Higher Sobriety: My Years Without Booze

by Jill Stark

What happened next? It's the question Jill Stark has been asked most often since the publication of her acclaimed memoir, High Sobriety.
Now, in this updated and extended 10th Anniversary edition, narrated this time by Jill herself, she retells and continues her story.
As one of the original pioneers in the ‘quit lit' space, Jill started a national conversation about the role of alcohol in our lives, turning the lens on her own rocky relationship with booze and forensically dissecting the culture that gave rise to it.

Now, ten years after the book's first release, she fills in the gaps on where life took her after she unwittingly became the poster girl for sobriety. In this updated edition, Jill charts her struggle to become a moderate drinker, the crippling ‘hangxiety' that led to her quitting alcohol for good, and the ever-evolving journey of self-discovery sobriety has taken her on.

Surviving six long lockdowns alcohol-free, Jill also looks at how a global pandemic tested her sobriety and shone a spotlight on the way alcohol has been sold as the panacea for all our troubles. At the same time, it helped accelerate a seismic change in the nation's drinking habits, with the rise of the sober-curious movement and a booming non-alcoholic drinks industry proving there is a growing appetite for abstinence.

After so long feeling like a social pariah, Jill embraces the joy of living life on the outer, and meets a new generation of sober rebels who are radically redefining what it means to be alcohol-free. Now she feels prompted to ask the question, has sobriety become cool?

‘Stark writes with honesty and unnerving clarity.' ANNABEL CRABB

‘Illuminating, touching, and memorable.' THE AUSTRALIAN

'I loved the hell out of it' TIM ROGERS

Audible Audio

Published January 21, 2023

About the author

Jill Stark was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and now calls Melbourne, Australia home.
She is the author of two books, and is an award-winning journalist with a career spanning two decades.
Happy Never After: Why The Happiness Fairytale Is Driving Us Mad (And How I Flipped The Script) is a forensic examination of our relentless pursuit of happiness in an age of anxiety.
Her first book, High Sobriety: My Year without Booze is a best-selling memoir about her journey through a year off the grog, and a forensic exploration of Australia’s binge drinking culture. It was shortlisted for the Kibble Literary Awards and was a finalist in the Walkley Book of the Year.