Not Drinking Tonight is a wonderful guide to setting healthy boundaries with alcoholand yourself. Amanda helps you dig into the root of your struggles to better understand why you drink and why you might want to stopsetting you up for a more fulfilling life all around, even if you dont choose full sobriety. Readers will gain the self-awareness, compassion, and confidence to make choices that better serve them.
Nedra Tawwab, MSW, LCSW, New York Times bestselling author of Set Boundaries, Find Peace
A knowledgeable, compassionate, and supportive guide. With a wealth of examples, tools, practices, and new ways of relating to both alcohol and the self, Not Drinking Tonight will be an accessible and revelatory balm for anyone questioning the kind of life they want to create outside of drinking.
Lisa Olivera, LMFT, founder of @lisaolivera and author of Already Enough
I truly believe that anyone will benefit from reading this book, regardless of their relationship with alcohol. This book is such a great, relatable resource that will help us cultivate more self-awareness and compassion while gently examining our relationship with alcohol, and ourselves.
Caroline Dooner, author of the bestselling book The F*ck It Diet
In this gentle, forthright, and actionable book, Amanda White busts the myth that we need to be at rock bottom to ask for help. She challenges us to heal beyond the label we tie to our struggles and creates space for us to shed layers of shame, which keep us shackled to narratives of low self-worth. Whether youre newly sober, not-yet-sober, toying with the idea of sobriety, or never even contemplated a life beyond sobriety until this very moment, this book has gems of wisdom to offer you on your journey.
Jennifer R. Wolkin, PhD (Dr. Jen), neuropsychologist and author of Quick Calm: Easy Meditations to Short-Circuit Stress Using Mindfulness and Neuroscience
As a therapist, this is the book about drinking I have been waiting for. Not Drinking Tonight offers a fresh perspective on substance misuse and gently guides you, with relatable examples, how to choose to stop drinking tonight, tomorrow, andif you wantforever. Finally, a book on drinking that I truly believe in and am excited to recommend to my clients.
Elizabeth Earnshaw, LMFT, relationship expert, founder of @lizlistens, and author of I Want This to Work
Written in a smart, relatable style, and rooted in actual therapeutic expertise, Not Drinking Tonight is the self-help resource manual that we need. Amanda walks readers through a journey of gaining a deeper understanding of their relationship to alcohol, regardless of addiction status. I especially appreciated the education provided around trauma and reparenting. Amandas book is a resource that I know I will use for both myself and my clients for years to comean absolute gift.
Dr. Colleen Reichmann, clinical psychologist and author of The Inside Scoop on Eating Disorder Recovery
Not Drinking Tonight is an of-the-moment book that brings the #quitlit genre to the next level. Whites writing about mental health and sobriety is just as helpful and accessible as her popular Instagram account.
Tawny Lara, sober sex and relationships writer
Note: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. This book is intended only as an informative guide for those wishing to know more about health issues. In no way is this book intended to replace, countermand, or conflict with the advice given to you by your own physician. The ultimate decision concerning care should be made between you and your doctor. We strongly recommend you follow their advice. Information in this book is general and is offered with no guarantees on the part of the authors or Hachette Go. The authors and publisher disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book. The names and identifying details of people associated with events described in this book have been changed. Any similarity to actual persons is coincidental.
Copyright 2022 by Amanda E. White
Cover design by Terri Sirma
Transcend by Scott Barry Kaufman
Sailboat illustration by Andy Ogden
Facing the Sunshine Stationary and Design @shopfacingthesunshine
Cover copyright 2022 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: White, Amanda, author.
Title: Not drinking tonight : a guide to creating a sober life you love / Amanda White.
Description: First edition. | New York : Hachette Go, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021036037 | ISBN 9780306925856 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780306925863 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Women alcoholics--Social conditions. | Women alcoholics--Psychology. | Women--Alcohol use. | Temperance.
Classification: LCC HV5137 .W55 2022 | DDC 362.292082--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021036037
ISBNs: 9780306925856 (paper over board); 9780306925863 (ebook)
E3-20211120-JV-NF-ORI
This book is dedicated to my parents, who never gave up on me even when I wanted to give up on myself.
Im sorry, youre a what? My mom stares at me with such genuine confusion I cannot tell if she is this shocked or truly didnt hear the words that just came out of my mouth.
Im an alcoholic, I stammer.
I dont understand.
Of course, you dont , I thought angrily. The truth is, I was not sure if I was an alcoholic , either, but I did know three things.
Alcohol was making my life worse. Did I drink every day? No. Did something terrible, or embarrassing, happen every time I drank? Also no. But every time something disastrous happened, I was drinking. And that scared the hell out of me. My drinking felt like Russian Roulette. Sure, most times I drank, things were fine. But when I did drink too much and lost control, I often became self-destructive. I got into huge fights with friends and said terrible things I didnt mean often disappearing from the bar without a trace. I drove drunk more times then I would like to admit and slept with strangers regardless of the promises I made to myself in the daylight.
Moderating wasnt working. I tried all the things, including, but not limited to, not pregaming, not drinking hard liquor, only drinking hard liquor, not taking shots, only drinking shots ( I cannot believe I thought that one was a good idea ), only drinking wine, only drinking beer ( which I hated the taste of ), measuring my drinks, only drinking on the weekend, not drinking more than three drinks, not drinking alone, and not drinking on an empty stomach. It wasnt even that some of these things didnt work. Sometimes I was able to stick to them for a period of time. But the rules didnt prevent me from putting myself in dangerous situations or making poor choices. I spent an exorbitant amount of time trying to crack the code. I was like a mad scientist. I needed enough alcohol to drown out my social anxiety and make me extroverted, but not so much that I would be unable to hold a conversation or do something embarrassing. I needed enough alcohol to feel confident talking to guys, but not so much that I would sleep with them on the first date. It was absolutely exhausting .