“Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.”
Brene Brown
And when I say “read”, what I truly mean is that I devoured these books on the Libby app/ Audible. Listening to books just hits different for me.
Recently I shared about how over 200 days ago (222 to be exact…seeing that number go up and up brings me SO much joy). You can read that post here. It was terrifying to share.
But I had such an overwhelmingly positive response to that post, and I am truly blown away by the support that I have been shown. I was flooded with text messages, DMs, and even phone calls of people saying that my story resonated with them, or that they were so proud of me for sharing, even though I was scared to.
One HUGE takeaway, was that whoever you are, whatever you are going through, you are NOT alone. And if you can muster the courage to show up as you are to share your story, your struggles and your whole heart- connection is waiting for you with open arms.
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope empathy, accountability, and authenticity.”
Brene Brown
One request that was repeated many times, was the list of books that I have listened to in my Alcohol Free journey this year. This genre is lovingly called “Quit Lit” and I’m here for that cheeky little moniker. The authors share their stories, some as highly functioning alcoholics, some as “gray area drinkers”, some prescribe to the AA model of recovery, some reject it completely. I have loved listening to these, as many of the books are read the by author, and there is something truly magical about listening to someone’s story in their own voice.
I will add to this list as I listen to more quitlit. So, (in no particular order) drumroll please….here it is! I have included a quote from each.
- This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol: Find Freedom, Rediscover Happiness & Change Your Life by Annie Grace
- “We protect alcohol by blaming addiction on a person’s personality rather than on the addictive nature of alcohol… The concept of addictive personality lets us close our minds to the fact that alcohol is addictive, period.”
- The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray
- “The act of making a decision feels scary, since you may fail, but once you make a decision and set a definitive goal, the brain likes it more.”
- We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of Sober Life-Laura McKowen
- “This is the singular, hard truth I come up against every day: I am the only one responsible for my experience. I decide what I let in; I decide who I let in; I decide how to perceive things; I choose it all.”
- Sunshine Warm Sober- Catharine Gray
- “I’ve now learned that when you share the darkest parts of your life, and find that thousands of people say ‘Me too’, it transmutes those black memories into spun gold. Sharing is like alchemy.”
- The Sober Lush: A Hedonist’s Guide to Living a Decadent, Adventurous, Soulful Life–Alcohol Free, by Jardine Libaire & Amanda Eyre Ward
- “Meditation is like sobriety in that it doesn’t make everything perfect but helps us be okay with how everything is.”
- Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol, by Holly Whitaker
- “Spending a night out drinking is akin to dismantling every piece of protection we have—our cognition, our decision making, our reaction time, our memory, our standards, our voice. If we thought about alcohol in this way—as something that undermines our collective momentum and personal agency and vitality and self-worth—what would that mean for us? What if we all rejected the poison—then what? I’ll tell you what: world domination, bitches.”
- Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
- “If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive.”
- Untamed by Glennon Doyle
- “This life is mine alone. So I have stopped asking people for directions to places they’ve never been.”
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- “Every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to become.”
- The Year of Less- Cait Flanders
- “One lesson I’ve learned countless times over the years is that whenever you let go of something negative in your life, you make room for something positive.”
I hope you find these helpful, and always, thank you for reading.
“Be messy and complicated and afraid and show up anyways.”
Glennon Doyle
