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Booze had dominated Jill Stark’s social life ever since she had her first sip of beer, at 13. She thought nothing could curb her love of big nights. And then came the hangover that changed everything. In the shadow of her 35th year, Jill made a decision: she would give up alcohol. But what would it mean to stop drinking in a world awash with booze?
This lively memoir charts Jill’s tumultuous year on the wagon, as she copes with the stress of the newsroom sober, tackles the dating scene on soda water, learns to watch the footy minus beer, and deals with censure from friends and colleagues, who tell her that a year without booze is “a year with no friends.”
Now ten years later, Jill 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 our drinking habits, with the rise of the sober-curious movement and a booming non-alcoholic drinks trend.
Now she feels prompted to ask the question, has sobriety become cool?
“It’s hard not to recommend this book: from teenagers experimenting with their first taste to those who’ve been imbibing for decades, many will find Stark’s story illuminating, touching, and memorable.”—The Australian
“High Sobriety is an entertaining and informative read about one woman’s year of online dating, family reunions, and beer gardens without a drink, and her account of the nation’s attitude towards the thing she denies herself.”— The Sydney Morning Herald
“Journalist Stark chronicles a year of sobriety in this witty memoir … Stark’s candid reflections reveal the outsize role booze plays in many people’s social lives. It’s a spirited tale of kicking addiction.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Higher Sobriety is a thought-provoking—no, deeply challenging—read for those of us involved in the promotion of alcohol and the perpetuation of Australia’s drinking cultures (even those of us who like to think we’re advocating sensible drinking—“drinking less but better”). It’s essential reading, really, for anyone, arguably more so now than a decade ago. Even if it doesn’t convince you to give up the booze completely, it should give you greater insight into how and why you drink. And understanding is surely better than ignorance.”
—Max Allen, The Australian Financial Review
Praise for High Sobriety:
“What gives this book resonance is Stark’s ability to balance a serious agenda, backed by her interviews, statistics and the inside information to which a health reporter has access, with a personal narrative that is equally earnest in its intent but lighter in its execution … High Sobriety is an entertaining and informative read about one woman’s year of online dating, family reunions and beer gardens without a drink, and her account of the nation’s attitude towards the thing she denies herself.”
—The Sydney Morning Herald
Praise for High Sobriety:
“It's hard not to recommend this book: from teenagers experimenting with their first taste to those who've been imbibing for decades, many will find Stark's story illuminating, touching, and memorable.”
—The Australian
Praise for High Sobriety:
“I loved the hell out of it.”
—Tim Rogers
Praise for High Sobriety:
“A sobering, and distinctly inspiring, glimpse of what Australia might look like without a hangover … Stark writes with honesty and unnerving clarity. Over its pages, the reader gradually comes to understand not just that Aussies don't like to give up the drink, but that we don't like it when our mates do, either.”
—Annabel Crabb