Higher Sobriety (My Years Without Booze)

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