The Good Drinker: How I Learned to Love Drinking Less

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What is unique to New Mocktails Bible, are recipes provided by many alcohol-free drink producers, using their own products. Adrian Chiles has consumed absolutely eye watering, Churchillian quantities of alcohol throughout his life. If I had to stop drinking, for whatever reason, then obviously I would do it, and most of my friends would be right on board with that. First and foremost, alcohol is so woven into the fabric of my life, in all sorts of different ways, that it would take a great deal of unpicking.

And for full disclosure, Club Soda founder Laura has also written two pages to the book on her thoughts on alcohol-free cocktails. All care has been taken to ensure it is accurate at time of publishing, but medical guidelines often change, and this post may not be updated to reflect that. These poetic prescriptions and wise words of advice offer comfort, delight and inspiration for all; a space for reflection, and that precious realization - I'm not the only one who feels like this. Personally I think he’s consumed such large quantities of alcohol in the past stopping altogether rather than drinking in “moderation” as he likes to describe it would be more sensible. Just as everyone’s got a different idea of what constitutes moderate drinking, there’s plenty of disagreement as to what heavy drinking looks like.

As it turned out, I had a really good time, but it became startlingly clear how reliant I was on alcohol. Whenever I needed a break from a conversation, I’d say I was off to get a drink, but there are only so many soft drinks you can be bothered with, so I’d wander off in the direction of the bar without getting a drink.

I've raced off to games hours early to give me a chance to drink a lot of beer in a relatively short time. Whether this is a good or bad thing is beside the point; the reality is that this is what my life looks like, and this is what I must work with. Reading Chiles' book mad me realise that my drinking story was remarkably similar to his own, and I guess many readers will feel the same. So, it’s greatly to our advantage if we can find a way of making the stuff work for us, rather than the other way around.These questions lie at the heart of Stitches, Anne Lamott's follow-up to her New York Times-bestselling work, Help, Thanks, Wow. That’s where Adrian Chiles’s likable and highly readable memoir of his relationship with booze comes in. One line particularly stuck with me: ‘If you’re feeling thirsty, it’s almost too late: your body is already dehydrated.

This bleak statement is especially true for many pop and rock stars, who find themselves catapulted from fame into obscurity virtually overnight, given the unforgiving vagaries of the music industry.Yet while the alcohol industry depends on a minority of problem drinkers, the majority really do enjoy in moderation.

Always consult a suitably qualified medical professional in a timely manner before undertaking any medical-related decisions. I have a number of friends who have given up alcohol completely, and had various mental health issues entwined with alcohol issues (although none were lying in a doorstep alcoholics, cracking open the vodka at breakfast) but at the same time I didn’t feel my husband and I had ‘that much of a problem’. I didn’t agree with everything (for example I think Adrian puts too much emphasis on units, though if they work for him then calculate away! The combination of facts and anecdotes means it’s an interesting and amusing read and I plan to follow Adrian’s example and be more mindful about what I consume alcohol-wise going forwards. If drinking is a part of all your friends’ lives, it’s a real challenge to stop drinking completely .If I walk along my three-mile line of drinks I’m appalled to realise that by the one-mile mark, I’m already seeing drinks I could have managed without; drinks I could have not drunk without diminishing my enjoyment of anything one jot. More shocking than that, though, was the figure I got to when I considered how many of those drinks I could have done without. There is balm for the soul, fire for the belly, a cooling compress for the fevered brow, solace for the wounded, an arm around the lonely shoulder - the whole collection is a matchless compound of hug, tonic and kiss' Stephen FrySometimes only a poem will do. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.