#BookReview: Drinking Games by @sarahliliane @StMartinsPress

Synopsis: Part memoir and part social critique, Drinking Games is about how one woman drank and lived — until sobriety freed her.

Drinking Games explores the role alcohol has in our formative adult lives, and what it means to opt out of a culture completely enmeshed in drinking. Sarah explores what our short-term choices about alcohol do to our long-term selves and how it challenges our ability to be vulnerable enough to discover what we really want in life. While many millennial women will see themselves in Sarah's words and story, Drinking Games is dedicated to anyone who feels like their private struggles are terminally unique. Whether it’s alcohol, food, exercise, or work, so many of us are grasping for control and struggling to keep our heads above water.

Candid, dynamic, Drinking Games speaks to the millennial experience of working hard, playing harder, and wanting everything to look perfect on social media. Dedicated to those who might be questioning their relationship with alcohol but scared that quitting drinking is an ending, Drinking Games illustrates how, for one woman, sobriety was just the beginning of the story. Sarah's words strike the perfect chord of relatability and biting honesty. Instead of claiming to have the answers, she takes readers by the hand throughout her journey, and shows us that life's messiest moments are the ones that can end up being the most profound. 

This title will be released on January 3, 2023.

Goodreads | Amazon

Rating: 4 Stars
My Review: This is a story of one women's journey with sobriety and it was so powerful.  It was so good and I could not put it down.  It felt genuine and powerful and so amazing to follow along with her. 

Review

"Bracing and insightful...offers equal measures of introspection and hope. This emotional excavation will inspire anyone navigating addiction."
––Publishers Weekly

“Candid, straightforward, and full of introspection. Levy successfully articulates the emotional roller coaster of being drunk and being sober through important life moments and shows her readers how fulfilling a sober life can be.”
––Booklist

"Poignant. [DRINKING GAMES] reads like an intimate conversation between friends."
––Kirkus

"With raw honesty...Levy's path to sobriety becomes a lens through which she reflects on drinking culture and what it means to be sober within that...in her vulnerability and willingness to share the highs and lows of her relationship with alcohol, Levy invites readers to consider what might not be serving them in this moment--and what might be possible on the other side of whatever habit is holding them back from true freedom."
––Shelf Awareness

"Stands out in the genre of sobriety memoirs...people who find solace in these narratives or seek a reflection of their experiences will appreciate the bravery, humor, and grace with which the author writes about one of the darkest parts of her life. There’s a particular effectiveness to her exploration of the ways drinking culture permeates the spaces in lives and interactions."
––Library Journal

"Sarah Levy's Drinking Games is more than one woman's captivating story of letting go of a destructive relationship to alcohol. This up close look at Levy's life before, during, and after her decision to stop drinking alcohol offers readers a glimpse at all of the ways a life can transform once sobriety is in place. By turns hilarious and harrowing, Levy generously shows readers how she left behind a party girl lifestyle filled with hollow relationships and unfulfilling work and built a sober life filled with comfort, care, and deep, authentic attachments to herself and others. For anyone who fears that sobriety equals stagnation, boredom, and a stunted life shuffling from one dank basement recovery meeting to the next, prepare to have your mind blown. Levy's Drinking Games is a must-read for anyone curious about the many ways in which sobriety can transform a life."
––Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of Group

"Thought-provoking and fantastic. Drinking Games explores both the vulnerable emotional core of one woman's relationship with alcohol and how empowering it is to walk away. A terrific read!”
––Cat Marnell, New York Times bestselling author of How to Murder Your Life

“Like Sarah Levy, by giving up the battle with booze, I have found a new world of self-respect and grace. I know that Levy’s wise and honest memoir, Drinking Games, will connect with readers who are asking themselves if their life might be a bit brighter and truer without alcohol. May we all find what Levy (and I) was searching for in every cocktail: ‘the deepest, purest, and most genuine belief that everything was going to be okay.’”
––Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters and The Sober Lush

"Sarah Levy gives sobriety a makeover in Drinking Games. With the warmth, wit, and wisdom of the venerable friend we all desperately wanted, Sarah draws you into how alcohol defined her relationships with body image, the wellness industry, and her family, and the clarity she gained when she found sobriety. Drinking Games packs a punch: not the gross alcoholic kind but the kind that leaves you feeling breathless. This book should be required reading for every scared person wondering, should I stop now? From hangovers, to blackouts, to the joys of new beginnings, Sarah gives vulnerable and concrete advice for anyone worried that sobriety means an end to all things fun. Spoiler alert: it’s not."
––Erin Lee Carr, author of All That You Leave Behind

About the Author

Sarah Levy is a writer based in Los Angeles by way of New York. Her work examines the intersection of sobriety, relationships, and identity and has been featured in The New York Times, New York Magazine/The Cut, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Vogue, Elle, and other publications. She holds a B.A. in Literary Arts from Brown University and pursued a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from The New School. Drinking Games is her first book.

Did you know that comments are DELICIOUS? Well they are and if you comment on any of these posts you could win some awesome goodies! 

Don't forget to check out our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and out other social media found on the side bar! 

 Disclaimer: "All opinions are 100% honest and my own."  Thanks to Goodreads and Amazon for the book cover, about the book, and author information. Buying via these links allows my site to get a % of the sale at no cost to you. 

FTC Guidelines: In accordance with FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers, I would like my readers to know that many of the books I review are provided to me for free by the publisher or author of the book in exchange for an honest review. If am compensated for any reviews on this site I will state that post has been sponsored. 

Posted in: 4 Stars, Adult, Non Fiction, Review, St. Martin's Press