Quit Like a Woman

Introduction
 
Nearly a decade ago, about a year before I stopped drinking alcohol, a friend of mine showed up at my door. She lived in my neighborhood, the Tendernob of San Francisco, which is another way of saying we lived somewhere between a shithole and a fancy tourist trap. It was early on a Saturday afternoon, and my friend was carrying a Solo cup full of whiskey because some man she d met on OkCupid had broken her heart. It seemed a reasonable solution to me at the time: to walk around the streets of San Francisco sipping Maker s Mark to dull the specific pain of being rejected by someone she met on the internets who wasn t good enough for her in the first place. Only, I would have chosen Jameson.
 
We called a few friends to come over, and we sat in my little studio apartment smoking pot and drinking even more whiskey and cheap wine from the corner store, when my dear, brokenhearted friend announced to the group that she was pretty sure she was going through an alcoholic phase. Alcoholic phase. I looked around the room at the faces of my other friends for a hint of the same reaction I felt, which was relief. I saw not only looks of relief but also ones of deep knowing we d all experienced something close enough to that to empathize.
 
Huh.
 
When you re terrified that maybe your drinking has gone off the rails, nothing will rein in that hysterical, ridiculous thought more tightly than a group of successful, intelligent, attractive, together women who normalize your affliction with a new term: Alcoholic phase! This scenario is only one of a few hundred examples of why I couldn t  figure out whether I really had a problem with alcohol, or if maybe I was just going through a little thing that would straighten itself out.
 
Around the time of this particular incident, when I was thirty-three, my drinking was escalating in a way that felt out of control. It was no longer just one or two at home, or a drunk night

Holly Whitaker

An unflinching examination of how our drinking culture hurts women and a gorgeous memoir of how one woman healed herself. It will change your relationship with alcohol and it has the power to change your relationship with your entire life. Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Untamed
 
A funny, fast-paced, and bracingly candid dispatch from the realm of the self-actualized, but Holly Whitaker is no polished model of self-help evangelism, nor is her memoir-manifesto selling a one-size-fits-all solution. Her story is a messy human one and all the more convincing that sobriety is a feminist issue. Melissa Febos, author of Whip Smart and Abandon Me
 
As a culture, we have a weird and often dysfunctional relationship with alcohol. This thoughtful, moving book will help a lot of people get to a healthier place. Johann Hari, author of Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections
 
Holly Whitaker is a genius: brilliantly clever, fearless, snort-out-loud funny. Catherine Gray, author of The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober
 
Brave and revolutionary, Whitaker has written a compulsively readable book about creating a life you don t want to escape. Funny, insightful, and candid, it is a must-read for anyone embarking on the adventure of abandoning alcohol. Ann Dowsett Johnston, author of Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol
 
A vital, timely, and intriguing analysis of women and alcohol . . . Whitaker cuts to the quick of the issues, skillfully using gripping anecdotes and well-researched insights to educate, liberate, and provide real hope and tangible steps for anyone looking to quit like a woman. Annie Grace, author of This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life
 
Raw, vulnerable, and unapologetic. Holly Whitaker brings these ingredients together for a fresh and needed perspective as well as a