DATE OF RELEASE: JANUARY 2009
Cleaning Up: How I Gave Up Drinking and Lived is the frankly written personal story of author, Tania Glyde's, journey away from living with alcohol.
Actually, Tania Glyde gave up much more than alcohol. She had been a “poly drug” user, but admits in a radio interview that the book title would have just been too long to have included the list of substances she had used.
Alcohol is THE gateway drug according to Tania Glyde.
I happen to strongly agree with her. But, although her story is interesting, I could not relate.
I set aside the book and ruminated. I actually kept thinking about Glyde’s story weeks after having set it aside. I have known so many people who have struggled with alcohol. There was something nibbling about… something in her book that I missed.
I passed her book along to someone who expressed interest. The response he had to
Cleaning Up: How I Gave Up Drinking and Lived was visceral. Through his eyes Glyde’s story took on a much deeper meaning. I returned to her pages and found myself reading and re-reading whole sections.
With the driest of humor, Glyde offers tips on how to get on with giving up drinking even though society is not going to help you out with that. Glyde’s wit offers the reader friendly ways to navigate through the protestations of friends who will refuse to accept the “I’m not drinking” change. There is no self-pity here, just the truth and nothing but the painful raw truth.
Tania Glyde’s personal battle with alcohol is the same one faced by uncountable numbers of people who are “social drinkers” living in a society that encourages overindulgence. For American readers, one must be aware that binge drinking is a major problem in the United Kingdom (Alcohol Problems Costing Britain 3.3 Billion (pounds) ). Her book also addresses the “trivialization” of depression and alcoholism. Her experiences of being refused treatment are gut wrenching.
I would strongly recommend this book to any one who has asked themselves if they are a problem drinker. This book is also perfect for those on the road of sobriety who haven’t quite found their “niche” (i.e.: Alcoholics Anonymous, Support Groups, etc.). And, as I have learned through the reading of this book if you know someone who is struggling with alcohol and/or other drugs, Tania Glyde’s story may be a stepping stone to being able to discuss these challenges more openly.
(3 out of 5 stars)
Cleaning Up available at You Are What You Read Book Store
Cleaning Up: How I Gave Up Drinking and Lived is the frankly written personal story of author, Tania Glyde's, journey away from living with alcohol.
Actually, Tania Glyde gave up much more than alcohol. She had been a “poly drug” user, but admits in a radio interview that the book title would have just been too long to have included the list of substances she had used.
Alcohol is THE gateway drug according to Tania Glyde.
I happen to strongly agree with her. But, although her story is interesting, I could not relate.
I set aside the book and ruminated. I actually kept thinking about Glyde’s story weeks after having set it aside. I have known so many people who have struggled with alcohol. There was something nibbling about… something in her book that I missed.
I passed her book along to someone who expressed interest. The response he had to
Cleaning Up: How I Gave Up Drinking and Lived was visceral. Through his eyes Glyde’s story took on a much deeper meaning. I returned to her pages and found myself reading and re-reading whole sections.
With the driest of humor, Glyde offers tips on how to get on with giving up drinking even though society is not going to help you out with that. Glyde’s wit offers the reader friendly ways to navigate through the protestations of friends who will refuse to accept the “I’m not drinking” change. There is no self-pity here, just the truth and nothing but the painful raw truth.
Tania Glyde’s personal battle with alcohol is the same one faced by uncountable numbers of people who are “social drinkers” living in a society that encourages overindulgence. For American readers, one must be aware that binge drinking is a major problem in the United Kingdom (Alcohol Problems Costing Britain 3.3 Billion (pounds) ). Her book also addresses the “trivialization” of depression and alcoholism. Her experiences of being refused treatment are gut wrenching.
I would strongly recommend this book to any one who has asked themselves if they are a problem drinker. This book is also perfect for those on the road of sobriety who haven’t quite found their “niche” (i.e.: Alcoholics Anonymous, Support Groups, etc.). And, as I have learned through the reading of this book if you know someone who is struggling with alcohol and/or other drugs, Tania Glyde’s story may be a stepping stone to being able to discuss these challenges more openly.
(3 out of 5 stars)
Cleaning Up available at You Are What You Read Book Store
FROM THE COVER:
Imagine not drinking a bottle of wine before making a pass; not moving in like a starving cat when someone is at the bar; not apologizing for something you don’t remember doing. Once upon a time, Tania Glyde couldn’t imagine living any other way, and to the outside world she seemed fine – despite the constant hangover from drink and drugs and the bottle of vodka stashed in her handbag.
At the end of her 23 year love affair, Tania Glyde remembers her inner white wine witch and questions our powerful sense of entitlement to drink until we fall over: Cleaning Up describes why women drink, how to stop and what life after alcohol is really like.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tania Glyde is an author and journalist. She has written two novels to date, Clever Girl and Junk DNA. Her short stories appeared in the Disco 2000 and Vox 'n' Roll anthologies. She was Time Out’s sex columnist for two years.
ADDITIONAL LINKS
Tania Glyde
Drunk for a decade: Successful novelist Tania Glyde reveals her secret battle with alcoholism Mail Online
avr from Meryl Zegarek Public Relations, Inc.
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