One of the most impactful books I've ever read.

Love these books. Read Carr's "Quit Smoking" as well.

These books break down addiction based on the brainwashing aspects behind them. It's a look at how you undergo drug addiction, booze or nicotine or whatever, based on bullshit. In under 300 pages he breaks all that garbage up, and showcases how underneath all of them lie the same two things: a lie, and plain drug addiction.

Phenomenal books, highly recommended.

Yippee!!! I’m a Non-Drinker

What a wonderful way to start Spring, and the rest of my life. I feel very confident about making a decision that will change how I view myself.

sober era !!!!!!!!!! listened on audible and the narrator kinda funny cos he so serious so 4.5

"ponder how you were once conned into paying a fortune just to pour that filthy poison down your throat." - the man who conned me to pour the final filthy poison down my throat.

I am a non drinker!

I was struggling, and stuck in a vicious cycle of misery. I was drowning my feelings of anxiety and depression with alcohol and starting to miss work and push my wife away because of it. Instead of circling the drain and going all the way to nowhere I got this book, desperately seeking help. I wasn’t sure at first if it would help. After the 4th chapter I had connected with the message and the instructions and saw a light at the end of the tunnel. One week later I was thankful, happy, and starting to remember who I was before addiction took me over. Don’t wait- if you feel out of control and a slave to drink, stop suffering and take this lifeline!

Knew I had quit the days before picking it up, now I am an ex-alcoholic. Freedom at last.

Could definitely have been half the length and equally persuasive. Glad I read it. We'll see if it works for me.

Easy to read, well laid out, several fresh ideas, the main being that everyone who drinks is on the steady route to alcoholism. All who drink alcohol are potential alcoholics.
Other key ideas:-
Alcohol is a poison. OK, won't argue with that.
Alcohol tastes foul. Don't agree with that.
You must give up alcohol completely. Don't agree with that.
You cannot give up by pure willpower. Don't agree with that either.

So watch this space!

I'm hugely impressed with this book. That is all.

DNF.

Can’t believe this has so many high ratings but good for these people if it helped you. I don’t consider myself an alcoholic or problem drinker. I haven’t drank alcohol in months. But I’ve been on a kick of books about habits. I’m interested in books about quitting alcohol I guess because I thought they’d discuss habits. This author says quit drinking without willpower but doesn’t define what willpower is. Willpower is actually scientifically explained in “The Willpower Instinct”. I took issue with many of his arguments, not the least of which is that the reason we drink is because we’ve been brainwashed to do so and to override our taste buds to to carry on drinking bc we are resilient. What! That was not my experience. The fact that he says it tastes horrible and we all lie to ourselves about it tasting good is also flawed, otherwise why is the non-alcoholic beer/wine/spirits industry growing rapidly? But it was really when he said that addicts are like prisoners who are released and then crave going back to prison for the security that I could not go on. There are many reasons for recidivism and the last one on the list is that people want to return to prison. I can’t. He also totally ignores that some people are *physically* dependent on alcohol. The book is repetitive and even halfway through the main take away is I only ever drank alcohol bc I’m brainwashed. You don’t need to read this book to understand that premise.

So my buddy recommended this book and although I had no intentions of permanently quitting I figured it would be motivating while I do 75 hard.

I’m amused by the approach Carr uses to convince us to stop drinking. He instills one of the most powerful feelings beyond addiction - peer pressure and the fear of missing out. Except this time it’s about what you miss by choosing to drink. He talks about how alcohol really provides nothing for us and we’ve gotten all our happy experiences mixed up. The company, environment, food, these are the things that really made the moments happy. The inebriation gets praise by association.

I think he underplays the power of alcohol as a social lubricant but hits on something important. We’re all nervous. Even giving us something to do with our hands solves half of the problem. A bar can serve as a middle man for an adult play date or a cop out to stand up and leave any conversation. It’s an excuse to hang out and a barrier for too much intimacy. Physically and psychologically. Alcohol steps into our lives at a time when we’re uncertain about who we are and the habit tends to stay with us even once we’ve figured out what we want out of life. And for those of us who don’t want to know, it’s just something to do.