Have you ever read a book that impacted you so much that you actually began to grieve it once you finished that last page? You found yourself going back to it again and again, flipping through the chapters and re-reading beautifully crafted phrases you sealed for posterity with a yellow highlighter. That’s how I felt about Catherine Gray’s The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober.
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Oh, don’t let the title fool you. Yes, this book is about addiction, but it’s also about a whole lot more. It’s about learning to love yourself. Cliché, right? But powerful? Mind-blowingly powerful.
The author covers the mind-shift needed to change one’s drinking habits, the deeply-embedded culture of alcohol in our society, and how rewarding a sober life can be. And she does this all with humility and humor. In addition, this little book is filled with so many beautiful sentences I want to read over and over again. Pieces of wisdom I hope to never forget. And the author writes with such honesty and wit.
“RIP Party Girl. I no longer miss her. In fact, I do pirouettes on her grave.” – Catherine Gray on being newly sober.
Gray even includes a quote by Eminem on how he learned to appreciate nature once he became sober:
“I fucking love leaves now, man. I feel like I’ve been neglecting leaves for a long time.” – Eminem
The take-away? If you struggle with any addictions, or just insecurities, or simply looking for a new way to live, read this book. And soon you’ll begin to love fucking leaves, too.
