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.

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?

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Memoir

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 10, 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.

Reviews

[Suz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jill Stark unwittingly became the poster girl for the non-drinker. Living the drinking life, big weekends of binging, lots alcohol and the usual stuff that goes along with this, and writing for one of the largest newspapers in the country, Jill was a journalist writing on health related issues in her professional life. What would be frustrating is this – those that followed her book ten years ago would assume they have the right to question her drinking. Is she on or is she off the wagon? Who cares if they are a stranger commenting on another stranger’s drinking. Unfortunately the public think she’s fair game.

This is a follow up, and we see what came ‘after’.

I’ve realised I don’t like loud bars and nightclubs and staying out late, and probably never did. I enjoy getting up early and swimming in the ocean; reading a book on the couch… and being home on a Saturday night.

Starkers the party girl was a caricature – a performative alter-ego I created as a painfully self-conscious teenager who just wanted to fit in… life will get better in ways she can’t even imagine when she realises the only approval she needs is her own.

Observations on Australia Day – Draped in Aussie flags, and wearing bikinis, hats, and tattoos of the flag, many of them were blind drunk. The mood didn’t seem celebratory. I’m not sure if any of them could have articulated what it is their boozing was commemorating.

I began, grudgingly, to acknowledge that drinking was incompatible with reclaiming my mental health… but when I went through eye of the storm, I always returned to alcohol. It would take five more years, a metric shit ton of therapy, and series of drunken near-misses before I realised that my break-up with booze probably needed to be permanent separation.

From an addiction specialist – compulsive pleasure-seeking, despite knowing the consequences – is the very definition of ‘premalignant addiction’.

Alcohol is a terrible therapist, and a capricious friend. Rather than pouring accelerant on the bonfire, I need to start lighting myself up from the inside and build a life I don’t need to escape from.

On being badgered to keep drinking – They’re the same people who ask, “Why can’t you just have one or two?” as they drain their sixth glass of wine.

I choose abstinence because it’s easier than moderation…. The mental gymnastics required to constantly bargain with yourself over a substance that will always have the upper hand is exhausting.

I chased scraps of approval in an endless bid to belong and to feel like I was enough. Drinking was a big part of that quest for acceptance.

Excellent and informative, a strong woman for saying it as it is in relation to such personal matters. Many Australians will resonate with this given the nature of our drinking culture. It will help many, of that I am sure.

With my thanks to Marina @scribepub for my physical copy to read and review.

[Caitlan 🌺 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review in one sentence: I closed Higher Sobriety with a sense of clarity. It is a book that will stay with me for a long while.

Higher Sobriety follows on from the original release of High Sobriety ten years ago. A pioneer read for the ‘quit lit’ movement, it is an exploration of drinking, Australian culture and everything that comes with that.

I first started following Jill Stark on Instagram last year. I found her to be refreshing and I loved her vibe (I am also a sucker for a Scottish accent, but I digress).

I opened her book hoping that the same effervescent personality and voice I had come to love would shine through- and it did.

Stark’s writing reads as if you are sharing stories over a coffee (or a can of Heaps Normal). Riveting details, statistics and sharp analysis are seemingly hidden amongst funny prose and anecdotes, making it a very easy non fiction read to digest.

I found myself madly highlighting and tabbing throughout- there were revelations around aussie drinking culture that I had not ever thought about with any depth. There were thoughts around alcohol, self esteem and ‘hangxiety’ that had me asking myself a lot of deep questions.

If you are at all interested in the sober curious movement please do yourself a favour and pick this up.




Thank you to Scribe for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my review :)

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nonfiction book written by an Australian journalist who decides to cut alcohol out of her life for an entire year. It brings to light how a lot of people rely on drinking in order to engage in social activities and the stigma people face when they try to steer away from the status quo. I personally am someone who doesn’t drink as heavily as others I’ve witnessed and this book helped confirm that I am not alone in choosing not to put my body under unnecessary duress.

[Jezzy Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, writing and updates were really good. I’m glad I finished it (and I don’t finish many books!)

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn’t decide between three stars or four for a while. Gave it the latter due to it being a thought provoking read that made me analyze my opinions - which didn’t always match with author, so that doesn’t mean it should loose a star! Not a five because I think it has not aged well in some sections.

[Lisa Anybookanytime]

As this is a memoir, I am not signing a star rating.

Higher Sobriety addresses important issues around alcohol use. I am in awe of the author's willingness to expose her very personal story.

Ten years ago, Jill Stark wrote about her year without booze. Her book combined memoir, research and interviews to show how alcohol is celebrated in our culture despite its negatives. The revised edition tells what happened after the year concluded, and (not a spoiler) how she decided to quit for good.

The positives are many. It is engaging, vulnerable, and well researched, weaving data and stories about history, science, health and social expectations throughout her sober year. 

Higher Sobriety isn't preachy. Its mantra of 'my drinking is by choice, and within socially acceptable norms; there are people much worse than me' avoids alienating readers who would run a mile if you said "alcoholic".

My one concern is that the repeated implication that "real" alcoholics are worse in terms of drinking volume, frequency, symptoms, or life impact, reinforces the perception that only "rock bottom" drinkers are addicts. 

I acknowledge that people choose to identify their relationship with alcohol in different ways, as the label of "alcoholic" carries stigma.

But it is important to understand that people with an alcohol use disorder can present normally, and even high-functioning alcoholics can still be addicts, something which I feel could have been better addressed, even while speaking her truth.

If this post has raised any issues for you, I encourage you to contact your GP or a support network in your region that can assist you. 

NOTE this book was gifted. This is my honest review.

[BCM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened on Audible. So much of Jill’s summary of our alcohol culture and the experiences she has choosing the sober lifestyle resonated with me.

[Kendall Otten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Very accessible language and very relevant. I adore Jill so much

[Joanne U · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF. I found the personal experience of switching from a drinker to a sober person interesting - but less so the reasons why it’s good to not drink.

[Kelly Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woooow, I learned a lot from this book. I’m grateful for Jill Stark’s story and honesty in telling it.
Educational, personal, introspective, and inspirational.

[Nick Traynor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated the journalistic style with the endless phony authoritativeness of dubious research. It was superficial and revolting and I regret reading it.

[Seana Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Updated version of the original High Sobriety of ten years before. With updates.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

So well written, honest and vulnerable - yet manages to stay funny. Love the balance of fact and lived experience. The parts about Fiona were haunting and so moving.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is basically a reprint of the original book from 10 years ago, but with three or so chapters slapped on the end, which was disappointing as I guess the author learnt a lot more about addiction and alcoholism and herself after this book came out.

The initial book read like an ad for Hello Sunday Morning, where it seems your issues are best resolved if you blog about them to strangers every week. The creator of HSM was boasting about how three months off the sauce will change how you approach drinking. Well we all know that was wrong. I would have liked to have seen these views challenged, like we would to others who sell gratitude, empathy and mindfulness instead of science and research.

Otherwise a fine addition to the quit lit genre and shout outs to the author for being able to be a journo without booze for so long now