Higher Sobriety

What happened next? It's the question Jill Stark has been asked most often since the publication of her acclaimed memoir, High Sobriety.

As one of the original pioneers in the 'quit lit' space, Jill started a national conversation about the role of alcohol in our lives, turning the lens on her own rocky relationship with booze and forensically dissecting the culture that gave rise to it.

Now, ten years after the book's first release, she fills in the gaps on where life took her after she unwittingly became the poster girl for sobriety. In this updated edition, Jill charts her struggle to become a moderate drinker, the crippling 'hangxiety' that led to her quitting alcohol for good, and the ever-evolving journey of self-discovery sobriety has taken her on.

Surviving six long lockdowns alcohol-free, Jill also 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 the nation's drinking habits, with the rise of the sober-curious movement and a booming non-alcoholic drinks industry proving there is a growing appetite for abstinence.

After so long feeling like a social pariah, Jill embraces the joy of living life on the outer, and meets a new generation of sober rebels who are radically redefining what it means to be alcohol-free. Now she feels prompted to ask the question, has sobriety become cool?

Journalist Stark chronicles a year of sobriety in this witty memoir ... Stark's candid reflections reveal the outsize role booze plays in many people's social lives. It's a spirited tale of kicking addiction.
- Publishers Weekly

Higher Sobriety is a thought-provoking - no, deeply challenging - read for those of us involved in the promotion of alcohol and the perpetuation of Australia's drinking cultures (even those of us who like to think we're advocating sensible drinking - "drinking less but better"). It's essential reading, really, for anyone, arguably more so now than a decade ago. Even if it doesn't convince you to give up the booze completely, it should give you greater insight into how and why you drink. And understanding is surely better than ignorance.
- Max Allen, The Australian Financial Review

Praise for High Sobriety -
What gives this book resonance is Stark's ability to balance a serious agenda, backed by her interviews, statistics and the inside information to which a health reporter has access, with a personal narrative that is equally earnest in its intent but lighter in its execution ... 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