Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol
The new face of risky drinking is female. The problem: a global epidemic of bingeing. The solution: a brave new approach to female recovery.
Eight years ago, Ann Dowsett Johnston was an award-winning journalist and vice-principal of McGill University. In private, she was wrestling the demon that had undone her own mother; the same demon increasing numbers of women are now battling across the world: alcohol.
Aware of her growing dependency, Ann began to document her experiences with drink – the rules she set, and inevitably broke. The diary told a story that was not hers alone. From the 17-year-old heart attack victim to the mother of a child with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, women have bravely shared their own journeys through addiction, creating an alarming composite of the female face of dangerous drinking.
In this startlingly honest book Ann Dowsett Johnson reveals why the relationship between women and alcohol has spiralled out of control. Showing how women can escape from this destructive affair, ‘Drink’ is essential reading for any woman who thinks she has a problem, and for those who care about her.
”Ann Dowsett Johnston has won 5 Canadian National Magazine Awards. Her research for 'The Drinking Diaries” - took her across the UK, Canada and the USA and she has written on women and alcohol extensively, particularly for the Toronto Star
”'A wallop of a book … full of riveting candour … Johnston brings the weight of her journalism and academic experience to build a convincing case that women are increasingly succumbing to the dark side of alcohol” - Washington Post
”'In this comprehensively researched and insightful book, Ann Dowsett Johnston chronicles her own destructive dance with alcohol, her recovery and explores disturbing trends in contemporary women’s relationship to alcohol. A crucially important book for anyone interested in women’s health and addiction issues.” - Susan Juby, author of 'Nice Recovery’
‘“Drink” is a gift to women, to parents, and to all who want to understand the experience of alcoholism. The writing is gripping and vivid, the voice personal, the research exacting, the stories revealing if sometimes heartbreaking, the conclusions essential. A triumphant life, a triumphant book.” Gabor Maté M.D., author of “In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction” -
”'A game-changing look at one of our culture’s hidden problems … honest, brave and inspirational.” - Margaret Trudeau, author of 'Changing My Mind'