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The "pinking" of alcohol...with Ann Dowsett Johnston

Episode 290

Today’s guest is the wonderful Ann Dowsett Johnston who many of you will have heard of – she is a pioneer of the modern recovery movement and published her book "Drink" back in 2013 – which makes it one of the very first QuitLit books

In this episode:-

  • Ann's book Drink has been out for more than a decade and is still selling well – her TED talk has had 1.5m views 
  • I did a previous interview with Ann a couple of years ago that you can listen to here. 
  • The prologue to the book describes alcohol's seductive charm…and eventual harm
  • I love this analogy and here at Tribe Sober we suggest that our members write a "Goodbye Letter" to alcohol as it evolves from a handsome stranger to an abusive lover
  • Ann predicted the dramatic rise in risky drinking for women, which has sadly come true over the last decade
  • There is an epidemic of female drinking, especially among younger women, with serious health consequences – we are even seeing young women presenting with liver disease
  • The alcohol industry has been targeting women for the last couple of decades – using the tobacco marketing playbook  and they’ve been stunningly successful
  • Many of us believed that we couldn’t have fun or relax or cope with stress without alcohol – and it certainly takes a few months to deprogram our thinking, to overturn those limiting belief
  • Ann is from Canada so had first hand experience of the public backlash that the low drinking guidelines (two drinks a week) caused!
  • The reduction in drinking guidelines came as new research was published linking alcohol to cancer and many other health conditions
  • Ann and I both love the modern recovery movement and the many different recovery pathways – I often say that if you want to give up drinking you need to find your people – if you think that Tribe Sober might be your community then click here
  • Ann mentioned the three levers for change: price, marketing reduction, and availability, but government action is slow and Big Alcohol will continue to use its lobbying power
  • So as individuals we must actively seek out the knowledge – we need to educate ourselves about the harm that alcohol can do to our brains and our bodies
  • Knowledge is power and the more we understand about alcohol the less we’ll feel like drinking it
  • Even if we decide to drink it should be an informed decision, we need to understand the risks
  • Ann talked about her "Writing Your Recovery" courses which offers support and tools for memoir writing.
  • Its a powerful 8-week online memoir-writing course.
  • Go to her website annsdowsettjohnston.com for more info 
  • Ann will also be facilitating a South African writing retreat during week commencing 25th November – more info on that HERE
  • Ann now has more than 15 years of sobriety and spoke of the many benefits she has experienced
  • She returned to school at 64 to become a psychotherapist, specializing in women's substance issues and trauma
  • She has a wonderful relationship with her grandchild
  • Ann strongly believes that once we walk away from alcohol remarkable things will happen – the universe has a plan for us – she is awakened to wonder as she puts it
  • She’s built a rich and an alcohol free life that she loves, a life she definitely doesn’t want to escape from!

    • More Info

  • Tribe Sober membership – you can join up