What do you think?
Rate this book
This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness / Change Your Life & The Alcohol Experiment
Please Note That The Following Individual Books As Per Original ISBN and Cover Image In this Listing shall be Dispatched Collectively:
This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life & The Alcohol Experiment 2 Books Collection Set by Annie Grace:
This Naked Mind:
This Naked Mind offers a new solution. Packed with surprising insight into the reasons we drink, it will open your eyes to the startling role of alcohol in our culture. Annie Grace brilliantly weaves psychological, neurological, cultural, social and industry factors with her extraordinarily candid journey resulting in a must read for anyone who drinks. This book, without scare tactics, pain or rules, gives you freedom from alcohol. By addressing causes rather than symptoms it is a permanent solution rather than lifetime struggle.
The Alcohol Experiment:
There are a million reasons why you might drink. It tastes great. You feel more sociable. Sex is better. It helps you relax. But are you really in control? Whether you’re reading this because you know you drink too much and want to quit, or whether you just want to cut back for a while, this book is for you. The Alcohol Experiment is a 30-day programme with a difference. Each day, it will show you a new way of thinking about booze, and ask you to look a little closer at why we drink, what we get out of it, and whether it’s really the alcohol that’s giving us what we want.
This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life & The Alcohol Experiment 2 Books Collection Set by Annie Grace:
This Naked Mind:
This Naked Mind offers a new solution. Packed with surprising insight into the reasons we drink, it will open your eyes to the startling role of alcohol in our culture. Annie Grace brilliantly weaves psychological, neurological, cultural, social and industry factors with her extraordinarily candid journey resulting in a must read for anyone who drinks. This book, without scare tactics, pain or rules, gives you freedom from alcohol. By addressing causes rather than symptoms it is a permanent solution rather than lifetime struggle.
The Alcohol Experiment:
There are a million reasons why you might drink. It tastes great. You feel more sociable. Sex is better. It helps you relax. But are you really in control? Whether you’re reading this because you know you drink too much and want to quit, or whether you just want to cut back for a while, this book is for you. The Alcohol Experiment is a 30-day programme with a difference. Each day, it will show you a new way of thinking about booze, and ask you to look a little closer at why we drink, what we get out of it, and whether it’s really the alcohol that’s giving us what we want.
Paperback
Published January 1, 2019
94 people are currently reading
1213 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
March 10, 2024
This book could have been titled “The Fox and the Grapes” because the author’s premise is that if you can’t have the things you crave, you should just tell yourself that you really don’t want them anyway. When it comes to alcohol, I think this is a dangerous fallacy, and I worry about the alcoholics who follow her advice and can’t comply. This Naked Mind is a concept for sobriety created by Annie Grace and based on her assumptions that:
• anyone who drinks alcohol of any kind will eventually become an alcoholic, and therefore everyone is equally likely to become an alcoholic,
• alcoholism is a habitual and emotional dependency as opposed to a chemical and physical addiction,
• alcohol is pushed on the public in a capitalist scheme to create a market where none exists, and
• once anyone realizes all this they will simply and easily give up alcohol once and forever and live an “incredible, amazing” life more meaningful and satisfying than anyone could ever imagine possible.
It should be noted that Grace’s background is in marketing and she has absolutely no academic or professional credentials that qualifies her to provide mental health counseling services to anyone, let alone people with addictions. Her theories are based on the experiences of herself and her father. She has done a lot of research of neural activity, but it is all Confirmation Bias, and the detailed scientific analysis that she provides early in the book become anecdotes, platitudes, and drivel by the end, with a big old sales pitch for This Naked Mind, where she is the guru (hint: it costs money).
But let’s look at her revelations one at a time. Her idea that everyone is equally possible of becoming an alcoholic, and that anyone who drinks will eventually become an alcoholic, flies in the face of genetic research, and of course she has no research to back this up. This also puts her in direct opposition to Alcoholics Anonymous, an organization exclusively for people who recognize that compared to the rest of the population, they have a weakness for drinking. It also defies anecdotal evidence that most people have of individuals who confine themselves to a glass of wine or two with dinner, but don’t require it, and never drink to excess. If I were capable of doing that I certainly would, but it just doesn’t work that way for me. We are not all the same. Grace profoundly under-emphasizes the brain’s chemical reaction to drinking, the “buzz” that alters the state of conciseness and provides the addictive sense of excitement. That buzz is why people drink to excess; she barely discusses it and dismisses it entirely too casually. As for capitalists creating a market for booze, I agree that the liquor market is exploiting the human desire for that buzz to the maximum degree possible, but people who can’t purchase alcohol will go through all sorts of creative measures to try to get it. Prisoners make raisin wine and submariners drank torpedo fuel, and capitalism has nothing to do with it. Her Marxist rant against capitalism is especially ironic in that she is attempting to set herself up as some sort of sobriety guru through her marketing of This Naked Mind.
Along those lines, she uses the old sales tactic of Bait and Switch, proclaiming early in the book that you can drink as much as you want by using the This Naked Mind technique. In the closing pages of the book she reveals that you can drink all you want because if you embrace all her tenants, you won’t want to drink at all! And your life will be so amazing and incredible! Among many alcoholics, curing the craving for an alcohol buzz by telling themselves that it is poison is about as effective as trying to suppress sexual urges among teenagers by telling them about the possible dangers of sex with others (STDs, unwanted pregnancies, emotional damage to others, etc.). The craving for alcohol and sexual urges act on the brain through hormones, and a lot of people can’t easily just rationalize them away. I am in my third sobriety; I was a chronic pothead from 1975-1985 and quit pot cold turkey. I quit alcohol ten years later and stayed sober for 20 years, without AA, treatment or therapy. I tried drinking again after my children left my house, and I drank for 6 years, and goddamn it was good and I had a lot of fun. But I realized that I was jeopardizing my health and marriage and had to put the alcohol aside, and I’ve been sober for 44 months now. It may seem that I could be an example of using rational thought process to stop drinking, but where I differ is that I don’t pretend that I don’t want to drink anymore. My life is not amazing or incredible, it is unexceptional and fully credible. Sobriety is very hard work and not much fun. Even though I don’t go into The Rooms, I respect AA because they acknowledge how difficult it is to become and remain sober, along with recognizing that some people can drink responsibly and moderately, and other people shouldn’t drink at all. And generally speaking, AA does not try to capitalize on the distress and misfortune of others. As for paying someone to facilitate online discussion groups and journaling about how incredible and amazing your life is without alcohol, if it works for you, bless you and may you stay strong. But for me, sobriety is no gift, a genetic disposition to alcoholism is a differentiating weakness, and fools like Annie Grace who tell me to just pretend otherwise can eat my shorts.
• anyone who drinks alcohol of any kind will eventually become an alcoholic, and therefore everyone is equally likely to become an alcoholic,
• alcoholism is a habitual and emotional dependency as opposed to a chemical and physical addiction,
• alcohol is pushed on the public in a capitalist scheme to create a market where none exists, and
• once anyone realizes all this they will simply and easily give up alcohol once and forever and live an “incredible, amazing” life more meaningful and satisfying than anyone could ever imagine possible.
It should be noted that Grace’s background is in marketing and she has absolutely no academic or professional credentials that qualifies her to provide mental health counseling services to anyone, let alone people with addictions. Her theories are based on the experiences of herself and her father. She has done a lot of research of neural activity, but it is all Confirmation Bias, and the detailed scientific analysis that she provides early in the book become anecdotes, platitudes, and drivel by the end, with a big old sales pitch for This Naked Mind, where she is the guru (hint: it costs money).
But let’s look at her revelations one at a time. Her idea that everyone is equally possible of becoming an alcoholic, and that anyone who drinks will eventually become an alcoholic, flies in the face of genetic research, and of course she has no research to back this up. This also puts her in direct opposition to Alcoholics Anonymous, an organization exclusively for people who recognize that compared to the rest of the population, they have a weakness for drinking. It also defies anecdotal evidence that most people have of individuals who confine themselves to a glass of wine or two with dinner, but don’t require it, and never drink to excess. If I were capable of doing that I certainly would, but it just doesn’t work that way for me. We are not all the same. Grace profoundly under-emphasizes the brain’s chemical reaction to drinking, the “buzz” that alters the state of conciseness and provides the addictive sense of excitement. That buzz is why people drink to excess; she barely discusses it and dismisses it entirely too casually. As for capitalists creating a market for booze, I agree that the liquor market is exploiting the human desire for that buzz to the maximum degree possible, but people who can’t purchase alcohol will go through all sorts of creative measures to try to get it. Prisoners make raisin wine and submariners drank torpedo fuel, and capitalism has nothing to do with it. Her Marxist rant against capitalism is especially ironic in that she is attempting to set herself up as some sort of sobriety guru through her marketing of This Naked Mind.
Along those lines, she uses the old sales tactic of Bait and Switch, proclaiming early in the book that you can drink as much as you want by using the This Naked Mind technique. In the closing pages of the book she reveals that you can drink all you want because if you embrace all her tenants, you won’t want to drink at all! And your life will be so amazing and incredible! Among many alcoholics, curing the craving for an alcohol buzz by telling themselves that it is poison is about as effective as trying to suppress sexual urges among teenagers by telling them about the possible dangers of sex with others (STDs, unwanted pregnancies, emotional damage to others, etc.). The craving for alcohol and sexual urges act on the brain through hormones, and a lot of people can’t easily just rationalize them away. I am in my third sobriety; I was a chronic pothead from 1975-1985 and quit pot cold turkey. I quit alcohol ten years later and stayed sober for 20 years, without AA, treatment or therapy. I tried drinking again after my children left my house, and I drank for 6 years, and goddamn it was good and I had a lot of fun. But I realized that I was jeopardizing my health and marriage and had to put the alcohol aside, and I’ve been sober for 44 months now. It may seem that I could be an example of using rational thought process to stop drinking, but where I differ is that I don’t pretend that I don’t want to drink anymore. My life is not amazing or incredible, it is unexceptional and fully credible. Sobriety is very hard work and not much fun. Even though I don’t go into The Rooms, I respect AA because they acknowledge how difficult it is to become and remain sober, along with recognizing that some people can drink responsibly and moderately, and other people shouldn’t drink at all. And generally speaking, AA does not try to capitalize on the distress and misfortune of others. As for paying someone to facilitate online discussion groups and journaling about how incredible and amazing your life is without alcohol, if it works for you, bless you and may you stay strong. But for me, sobriety is no gift, a genetic disposition to alcoholism is a differentiating weakness, and fools like Annie Grace who tell me to just pretend otherwise can eat my shorts.
May 6, 2021
Some good information, however ---- the author comes across as insufferably smug for a good portion of the book. It was very off-putting when trying to absorb some of the excellent data.
Ms Grace clearly has a MyersBriggs Personality type that skews HUGELY towards a "Thinker". Every argument she makes to quit alcohol resides in her own bias that logic, information, data and a reasoned approach will (and this is where she pisses me off....) just *UNPAINFULLY AND WITHOUT EFFORT* cure you of the need to drink.
Every recommendation; every tip; every story; every piece of research or data, supports this approach. That it's your lack of information at an unconscious level that makes you drink. Never - not once - does Ms Grace address the fatal flaw in her theory: that the unconscious mind is, by definition - UNCONSCIOUS ! Even if you know what you know.... the unconscious may not absorb it. And that has nothing to do with logic / reason / data.
She also clearly believes that her role as a marketer gives her magic bullet insights.
While the power of the human mind is indeed remarkable, I found her parroting of this approach by the 75% mark of the book to be less about helping others, and feeling and sounding more like she was looking for accolades for "discovering" such a unique, utterly mind / logic based approach.
If this works for some - great. However, her continued assertions seem to ignore huge swaths of human experience - not the least of which are emotions. Yes, emotions stem from the brain. But again, her bias regarding 'INFORMATION WILL SET YOU FREE ! AND IT WILL BE *PAINLESS!' just comes across as so smug. Plus as a marketer -- you'd think she'd understand the concept of "Under Promise / Over Deliver".
Ms Grace clearly has a MyersBriggs Personality type that skews HUGELY towards a "Thinker". Every argument she makes to quit alcohol resides in her own bias that logic, information, data and a reasoned approach will (and this is where she pisses me off....) just *UNPAINFULLY AND WITHOUT EFFORT* cure you of the need to drink.
Every recommendation; every tip; every story; every piece of research or data, supports this approach. That it's your lack of information at an unconscious level that makes you drink. Never - not once - does Ms Grace address the fatal flaw in her theory: that the unconscious mind is, by definition - UNCONSCIOUS ! Even if you know what you know.... the unconscious may not absorb it. And that has nothing to do with logic / reason / data.
She also clearly believes that her role as a marketer gives her magic bullet insights.
While the power of the human mind is indeed remarkable, I found her parroting of this approach by the 75% mark of the book to be less about helping others, and feeling and sounding more like she was looking for accolades for "discovering" such a unique, utterly mind / logic based approach.
If this works for some - great. However, her continued assertions seem to ignore huge swaths of human experience - not the least of which are emotions. Yes, emotions stem from the brain. But again, her bias regarding 'INFORMATION WILL SET YOU FREE ! AND IT WILL BE *PAINLESS!' just comes across as so smug. Plus as a marketer -- you'd think she'd understand the concept of "Under Promise / Over Deliver".
March 19, 2020
This amazing book could change your life if you are ready to stop drinking or understand why you drink. I would highly recommend it.
November 1, 2020
It will definitely get you to cut back on drinking. But I seriously drank the kool aid.. I feel like they use the same tactics as a cult. So much hate for alcohol. But they are trying to sell you the naked mind cult at the end of the book. I did not like that. But it also fucks you up, cause now I question everything I eat or do! Thanks assholes!
July 11, 2022
I am very surprised to see the negative comments about this book. Reading this book has helped turn my mind around about alcohol. I understand that there may be many ways to become sober but to trash one that has worked for many is unreasonable. I do not have statistical data about the success rate of her premise, but there is statistical data about AA and it does not have a high success rate. Therefore, why not offer alternative premises? For me the game changer was coming to grips with the fact that alcohol is made from ethanol a known carcinogen. Why would I want to ingest this substance daily? I am so much more at peace with myself without this chemical in my system. My brain fog has been lifted and so much more. What do you have to lose by reading this book? Annie Grace also offers many online classes and groups to support you through the journey and also has a Podcast. Yes I have huge admiration for Annie and her team and no this is not a paid endorsement. Nor do I personally know Annie Grace.
December 12, 2021
A few blinding glimpses of the obvious .
Otherwise a waste of time
Otherwise a waste of time
November 14, 2024
My goal is to give my take on the book without making the review about my personal experience. Hopefully I can prevail.
Annie Grace does an excellent job of giving her story and how she got to the place of needing to stop drinking. There wasn’t a life altering event, such as a DUI, failed marriage, etc., but rather a slow progression over years and then waking up one day wondering how she got there. She takes you on a journey of understanding why people drink, stages of drinking progression, evaluates the neurological and physiological aspects of drinking, the culture of drinking, and so on. The book is not a demand to quit drinking, rather an educational process of conscious and unconscious processes that help you understand why you shouldn’t drink. Annie and I had similar experiences and this a great foundation to start my journey into sobriety. We both had a dependency and an addiction to alcohol, cravings for a drug that is proven to destroy you. The Naked Mind compares the casual drinker to the panhandler whose life has been destroyed by drinking. The picture she paints is actually scary to me how similar they are, just a different stages in descending. I recommend this book really to anyone who drinks simply for the education aspect of it. There was a lot to learn and unpack in The Naked Mind and I thought it was very good.
Annie Grace does an excellent job of giving her story and how she got to the place of needing to stop drinking. There wasn’t a life altering event, such as a DUI, failed marriage, etc., but rather a slow progression over years and then waking up one day wondering how she got there. She takes you on a journey of understanding why people drink, stages of drinking progression, evaluates the neurological and physiological aspects of drinking, the culture of drinking, and so on. The book is not a demand to quit drinking, rather an educational process of conscious and unconscious processes that help you understand why you shouldn’t drink. Annie and I had similar experiences and this a great foundation to start my journey into sobriety. We both had a dependency and an addiction to alcohol, cravings for a drug that is proven to destroy you. The Naked Mind compares the casual drinker to the panhandler whose life has been destroyed by drinking. The picture she paints is actually scary to me how similar they are, just a different stages in descending. I recommend this book really to anyone who drinks simply for the education aspect of it. There was a lot to learn and unpack in The Naked Mind and I thought it was very good.
June 3, 2021
I have a lot to say about this book.
It started off very interesting. I read through the sample before I even knew it. I was intrigued with how Grace depicted our conscious vs unconscious minds and I don’t disagree. Everywhere around us is subconsciously telling us to drink and that it’s ok, and normal. Which I don’t think it is abnormal.
However, as I continued reading, I almost became annoyed at some of the comparisons and way she described alcohol. She used the comparison of cigarettes and how now a lot of people don’t smoke them because they are so bad for you. She said alcohol is the same, a poison we put in our body. But in all honesty, how much “poison do we already put into our body and continue to even though we know it’s harmful: soda, processed foods, fast foods, sugars. Not just alcohol. At one point she described giving up alcohol and how it made you feel. If you were asked to give up alcohol would it be the same as if someone told you apples were bad for you? Poor comparison. I get what she was trying to convey, but everyone has their different triggers.
I think overall it can make you aware of how alcohol can effect you, but regardless of what she says in the beginning, she thinks everyone should abstain from alcohol forever. And it may be completely my misunderstanding, but I gathered that she thinks it’s completely mental, and that programs aren’t needed for people to quit, but may possibly need a detox program. (Again I could be wrong, but that’s how I took it).
All in all...I think every single person has a “vice” and it’s just a matter of knowing when you no longer have control over whatever it is that’s controlling you.
It started off very interesting. I read through the sample before I even knew it. I was intrigued with how Grace depicted our conscious vs unconscious minds and I don’t disagree. Everywhere around us is subconsciously telling us to drink and that it’s ok, and normal. Which I don’t think it is abnormal.
However, as I continued reading, I almost became annoyed at some of the comparisons and way she described alcohol. She used the comparison of cigarettes and how now a lot of people don’t smoke them because they are so bad for you. She said alcohol is the same, a poison we put in our body. But in all honesty, how much “poison do we already put into our body and continue to even though we know it’s harmful: soda, processed foods, fast foods, sugars. Not just alcohol. At one point she described giving up alcohol and how it made you feel. If you were asked to give up alcohol would it be the same as if someone told you apples were bad for you? Poor comparison. I get what she was trying to convey, but everyone has their different triggers.
I think overall it can make you aware of how alcohol can effect you, but regardless of what she says in the beginning, she thinks everyone should abstain from alcohol forever. And it may be completely my misunderstanding, but I gathered that she thinks it’s completely mental, and that programs aren’t needed for people to quit, but may possibly need a detox program. (Again I could be wrong, but that’s how I took it).
All in all...I think every single person has a “vice” and it’s just a matter of knowing when you no longer have control over whatever it is that’s controlling you.
September 29, 2023
It’s OK to cry, to scream, to be frustrated, and to feel. This is your life, and it’s the only one you get. Accept it and accept yourself. You are an incredible human being, and you have so much to give. If you have a great day—live it up. If you have a shit day—remember it will pass. And if for some reason it doesn’t pass, if ceasing to self-medicate through alcohol reveals that you are indeed struggling with depression or anxiety, please get help. Remember, alcohol was never helping. It was hiding a real issue that needs to be fixed. It is important to find the right treatment. Depression is not a weakness; it is a disease. You can find help that will actually improve your life rather than steal it like alcohol does. Please do so.
Tell a lie long enough and convincingly enough, and even the liar will believe it.
It’s not that alcohol makes drinkers happy; it’s that they are very unhappy without it.
Often the main reason they believe they can take it or leave it is that they have never tried to leave it.
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.” —Mark Twain
Scratching an itch is pleasurable, but you would never purposely sit in poison ivy just to scratch your ass. This is a key to all drug addiction—the drug creates the low and then deceives its victims into believing that, by ending the low, it is providing a high.
Tell a lie long enough and convincingly enough, and even the liar will believe it.
It’s not that alcohol makes drinkers happy; it’s that they are very unhappy without it.
Often the main reason they believe they can take it or leave it is that they have never tried to leave it.
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.” —Mark Twain
Scratching an itch is pleasurable, but you would never purposely sit in poison ivy just to scratch your ass. This is a key to all drug addiction—the drug creates the low and then deceives its victims into believing that, by ending the low, it is providing a high.
Read
May 20, 2021Picked this up from the library after an NPR segment on pandemic drinking. I’m a sucker for NPR recommendations.
I enjoyed the beginning, which challenges the reader to pay attention to alcohol advertising and the implicit messages/ myths we receive about the positives of drinking. There were also a few interesting science tidbits about dynorphin, dopamine, and loss of pleasure when drinking.
I was ultimately disappointed in the way the author deliberately uses more emotional language as the book progresses in order to sway the reader on an unconscious level against alcohol consumption altogether. She’s up front about her intentional style here, but the writing is hard to consume as it gets more extreme and judgmental.
I enjoyed the beginning, which challenges the reader to pay attention to alcohol advertising and the implicit messages/ myths we receive about the positives of drinking. There were also a few interesting science tidbits about dynorphin, dopamine, and loss of pleasure when drinking.
I was ultimately disappointed in the way the author deliberately uses more emotional language as the book progresses in order to sway the reader on an unconscious level against alcohol consumption altogether. She’s up front about her intentional style here, but the writing is hard to consume as it gets more extreme and judgmental.
October 27, 2020
Confirmed a lot of thoughts I've had about alcohol but I learned a lot of new things as well. Promotion of alcohol is everywhere and only limited messages about its dangers and drawbacks.
Alcohol doesn't make me a better person or make my life better. I realize I don't need it but it's hard to break habits.
I definitely recommend the experiment / challenge that Annie suggests. There's also a great podcast.
AA was never going to be the right approach for me but this resonates well.
Alcohol doesn't make me a better person or make my life better. I realize I don't need it but it's hard to break habits.
I definitely recommend the experiment / challenge that Annie suggests. There's also a great podcast.
AA was never going to be the right approach for me but this resonates well.
May 29, 2022
Just a lot of redundancy. Interesting content especially in beginning. Then she gets smug and arrogant about not drinking. Even says that her friend who drinks 1 beer Friday and 1 beer Saturday likely wants more bc he is addicted. She claims that anyone who drinks is addicted and I just don’t think you can make a blanket statement like that.
August 11, 2021
LOVED “The Alcohol Experiment”. INSPIRING. EDUCATIONAL. Really makes you think through why we think we drink. Recommend 100%
October 8, 2024
Firstly, no self help natured book should make a promise that it will magically change your life. Secondly, there is a massive culture divide between USA and Europe which isn’t mentioned or accounted for. Thirdly, sensing a lot of internalised misogyny (why is the drinker always male, you’re a self proclaimed recovery alcoholic woman?) Lastly, alcohol causes depression, pain, misery and death yes, but it doesn’t cause rape, rapists cause rape.
May 12, 2024
I found this book really interesting. It's not an easy read, and includes many scientific details that are sometimes difficult to completely comprehend. It is also quite repetitive, although I think the author had a purpose in doing this. Overall, it is very inspirational. If you are like me, and have felt that somehow alcohol has taken control of your daily life, whether in a small or grandiose manner, and your life revolves around thinking about when 'cocktail hour' begins, and all you see on media is people laughing and drinking as if we all need a drink in our hand to be happy, or you know someone who is alcohol dependent, I strongly recommend you read this book. It has changed the way I view alcohol and made me much more conscientious about the choices I make regarding it.
September 8, 2021
This book could have easily been an essay in the New Yorker, et.al. Every chapter basically saying same thing. Simplistic solution for complex problem. Author has a one-size-fits all approach which does not take into consideration the myriad of situations and complexities that go into addiction. Author references her father as an example of 'just say no' success story. Never mind he had to get on a snowmobile to go get booze. Or maybe he just matured. Only vague science referenced..This is another younger person speaking from her own experience. More like a memoir. Nothing helpful if you at a different life stage or have a serious addiction problem.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2022
Possibly the best book I’ve ever read.
I took many lessons from it without feeling I was being preached too. I now drink A LOT more tea than I did before reading this book. I’m also feeling better, looking better, have lost weight & am generally just more happy in myself. I also don’t dread doing my glass recycling.
I don’t want to be 100% alcohol free & I didn’t feel that that was pushed on me at all.
It did make me seriously look at and consider some of my views along with decisions I have made. I honestly think I’ve used alcohol as a crutch for far too long & am infinitely grateful to now be able to see that.
I took many lessons from it without feeling I was being preached too. I now drink A LOT more tea than I did before reading this book. I’m also feeling better, looking better, have lost weight & am generally just more happy in myself. I also don’t dread doing my glass recycling.
I don’t want to be 100% alcohol free & I didn’t feel that that was pushed on me at all.
It did make me seriously look at and consider some of my views along with decisions I have made. I honestly think I’ve used alcohol as a crutch for far too long & am infinitely grateful to now be able to see that.
June 11, 2024
This book has a few good points. However; very repetitive. She repeats over and over throughout the book the same message and concepts. Alcohol is poison, it tastes bad, it’s insidious, alcohol is addictive, everyone will be eventually be addicted etc….
Everyone is genetically different. I have many friends who can drink responsibly and know a some that when they have one drink, they are going to have 20.
I enjoy a glass or two of white wine on weekends. Been doing it for 30 plus years. I enjoy the taste. Never had any issues with family my business etc….
I also enjoy my coffee every AM which was an acquired taste.
Everyone is genetically different. I have many friends who can drink responsibly and know a some that when they have one drink, they are going to have 20.
I enjoy a glass or two of white wine on weekends. Been doing it for 30 plus years. I enjoy the taste. Never had any issues with family my business etc….
I also enjoy my coffee every AM which was an acquired taste.
November 25, 2022
I thought this was a great book. Though I don’t struggle with alcoholism I just wanted to read about the tactics used to help people over me their alcoholism. I think the science behind the neurobiology and neurotransmitters could have been more specific and more scientists could have been consulted, but the gist came across. I think it was interesting the amount of repetition present but it makes sense to try to change the unconscious reason for drinking alcohol.
January 3, 2021
This pair of books (along with a couple different podcasts) helped me to identify my unhealthy relationship with alcohol and decide in September of 2020 not to be controlled by its hold over me any longer.
February 2, 2023
A little self help-y for me (prefer the Huberlab Lab podcast on alcohol), but whatever gets you thinking about this stuff is a good thing.
January 24, 2024
Great approach. Good pacing. But there is something about Annie Grace that makes me want to punch kittens.
April 16, 2022
Good book easy to read. I've never realised that people struggle with alcohol, so much. I used to smoke cigarettes and hated it. This book brought memories back of how I was struggling with it and how much I hate it. Probably addiction is an addiction. There were a few points that I didn't know. All in all, I enjoyed this book.
November 8, 2022
I picked this book up because, since moving to Chicago, I've developed anxiety over going to events and there being an expectation of drinking/wondering if events can still be fun without alcohol. I love Chicago, but am not fond of the alcohol-centric life here.
That being said, I would recommend reading this book, as I think parts of it were incredibly nice to see in writing. Annie Grace does a nice job of compiling certain concepts in one place. I shared certain aspects with my friends and loved that she said that stopping will happen in our own time.
I do think she should've stopped the book after the liminal points. She seemed to switch tone and jumped on a preachy pulpit in such a way that I was sure I'd have to fact check some of the latter argument points in the book. And it wasn't the inclusive book it was during the liminal points.
That being said, I would recommend reading this book, as I think parts of it were incredibly nice to see in writing. Annie Grace does a nice job of compiling certain concepts in one place. I shared certain aspects with my friends and loved that she said that stopping will happen in our own time.
I do think she should've stopped the book after the liminal points. She seemed to switch tone and jumped on a preachy pulpit in such a way that I was sure I'd have to fact check some of the latter argument points in the book. And it wasn't the inclusive book it was during the liminal points.
December 18, 2021
I would like to start by cautioning anyone who is, or might be, a true alcoholic and would encourage him/her to consider not reading this book and/or consulting a drug and alcohol abuse professional first. I say this because reading this book might give such an individual inaccurate, false and/or detrimental information and/or advice. I believe that an individual who struggles with alcohol in the way the author writes about is likely a problem drinker which differs from an alcoholic tremendously. In fact, I believe that misunderstanding the difference could result in a handful of extremely tragic outcomes. There is much good information in this book and it was written in a way which makes it easy to read and follow along. It also does a great job of raising questions and challenges one to consider what he/she believes and encourages more research on the readers part. For example, the book talks about spontaneous sobriety, at first I thought that this idea was extremely false, (and still do), but it has challenged me to validate my beliefs through more research. I believe a true alcoholic does not have the ability to spontaneously become sober, but I will do more digging.
November 24, 2022
After not drinking alcohol for a year, due to a medication conflict, I decided to read this book. I've experienced life differently since giving up alcohol and I was curious if this book could help explain why.
It delivered everything I was hoping it would about the chemical changes in our bodies and even the changes to our brain we experience in the absence of alcohol.
I never intended to give up alcohol forever, but I am pretty sure, after the peace I've found, that I won't go back to drinking alcohol again.
It is an easy book to read, informative, and interesting as the author shares her own experiences. I found it fascinating and highly recommend it to anyone that has found themselves wondering what effect alcohol has on the body and mind.
It delivered everything I was hoping it would about the chemical changes in our bodies and even the changes to our brain we experience in the absence of alcohol.
I never intended to give up alcohol forever, but I am pretty sure, after the peace I've found, that I won't go back to drinking alcohol again.
It is an easy book to read, informative, and interesting as the author shares her own experiences. I found it fascinating and highly recommend it to anyone that has found themselves wondering what effect alcohol has on the body and mind.
August 26, 2021
This book underpinned the reasons I have stopped drinking. I don’t want to be a slave to poison anymore, and Annie Grace makes her case for this idea of poison very clearly and conversationally. There’s no hectoring or shaming in her voice at all, just empathy and straight facts, appeals to our bodies and our minds rather than tsking at her readers. This is a serious subject, discussed in a serious manner. I wish all my drinking friends would read it.
April 5, 2022
Powerful book that will lessen your urge to drink alcohol. It was rather repetitive, over and over again, anecdotes about drinkers and quitters and all the bad stuff that drinking does to your body and relationships. Despite this, I skimmed through the book and ended up avoiding wine, hard liquor, and even cutting back on beer. So its an effective tome to tone your drinking down - or out. Read it.
June 30, 2021
Been thinking about how alcohol pervades Btitish life for a while. Saw a few reviews of this book in magazines, so had a read. Confirmed everything I'd been thinking and more. Haven't had an alcoholic drink for over a month and not sure if I'll ever go back to it.
January 4, 2024
Very informative and inspirational
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews