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Drinking Diaries: Women Serve Their Stories Straight Up
Whether you drink it or not, alcohol is likely a potent part of your our culture is saturated in it. Ask any woman you know to tell you a drinking story, and she’ll come up with one—in fact, she may even come up with five. With friends and with coworkers, at date night and at ladies' night, and on special occasions ranging from Valentine’s Day to the Super Bowl, we encounter alcohol—yet when it comes to discussing the nature of our relationship with drinking, few of us do so honestly and openly.
In Drinking Diaries, editors Leah Odze Epstein and Caren Osten Gerszberg take women's drinking stories out of the closet and into the light. Whether it’s shame, sober sex, and relapsing, or college drinking, bonding, and comparing the benefits of pot vs. booze, no topic related to alcohol is off limits in this illuminating anthology. With contributions from celebrated writers including Jacquelyn Mitchard, Daphne Merkin, Kathryn Harrison, Ann Hood, Ann Leary, Pam Houston, Jane Friedman, Elissa Schappell, Asra Nomani, Priscilla Warner, Rita Williams, and Joyce Maynard, Drinking Diaries is a candid look at the pleasures and pains of drinking, and the many ways in which it touches women’s lives.
In Drinking Diaries, editors Leah Odze Epstein and Caren Osten Gerszberg take women's drinking stories out of the closet and into the light. Whether it’s shame, sober sex, and relapsing, or college drinking, bonding, and comparing the benefits of pot vs. booze, no topic related to alcohol is off limits in this illuminating anthology. With contributions from celebrated writers including Jacquelyn Mitchard, Daphne Merkin, Kathryn Harrison, Ann Hood, Ann Leary, Pam Houston, Jane Friedman, Elissa Schappell, Asra Nomani, Priscilla Warner, Rita Williams, and Joyce Maynard, Drinking Diaries is a candid look at the pleasures and pains of drinking, and the many ways in which it touches women’s lives.
272 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
September 20, 2012
Yes, I wrote an essay in this compilation, but after receiving it at the launch party and meeting some of the extraordinary contributors to the book, I decided to make my way through it. Which I did, in about three days. This is not a book about alcoholism, or revelry, but a book about drinking. Yes, about struggles with alcohol, but also pleasure, nostalgia, family, culture, relationships, children. Some essays are more gripping than others, and there is something about the honesty with drinking in the written form that holds a reader to his or her seat, his or her eyes poised over a particular line. Some are full of humor. Some make fun of 12 step recovery. Some while applauding it for getting them through. The women who experienced these essays are all so real, so different, and in the end, so enchanting. The number of essays and the sheer variety made for a wonderful read--and even "read" here seems to be the wrong word, because there is something invasive about walking into all these moments, minutes, years in time. With or without my own inclusion, I highly recommend it and felt that every one of my friends could relate to at least one, if not more, of the stories within.
November 25, 2012
Drinking diaries was chosen as my book clubs read of the month. Read the description - sounded great! I was stoked to read the book. The rating was in the 4s so I knew it would be somewhat decent...so I thought.
As I read the first couple of stories I was waiting for it to get good. For me, it was hard to get into and it didn't mesh well together.
I decided to investigate and see what other reviewers were saying. To my dismay, the majority of the reviewers were writers in the book.
Look, I don't want to disrespect the writers or the book itself. It was a great idea but frankly there were too many hands in the cookie jar. Some writers were strong and some weren't at all. I wanted some stories to continue, and I wanted some to just end.
This book just wasn't for me.
As I read the first couple of stories I was waiting for it to get good. For me, it was hard to get into and it didn't mesh well together.
I decided to investigate and see what other reviewers were saying. To my dismay, the majority of the reviewers were writers in the book.
Look, I don't want to disrespect the writers or the book itself. It was a great idea but frankly there were too many hands in the cookie jar. Some writers were strong and some weren't at all. I wanted some stories to continue, and I wanted some to just end.
This book just wasn't for me.
October 25, 2012
An interesting themed collection - who would think that drinking could unite so many woman in such diverse ways. I found the collection of essays somewhat uneven- my favorites were by Maynard and Harrison- they seemed so honest and subtle. Some of the essays felt young- written by new authors who still focused on the extremes rather than the subtle nuances and complexities. All in all, an enjoyable read!
November 8, 2012
I thought the book's stories were interestingly chosen. A couple of the stories only had alcohol as a peripheral view. Some authors reflected on the alcohol around them, and my favorites, were the author's stories of alcohol's grip on them, whether past or present. My favorite books to read entertains as well as teaches, and Drinking Diaries accomplishes this.
October 26, 2017
Some of the essays were better than others but overall this book was just OK. Way more stories of alcohol leading to horrible events than stories of people who use alcohol in appropriate social situations for merry-making. Seriously, multiple times I thought- first step wine, next step heroin overdose! Thought provoking but also depressing.
January 16, 2014
I've been a sucker for memoirs lately, and the short story format was merciful on my currently short attention span, so this book really hit the spot.
Some of the stories I enjoyed the most:
-Rum Soaked- Leah Odoze Epstein: "I remember hearing that addicts are emotionally stunted, stuck at the age when they first started using. I think the same might be true for the daughter of an addict. Every year on my birthday, part of me is still sitting at that table, waiting for my slice of cake with a pit in my stomach."
-The Days of Wine and Seltzer- Elissa Schappell: "When I picture my favorite moments with my husband, someone is always holding a glass, or a bottle of wine, or a plastic cup. I can plot the timeline of our relationship by what we're drinking."
-Good advice from Runner's High by Eva Tenuto: "A friend told me, 'If you find yourself obsessing, saying the same thing over and over about someone else, substitute your name for his and see if it still makes sense.'"
-Mother of All Sins- Asra Q. Nomani: A Muslim American woman learns to drink and takes a stand against the hypocritical and judgmental attitude towards drinking she sees in the Islamic world.
-My Father, My Beer Buddy- Ann Hood: A sweet and loving story of the author's close relationship with her father and their shared love of beer and travel.
-Half Past Six- Kathryn Harrison: "Alcohol dissolves my anxiety about meeting people and making conversation. After a couple of martinis, the prospect of socializing goes from a painful test I'm afraid I'm going to fail to something I know I'll enjoy. "
-Drinking as Genuine Vocation- Jane Friedman: "Drinking can bring all kinds of behavior to the surface, and bullshit or not, those behaviors are still an expression of yourself, a chance to uncover or reveal something that might otherwise remain hidden. If you don't like what issues forth--if you don't think it represents your 'true' self- then it's like denying you've got a rascal inside, just like everyone else. Drinking brushes away that pretty curtain we've made, and when the curtain parts too wide, our first inclination is to secure it better next time. But I'm a writer, and writers are born to look behind the curtain."
Some of the stories I enjoyed the most:
-Rum Soaked- Leah Odoze Epstein: "I remember hearing that addicts are emotionally stunted, stuck at the age when they first started using. I think the same might be true for the daughter of an addict. Every year on my birthday, part of me is still sitting at that table, waiting for my slice of cake with a pit in my stomach."
-The Days of Wine and Seltzer- Elissa Schappell: "When I picture my favorite moments with my husband, someone is always holding a glass, or a bottle of wine, or a plastic cup. I can plot the timeline of our relationship by what we're drinking."
-Good advice from Runner's High by Eva Tenuto: "A friend told me, 'If you find yourself obsessing, saying the same thing over and over about someone else, substitute your name for his and see if it still makes sense.'"
-Mother of All Sins- Asra Q. Nomani: A Muslim American woman learns to drink and takes a stand against the hypocritical and judgmental attitude towards drinking she sees in the Islamic world.
-My Father, My Beer Buddy- Ann Hood: A sweet and loving story of the author's close relationship with her father and their shared love of beer and travel.
-Half Past Six- Kathryn Harrison: "Alcohol dissolves my anxiety about meeting people and making conversation. After a couple of martinis, the prospect of socializing goes from a painful test I'm afraid I'm going to fail to something I know I'll enjoy. "
-Drinking as Genuine Vocation- Jane Friedman: "Drinking can bring all kinds of behavior to the surface, and bullshit or not, those behaviors are still an expression of yourself, a chance to uncover or reveal something that might otherwise remain hidden. If you don't like what issues forth--if you don't think it represents your 'true' self- then it's like denying you've got a rascal inside, just like everyone else. Drinking brushes away that pretty curtain we've made, and when the curtain parts too wide, our first inclination is to secure it better next time. But I'm a writer, and writers are born to look behind the curtain."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2013
Reading this book was like getting together with a few good friends who share my love of alcohol. I have had my own ups and downs with alcohol, and the stories that these women wrote were poignant, funny, and at times sad. I could relate to the women who felt so shy and inhibited they needed a drink to go out in social gatherings. Or the author who had to pour herself a glass of wine at 5 pm to signify the end of the work day. I appreciate the honesty these writers displayed. Not all of them wrote about alcohol being a problem in their lives. Many drank in moderation and talked about the role alcohol played in their family lives and their own.
I spent 8 years of my life as a bartender, and now 8 years later I have seen some of my customers suffer from cirrhosis and some have died. I love a drink just as much as the next person, but I am reminded sometimes that overdoing it can kill. A few of the stories address the extremes of alcoholism too. The Becky Sherrick Harks story made me want to cry my eyes out.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good drink now and again.
I spent 8 years of my life as a bartender, and now 8 years later I have seen some of my customers suffer from cirrhosis and some have died. I love a drink just as much as the next person, but I am reminded sometimes that overdoing it can kill. A few of the stories address the extremes of alcoholism too. The Becky Sherrick Harks story made me want to cry my eyes out.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good drink now and again.
March 31, 2019
This suffers from the perennial problem of "themed" writings which is mainly that the writing is inconsistent. This wouldn't feel so pronounced except that 90% of the stories deal with familial alcoholism and all say, essentially, the same things, so compare-and-contrast becomes inevitable as does a feeling of staleness that comes from reading too much of the same thing at once.
Very few of the essays talk about the joy of moderate and responsible drinking and one has to wonder if that's because it is indeed as rare as the percentage of its appearance in this book, or is it an odd slant that occurred because of the writers drawn to provide an essay to this project.
Regardless, this is a hit or miss book of essays that may resonate a lot with those in recovery or dealing with those in recovery.
Very few of the essays talk about the joy of moderate and responsible drinking and one has to wonder if that's because it is indeed as rare as the percentage of its appearance in this book, or is it an odd slant that occurred because of the writers drawn to provide an essay to this project.
Regardless, this is a hit or miss book of essays that may resonate a lot with those in recovery or dealing with those in recovery.
March 27, 2014
Drinking Diaries emphasizes the complexities of women's relationships with alcohol. The collection opens with the Pam Houston piece, mapping her terrifying legacy of passenger-status car accidents against the timeline and backdrop of a childhood with alcoholic parents. The factual (sometimes humorous) presentation is somewhat misrepresentative of the emotional implications inherent in her experience.
These various stories illustrate the nuanced and insightful depth with which women interact with booze, from tales of junior high drunkenness to the subversive sips of a critically-thinking Muslim woman. Ultimately, this collection reveals the ways in which drinking is both more and less important than what is culturally ascribed.
These various stories illustrate the nuanced and insightful depth with which women interact with booze, from tales of junior high drunkenness to the subversive sips of a critically-thinking Muslim woman. Ultimately, this collection reveals the ways in which drinking is both more and less important than what is culturally ascribed.
September 16, 2012
From Whitman and his early temperance novel to Hemingway and Steinbeck's shilling of Ballantine Beer, a lot has been said and written about male authors and their perverse affair with liquor. With Drinking Diaries, women writers give us their side of the story. This is simply a fascinating read. It is refreshing to review the struggle for moderation written about such utter honesty. It is impossible not to recognize yourself in these pages. Thanks Leah and Caren and contributors for this candid look at how drinking affects creative women.
March 25, 2018
I was not very impressed with this book. I guess it's entertaining, but only if you like to read about other people's drinking binges. I think I was hoping there would be some meat to the story, but I was unable to find it. Maybe if the author analyzed some of the scenarios or situations, it would have been more interesting...
May 5, 2013
As a female who only very occasionally drinks, I found this collection of essays to be insightful into some of the larger issues of women and alcohol. It is neither preachy or endorseful... Not ever coming to a definitive answer, but acknowledging the complexities of the issues.
November 9, 2013
Cunning, baffling, powerful, repeat. And honest.
September 19, 2013
Thought-provoking.
June 7, 2019
Drinking Diaries is a series of true stories (memoirs) by women of various ages about how drinking has affected their lives. Some of the women are recovered alcoholics while some still drink. Some have positive memories of their experiences with alcohol, others negative.
The issue of women and drinking is currently under some scrutiny as wine brands cater to women and the idea of the "wine mom" has taken root. These stories serve to give us an unbiased cross-section of ideas on the issue, all from the horse's mouth, so it never sounds preachy.
The issue of women and drinking is currently under some scrutiny as wine brands cater to women and the idea of the "wine mom" has taken root. These stories serve to give us an unbiased cross-section of ideas on the issue, all from the horse's mouth, so it never sounds preachy.
March 12, 2019
While the common theme is alcohol and women, most of the essays seemed to verge on alcohol abuse and addiction...and after a while, I either wanted a drink while listening or to stop drinking altogether... for some stories, I wanted the author to go more in-depth to get a clearer understanding of what drove them to drink...
April 17, 2019
I liked many of the short stories in this compilation; however, on the whole, the book felt disjointed and didn't flow as I thought it might.
December 26, 2023
Definitely diverse collection of stories. Different perspectives and experiences. I would say overall this was a good read.
September 7, 2013
By the end of this book I hated it. I had high excitement and high expectations. The first couple of stories were okay, I kept waiting for the agonizing tales of alcoholism, and the painstaking journey through recovery. While the writing was good, it was almost too good. I felt like they stories had been polished so much that the horror of alcoholism was polished away. There were no gut wrenching tales of losing children, losing jobs, spending time in jail, everyone just quit drinking like it was an on/off switch. Most of the writers dismissed AA, and maybe it wasn't right for them, but The Program has saved lives. I understand this book's goal to select a bunch of highly educated women who write well to tell how alcohol had played a part in their lives, but I believe the book as a whole is a disservice to the female alcoholic that may pick this book up hoping to read stories of other women that they could relate to.
November 17, 2014
Often we think our story is unique but it is through other stories we reflect to understand our story better & realize the commonalities that exist frequently across similar lines - generations, cultures, etc. This compilation of short stories hits on every different view of drinking - bad, good, indifferent, convinced it is family curse or convinced you are not, etc. Some stories are written better than others. I was very excited to read this book but left disappointed that there wasn't more humor inserted. It was hard to read in large chunks - instead I would recommend shorter doses reading one story or 2. I could see this book being a discussion book in a women's studies class at a college but perhaps a little underwhelming for just a fun book club.
March 1, 2017
2 1/2 stars really- the writing was really great, but the book itself felt like it could have used some editing as in the end, it felt several stories too long.
An interesting collection about how alcohol has played a part in the lives of many different women, good, bad, or otherwise- there are the obvious cautionary tales of addiction, whether their own or how that of a family member affected their own relationship with alcohol, but each were unique in their own way. But there were also stories of abstaining from alcohol, how it's looked at through the eyes of children thanks to modern day DARE programs, cultural differences in alcohol consumption, etc... very interesting.
There was however, a good deal of redundancy in the stories.
An interesting collection about how alcohol has played a part in the lives of many different women, good, bad, or otherwise- there are the obvious cautionary tales of addiction, whether their own or how that of a family member affected their own relationship with alcohol, but each were unique in their own way. But there were also stories of abstaining from alcohol, how it's looked at through the eyes of children thanks to modern day DARE programs, cultural differences in alcohol consumption, etc... very interesting.
There was however, a good deal of redundancy in the stories.
May 27, 2013
Make no mistake before you pick this book up - every one of the personal accounts is a heavy journey. The stories will make you uncomfortably intimate with the drinking habits and experiences of women of all ages and walks of life, and make you consider your own drinking more closely. As the granddaughter of a Russian woman and the niece of an uncle who died of liver disease, I have always been aware of the risks drinking entails, alongside its pleasures. This book, however, challenges the preconceptions I carry about my own relative invincibility and evokes a sad sympathy for those who have struggled with alcoholism while motivating me to avoid that road at all costs. Read at your own risk.
October 20, 2012
This is a compilation of essays about drinking. Many, if not all, of the contributors are writers, so each essay is extremely well written. On one level, these essays are about alcoholic parents, drunk driving accidents, puking and other less than desirable situations. On a somewhat deeper level, these essays are about lack of self-esteem. insecurities, self-criticism and other maladies of the soul. Reading 2-3 of these essays would be interesting; reading an entire book of them got a little tedious.
September 7, 2013
I was sent a link to their blog which I enjoyed immensely, and the book is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories women shared on the website. I am intrigued by the idea of alcohol playing such a large role in our cultural fabric, specifically with women. Having grown up in a family culture that exemplified both healthy and unhealthy alcohol use, this collection feels both familiar and horrifying. To ask the question of how and when we choose to partake in alcohol use intrigues me, and I recommend a look at their blog first before opening the book.
October 27, 2012
I feel like there is a better book that could be written on this subject (and maybe already has, and I just missed it). Some of the essays were very insightful, but others struck me as completely superficial, not much more than, "I went to college and people drank a lot." Well, yes. Some of the stories of children growing up with alcholic parents were very moving, though. A fast and fairly entertaining read overall.
March 28, 2013
Best New Books of 2012 to flash if you want to pick up at girl who has Klonopin in her purse: Drinking Diaries: Women Serve Their Stories Straight Up is an anthology of essays edited by Caren Osten Gerszberg and Leah Odzen Epstein. Women who will share the intimate details of their relationship with booze are likely to be slightly socially awkward, and undoubtedly have boundary issues. This book will call to them to the yard.
Read
March 12, 2013Drinking Diaries does not admonish or even advise. The book simply shares many different stories of the force of alcohol—destructive, emancipatory, celebratory—in women’s lives.
Read Literary Mama's full review here: http://www.literarymama.com/reviews/a...
Read Literary Mama's full review here: http://www.literarymama.com/reviews/a...
June 14, 2013
Collection of short stories about drinking. The authors are professional writers (at least it seemed like it) so the stories are well written. Some of them are better than others. One story in particular struck a chord and I wish a member of my family would read it. It made me feel better about my own drinking after reading it.
April 7, 2014
The sheer range of voices and the compelling honesty with which they speak has affected how I look at and think about drinking. The stories highlight the complex social network in which we drink, the rewards and the cost. I liked the arrangement of the stories which, if not exactly to topic, move in a flow and turn up surprising finds. Example? How we lie to ourselves.
January 3, 2013
Pretty entertaining. Although, I do think there should be more stories "celebrating" alcohol rather than demonizing it. There were a few, but for the most part, this is from people who don't drink anymore. Duds.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews