The Sober Lush

A Hedonist's Guide to Living a Decadent, Adventurous, Soulful Life - Alcohol Free

By: Amanda Eyre Ward, Jardine Libaire

Narrated by: Eileen Stevens

Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

A sober hedonist's guide to living a decadent, wild, and soulful life - alcohol-free.

In a culture where sipping "rosé all day" is seen as the epitome of relaxation, "grabbing a drink" the only way to network; and meeting at a bar the quintessential "first date", many of us are left wondering if drinking alcohol really is the only way to cultivate joy and connection in life.

Jardine Libaire and Amanda Eyre Ward wanted to live spontaneous and luxurious lives, to escape the ordinary and enjoy the intoxicating. Their drinking, however, had started to numb them to the present moment instead of unlocking it. Ward was introduced to Libaire when she first got sober. As they became friends, the two women talked about how they yearned to create lives that were Technicolor, beautifully raw, connected, blissed out, and outside the lines...but how?

In The Sober Lush, Libaire and Ward provide a road map for living a lush and sensual life without booze. This audiobook offers ideas and instruction for such nonalcoholic joys as:

• The allure of "the Vanish", in which one disappears early from the party without saying good-bye to a soul, to amble home under the stars
• The art of creating zero-proof cocktails for all seasons
• Having a fantastic first date while completely sober
• A primer on setting up your own backyard beehive and honey tastings

For anyone curious about lowering their alcohol consumption or quitting drinking altogether, or anyone established in sobriety who wants inspiration, this shimmering and sumptuous audiobook will show you how to keep indulging in life even if you stop indulging in alcohol.

Includes a PDF of the appendix in the book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Amanda Eyre Ward and Jardine Libaire (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“This wonderful book has everything, incredible writing, laugh-out-loud moments, raw storytelling, honesty, friendship, humor and sex. Read this book! I absolutely loved it. Sober Lush truly shifts your mindset about how incredible and fulfilling a sober life can be! Sober Lush is a provoking read that left me wanting more.” (Annie Grace, author and founder of This Naked Mind)

A must read

Simple and delightful. Easy, entertaining listening. I listened to this entire book surprisingly fast because it was that good.

Excellent quit-lit

So glad I found this book! I actually ordered it in hard copy after listening just because it was that good.

I’m a bit tired of all the literature reminding me alcohol is poison blah blah blah. I know this but I am still down and lonely sometimes and don’t know what to do some evenings now that I’m alcohol free. This book was a joy to listen to and is chock full of ideas on creating your own joy.
The authors are also actual writers who do literature for a living which made this book such a lovely book to read.
I think anyone wanting a bit more out of life regardless of their sobriety would enjoy this book.

Exactly what I needed

This book gave me not only beautiful ideas on how to live my best life sober, but also a sense of peace and confidence in enjoying the journey.

Lovely

Loved this book. The narrator was awesome, very enjoyable to listen to. The book itself was very inspiring.

Essential Quit Lit

This book was truly beautiful! As someone who is newly (ish) sober, this book was like medicine. While it is not like other quit lit in the sense that it doesn’t throw a bunch of facts/statistic/quitting tactics at you, it does show how beautiful & decadent sobriety can be. Aside from that, it also can restore a sense of awe, wonder, and appreciating the little things in life.

The activity, food, and drink recommendations are in the dozens, so I recommend being ready to jot things down. Likewise, the food for thought in this book makes listening in small bits and then reflecting necessary. I felt like a little kid listening to this audio book, and if you feel like you need a little magic & spark in your life, this book is for you!

Simply AMAZING!

This book was so amazing. It explains so perfectly the feelings of appreciating life sober. I want to read it again already!

Good book just not relatable to me personally

There is good content about finding new things to do with the time and money one used to use for drinking. the reason I gave 4 stars is because I personally did not relate to the content and thats just me. But that's what's great about your sober journey,, you find what is best for you. The authors did do a great job with giving you ideas to fill up your now free time.

Just listening made me feel pampered

The reader and the story made me feel pampered, accepted and inspired. I plan to listen again. While traveling for the holidays I didn't want to arrive so I could hear more. I wish I started a list of the ideas I liked sooner which a second listen should accomplish. I wondering is there a sequel?

just ok

I have read a lot of "quit lit" and while beautifully written, it was a struggle to get through at times. More for those who like poetry than self help.

This could have simply been called Lush Living

Even if you’re not currently seeking sobriety or maybe you’ve already reached sobriety, Amanda and Jardines stories invite you on a joy-ride of sense-driven experiences that will open your mind to seeking a more fulfilled life. The freedom they share here is not that of hanging on white knuckled until hopefully alcohol mysteriously disappeared from their desired list, but rather an intentional opening of their taste buds, new delightful ways to see and experience life all over—soberly. Their tales will give you ideas, maybe even challenge you a little and definitely leave you wanting a bigger outcome than simply walking away from drinking. You’ll never experience anything quite the same, which is exactly why I turned away from alcohol, to run forward into living fully.

I’m always wary of books narrated by someone other than the author(s). Eileens reading instantly welcomes us as if she is one of the authors. Her intonation and familiarity of the words come off as if she’s had a front row seat to everyone of Amanda and Jardines experiences. She made it so easy to melt into the book from the first line. Really the best narrator I’ve ever heard.