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y separately published work icon High Sobriety : My Year Without Booze single work   autobiography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2013... 2013 High Sobriety : My Year Without Booze
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'A roaring, two-fisted exorcism of the demon drink, a demon inside us all.' John Birmingham

'I'm the binge-drinking health reporter. During the week, I write about Australia's booze-soaked culture. At the weekends, I write myself off.'

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 mates'.

In re-examining her habits, Jill also explores Australia's love affair with alcohol, meeting alcopop-swigging teens who drink to fit in, beer-swilling blokes in a sporting culture backed by booze, and marketing bigwigs blamed for turning binge drinking into a way of life. And she tracks the history of this national obsession: from the idea that Australia's new colonies were drowning in drink to the Anzac ethos that a beer builds mateship, and from the six o'clock swill that encouraged bingeing to the tangled weave of advertising, social pressure, and tradition that confronts drinkers today.

Will Jill make it through the year without booze? And if she does, will she go back to her old habits, or has she called last drinks? This is a funny, moving, and insightful exploration of why we drink, how we got here, and what happens when we turn off the tap.' (Publisher's blurb)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Brunswick, Brunswick - Coburg area, Melbourne - North, Melbourne, Victoria,: Scribe , 2013 .
      image of person or book cover 3085947860361588526.jpg
      This image has been sourced from Booktopia
      Extent: 307p.
      Note/s:
      • Publication date: February 2013
      ISBN: 192207022X, 9781922070227
    • Brunswick, Brunswick - Coburg area, Melbourne - North, Melbourne, Victoria,: Scribe , 2023 .
      image of person or book cover 8557152282550271787.jpg
      This image has been sourced from Booktopia
      Extent: 352p.
      Note/s:
      •  Published 10 January 2023

      ISBN: 9781922310378

Works about this Work

Not Drinking to My Health Matthew Clayfield , 2018 single work essay
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2018;
Hitching the Wagon Ross Fitzgerald , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 9 March 2013; (p. 25)

— Review of High Sobriety : My Year Without Booze Jill Stark , 2013 single work autobiography
Frank Memoir Explores the Cost of Our Drinking Culture Andrew McMillen , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 2-3 March 2013; (p. 20)

— Review of High Sobriety : My Year Without Booze Jill Stark , 2013 single work autobiography
One Woman's Year on the Dry Emma Young , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2-3 March 2013; (p. 29) The Age , 2 March 2013; (p. 28)

— Review of High Sobriety : My Year Without Booze Jill Stark , 2013 single work autobiography
Untitled Caroline Gardam , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier Mail , 2-3 March 2013; (p. 23)

— Review of High Sobriety : My Year Without Booze Jill Stark , 2013 single work autobiography
Untitled Paula Grunseit , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , Summer 2012/13 vol. 92 no. 3 2012; (p. 29)

— Review of High Sobriety : My Year Without Booze Jill Stark , 2013 single work autobiography
Untitled Lauren Novak , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 16 February 2013; (p. 30)

— Review of High Sobriety : My Year Without Booze Jill Stark , 2013 single work autobiography
Untitled Caroline Gardam , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier Mail , 2-3 March 2013; (p. 23)

— Review of High Sobriety : My Year Without Booze Jill Stark , 2013 single work autobiography
One Woman's Year on the Dry Emma Young , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2-3 March 2013; (p. 29) The Age , 2 March 2013; (p. 28)

— Review of High Sobriety : My Year Without Booze Jill Stark , 2013 single work autobiography
Frank Memoir Explores the Cost of Our Drinking Culture Andrew McMillen , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 2-3 March 2013; (p. 20)

— Review of High Sobriety : My Year Without Booze Jill Stark , 2013 single work autobiography
The Stark Contrast of Sobriety Jill Stark , 2013 single work column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 17 February 2013;
form y separately published work icon The Book Club [May 2013] Sydney : Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 2013 15254788 2013 film/TV

Host Jennifer Byrne joins regular panelists Marieke Hardy and Jason Steger, and guests Paul Dempsey and Cate Kennedy to discuss and review the international classic Infinite Jest and Australian novel, High Sobriety by Jill Stark.

Not Drinking to My Health Matthew Clayfield , 2018 single work essay
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2018;
Last amended 12 Oct 2022 12:22:22
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