“My therapist once told me that trauma causes separation, while healing means integration”

The author, Sarah Levy’s part memoir and part social critique hit home to say the least. As a twenty-eight year old, she had everything - a job and life in New York City, and ability/affordability to socialize each weekend. Levy draws her readers by sharing her experiences both of addictive drinking, which resulted in constant blackouts, and moments of sobriety when she bore witness to loss of relationships like her best friend, Chloe, relationships, friendships, and self discovery.

Levy labels alcoholism as toxic, which shaped her formative years, and examines both long and short term consequences of consuming it long term. Her book is a reflection and social commentary on addictive behavior. In this intimate and funny memoir about the stories she experiences in her twenties, what she describes as the “messiest moments” are perhaps the most profound.

As someone who straddles between two cultures - one that sees it as a taboo while the other celebrates it, I always struggled as a child with alcohol. I lost my grandfather to liver cerosis, I have no actual memory of him as I was only 3 years old when he left us. Since then, my mom was always worried/concerned about the danger of addictive behavior while my father was more accepting. My first official drink was when I was 21, which I had asked my dad to get for me. Thus, these discussions were part of my upbringing and important ones to have. Perhaps, this book comes at a timely time as we are still reeling from the pandemic and the epidemic of loneliness where people do turn to addictive behavior often to cope (which is equally human). Ultimately, I think we need such stories to have an open, public, and honest conversations about these glaring issues.

With alcohol use at the forefront of my mind this holiday season, I found this to be an extremely timely read. Sarah Levy does a great job of helping readers understand and relate to her experiences. I love how this book isn't just about sobriety, but also covers limiting beliefs, habits, an untapped potential. I'd recommend it for anyone looking to develop a better future self. Sometimes the transitions between stories and chapter felt a little jarring or scattered, but it didn't distract me from the clear messages of the book. All in all, a wonderful commentary!

This book falls into my fave memoirs categories. This book is by far the most relatable book I have read as I am ending this year. I commend this author for even speaking about her sobriety and how she went about getting there in her own way.

Thanks NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

A memoir in essays about a young New Yorker who decides to become sober and her struggles and insights. Not extremely deep, but a lovely and warm series of observations on drinking and culture and social media.

The mini-genre of memoirs of women-quitting-drinking is a favorite of mine, and this was a great addition to it. She absolutely captures something very universal in her experiences, it feels so relatable, and very thoughtfully written.

"Drinking Games" is a very self-reflective look at the author's relationship with alcohol and her decision to stop drinking. Anyone who drank in college will see some moments of themselves in her recollections. The audiobook is narrated by the author and her intimate connection to the words that she is reading comes through in her voice.

A thoughtful and honest memoir in essays. Levy's journey with alcohol might seem familiar to others, no matter their age, although this felt unique. She expands beyond recovery Into other issues which troubled her (and so many of us) such as body image and coping with social media offering more than the usual commentary. There's nuance here, especially with regard to what recovery works for who. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

I really enjoyed this book and have told everyone I know about it. I think everyone should read it to see the difficulties that people who have a seemingly perfect life have. I had no clue that Sarah Levy had as many struggles in her life. I am glad she shared her experience.

Sarah Levy takes a deep dive into her experience with alcohol and her decision to become sober. Very enlightening! Something I think most twenty-somethings can relate to - when drinking and partying is more the norm than it should be. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the egalley in exchange for my honest review.

Drinking Games: A Memoir will be published on January 3, 2023. St. Martin's Press provided an early galley for review.

This memoir appealed to me on a very personal level; I wanted to see what Levy's own experiences with alcohol were and how they might have compared to my own. The first two chapters had elements that rang familiar to my college and post-college years - though no where to the extreme level that she was operating in.

In the second section of the book, she touches upon addictive personalities and how she has one. Whether snacks or drinks or work or dating, she explains how things could so easily spiral out of control for her. This is also illustrated by her experiences in the wellness field and her relationship with a social influencer. Addictions and their potential for poor decisions are not limited to just alcohol or other substances. She exhibits the feelings of awkwardness and the need to fit in that enable all of these kinds of over-indulgant behaviors. Many readers will be able to relate to this.

While I liked this book - the story AND the message it was delivering - I definitely didn't LOVE it. I felt like the last half of the book was very, very repetitive and I skimmed the last 25% or so just to get through it. I'm sure this was not the case, but the author was basically like, "I decided to quit drinking and I did and now my life is better THE END." I have many alcoholics within my own family, all of whom have struggled to stay sober, and wish the author would have been more forthcoming about her own experiences with that.
Overall, this was an interesting read and I may recommend it to others, depending on the audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC!

How can you not love this memoir. Personally, I’m 32, single and never been married so I found this read almost cathartic in a way after having experienced some of the same things. Once done, I felt like I’d had a really good therapy session speaking with a friend. Even through this read with just words, Sarah Levy makes you feel like you’re the direct person she is speaking to and you have her undivided attention.

This book was a did not finish for me. I’m sure for others who have had similar struggles as the author it may garner a completely different review and reaction, but for me I just didn’t relate and couldn’t stay interested enough in the writing to finish the book.

“Drinking Games explores the role alcohol has in our formative adult lives, and what it means to opt out of a culture completely enmeshed in drinking. Sarah explores what our short-term choices about alcohol do to our long-term selves and how it challenges our ability to be vulnerable enough to discover what we really want in life.”

Full disclosure: I read the first 60% of this book thinking the author was Sarah Levy of Schitt’s Creek fame. This coloured my reading SO MUCH, as I spent an embarrassing amount of time saying things like, “I expected this to be funnier.”, “I can’t believe Eugene would say THAT.” and “When are they getting to the Twyla part?”

You’d think I was born before the advent of Google, or something.

Ahem.

As for the actual book by the actual author, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Listen, she’s lived a very privileged life, and has the first-iest of First World Problems, but her writing about her struggles with alcohol were vivid and honest and I am very much rooting for her success.

6.5/10

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this genuine ARC.

I really loved this book. Levy’s unflinching honesty was so powerful to read. Not just about her alcoholism, but her own insecurities with her body, relationships and professional life. I related to a lot of what she said and reading this certainly made me look back on my relationship with alcohol, especially when I was in college and my early twenties. I liked how she brought up how alcohol masked all the different insecurities and uncertainties she had in her life and once she became sober, how she reevaluated things that were no longer serving her or things that she needed to focus more on. I also really liked how she was just simply telling her story, not telling other people what to do to become sober. This is not a self help book by any means and yet, I found myself taking away so much from it. It’s probably one of my favorite memoirs I’ve ever read and I’ll happily read anything Levy puts out into the world next.

TW: alcoholism, mentions of disordered eating, body image issues, mentions of suicide

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m normally not one for nonfiction, but this one intrigued me. I am interested in the study of mental health, but specifically addiction, so a memoir written about a young woman who has battled addiction, overcame it and with enough wisdom to share it and help others.. seemed up my alley. And I was right.

What really struck me during this read is how much like any other young female the author was. Independent, great social life, good career. And she managed to do this while drinking to blackouts multiple times a week. What sparks my interest about addiction in particular, is, how it doesn’t discriminate; it can happen to any one of us; is part of your genetic makeup; yet there is such a stigma around it, and it doesn’t get talked about often enough.

I think there is also a stereotype within society- alcoholics can’t hold down jobs, they drink alone at home, are drunk all the time, and by 8 am. But addiction can also look like a successful, driven, working person who goes out on weekends and just cannot stop drinking, no matter how bad things get while they are drinking. I think there are more people functioning and living successful lives, but being weighed down by the inability to enjoy themselves without alcohol, even if they regret it every time they drink.

This book addressed other topics that resonated with me, particularly struggles with self esteem and weight. The author talks about how, while drinking and being hard physicially on her body, she did not dress in nice or well fitting clothes because she did not appreciate or value herself enough to care how she presented herself. She didn’t like her body or herself, so she didn’t take the time to care for it. This really struck a cord with me, as someone who has struggled with body image and weight for years.

This book addressed difficult subject matter while still managing to be a light, good humoured read. I think Sarah Levy is talented, and so brave to use her difficult past and struggles to help others who do not know where to begin to seek help, or maybe don’t realize they have a problem because they do not fit society’s stereotype of an alcoholic. Recommend!

Drinking Games by Sarah Levy is a memoir about the author's alcohol addiction and the impact it had on her life before and after becoming sober. The story is also in a lot of ways a coming of age memoir about finding your way in life, dealing with anxiety and other mental health challenges, and learning how to navigate adult relationships. I love Sarah's honesty and ability to share even her most difficult or embarrassing moments in a way that feels so real and raw. Her writing is interesting and funny where appropriate, but also doesn't over simplify the challenges she faced. I think that more than just a memoir about her own self-healing, Drinking Games is an opportunity to help others who are struggling with addiction and determining when someone's alcohol abuse requires intervention.

I would highly recommend this book. Anyone who enjoys memoirs about mental health and addiction will definitely appreciate this book. Also, if you are a millennial, particularly a female, if you are Jewish, have a French background, or have had family members struggle with cancer or other similar illnesses, I think that it will be easy for you to connect with the author as her ability to relate with her reader is phenomenal. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, St Martins Press, for the opportunity to read this great book!

A memoir from a recovering alcoholic about her journey to sobriety and the good and bad of staying sober.
I’m genuinely happy that she’s in a healthier place and hope it lasts. However, my overall impression of this book is that there are much better stories about addiction and recovery than this one. The author wrote about a lot of her experiences in generalities - not super affective for this type of narrative. I also wasn’t a big fan of the way she separated her story into short essays rather than chronically. Not only did the timeline just jump all over the place, but some of the essays seemed kind of silly, like the one describing how getting sober enabled her to learn how to pick out clothes, or how she finally found the courage to refuse to watch movies about outer space. Umm, I mean, good for her, I guess, but I was definitely hoping for something a little more enlightening.
Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this #arc of #drinkinggames in exchange for an honest review.

This book is an honest portrayal how drinking is so engrained in our culture that it becomes the identity of so many. Levy’s internal struggle of her uncomfortable journey to sobriety is inspiring.

Sarah Levy, a twenty something living in New York City, fills her life with work, friends, hours at the gym and partying. Too much partying. Drinking until she blacks out. Again and again. Sarah knows that this is a problem but she can’t stop. She lies to her friends, parents and co-workers. She’s hospitalized after falls again and again. Still she drinks, until finally…she stops. Now she has to learn how to live, date and work without alcohol. How to live in a world full of people who drink at brunch, lunch, after work and at night. She has to negotiate sober dates, work without hangovers, find activities where drinking is not involved. She does and now continues her sobriety. There is a happy ending.

A good writer does not need compelling drama. However, add a good writer and compelling drama and you get Drinking Games, a memoir that is impossible to put down. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press an Sarah Levy for this ARC.