as well as other diseases and chronic conditions. Among other assertions, Whitaker states that between 20, alcohol addiction among women rose by 84%. Like Johnston, Whitaker dives into the negative effects of alcohol. Holly Whitaker is now sober after being addicted to alcohol and other substances.

It was the first time I’d seen alcohol depicted so negatively, and it was eye-opening.

She talks openly about how alcohol affected her, but also how bad alcohol is for society in general, especially women. Johnston struggled with alcohol abuse for many years before finding her way to sobriety. Back in 2016, I found Drinkby Ann Dowestt Johnston on 21 Books From The Last 5 Years That Every Woman Should Read.

It wasn’t the first time I’d read a book on this topic, either. I first heard of Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol (2020) by Holly Whitaker from a Cannonball review, and I was intrigued.

Quit like a woman reviews