What's the book about?
Get ready to meet the most beautiful, charming, gifted, rich, famous, and envied people in the world. These stars who quit drinking come from all professions, backgrounds, and social environments.
Some of them quit drinking just to feel better in the mornings. Some of them stopped drinking to eliminate a destructive addiction. Some of them never engaged in drinking at all. What these big personalities all tell us--every single one of them quoted herein--is that life is better without booze.
This book will show you why--in their own words.
In assembling this quote book of stars who quit drinking, I've developed an empathy for their struggles, and an admiration for their triumphs, that I did not expect when I began. I found that no matter how glamorous stardom appears, the people we call stars are, indeed, real people.
And it seems that stardom doesn't relieve stress, but rather amplifies it.
Alcohol takes the edge off of stress; it relieves our pain, makes us feel relaxed, funny, sexy, less inhibited and more sophisticated. So why in the world would any sane person ever quit?
The answer to this question varies greatly, as does their method of quitting. But regardless of their unique differences, the stars in these pages share one common conclusion: they all tell us that life is better without booze.
Why this book?
I was inspired by Tony Robbins to create a book of famous people who broke up with booze. In his classic, Awaken the Giant Within, he wisely advises us to find new references if we want to build new beliefs.
Our cultural beliefs about alcohol are deeply entrenched; we have plenty of references about the upside of drinking. This book shows a different side of the story--providing contrasting references to support new beliefs and convictions about alcohol.
In these pages, you will see common themes that reveal the true nature of the most socially accepted mind-altering drug in history. While these stars once spoke publicly about their decision to break up with booze, this book isn't really about the people as much as the poison.
It's about alcohol and how this intoxicating chemical can play tricks with even the greatest among us. Let their words shed light on the shadowy side of enjoying a drink for joy or relief. Educate yourself with new references.
About the Author
I assembled these quotes from stars who quit drinking to put a nail in the coffin of my own drinking tendency. I had written in past books about the straight edge advantage.
I always believed in abstinence.
But still, I would occasionally cheat. Like when I finished my last book, I celebrated with beers on a pontoon boat and felt the euphoria of alcohol for four hours in the sun. But then I felt worse, slept poorly, and woke up with a hangover.
Sometimes when I felt tired, bored, or stressed, I used a glass of wine to take the edge off. One glass of wine was never enough, and then I'd sleep poorly and wake up with remorse.
What the hell?
I was a nondrinker who cheated mindlessly against my values. No big deal, maybe, but still I felt the incomprehensible pull to do something I didn't want to do.
So I studied testimonies of famous people to learn more about the mysterious lure of alcohol and the other side of drinking. This task turned into this book which, in turn, slowly built a firmer foundation in my own belief system to avoid drinking for pleasure and escape.
