As the subtitle suggests, Drink, by Ann Dowsett Johnston, is focused on the various ways in which women enter into problematic relationships with alcohol.
With chapters covering the insidious rise of booze in women's cultural conscience, the reasons that lead to over-consumption in females, insights about recovery and the author's own personal story, this book packs a lot in.
Whether you're looking for statistics or stories, this book comprehensively covers the topic of women and alcohol in the modern world through a lens of seeking to understand and to explain.
The book is beautifully written, in a non-judgemental way that is accessible to all, with comments from experts, plus touching vignettes of women from all walks of life who have been floored by their addiction to alcohol.
Dowsett Johnston's writing is moving, but never mawkish, as she weaves her own family history and her journey from addiction to recovery into each chapter. She describes very succinctly how booze can insidiously move from a friendly form of unwitting self-medication to a persecutor and slave-driver, which can ultimately destroy families, lives and one's own sense of self.
I particularly admired the author's call for people who have been addicted to alcohol to share their own stories, in an effort to break down the stigma surrounding addiction, a move I mirror in my own book, The Happy Addict.
Overall, this is a book as brave as it is illuminating, offering a heady mixture of information, food for thought, and hope. Well worth a read for any woman who has found herself at the mercy of drink, or anyone who wants to learn more about the influence of alcohol in women's culture.
by Beth Burgess, Therapist and author of The Recovery Formula, The Happy Addict, and What Is Self-Esteem?
