This book was everything. Sarah Levy wrote with so much honestly and so much heart. She handled heavy discussions on alcoholism, addiction, eating disorders, body shaming, different levels of abuse and so much more. I really appreciated her genuine honesty and her willingness to share her experiences through this book.

The way she brought in her relationships and her friendships to what she was dealing with allowed for her story to flow so much more seamlessly. It also made your heart hurt so much more as you read all about her life. It was hard to understand the things her friends were saying to her, but I loved the moments of watching the friendships be repaired.

The struggles she’s had were no joke and I respected her a lot for all of the work she put into being sober and staying that way. I was so infuriated for her every time someone would get weirded out by her not wanting to drink or being rude to her about it. I just wanted to go fight them. So, I applaud her for her self restraint.

I loved that Sarah didn’t claim to know the answers, but she does open her hand to anyone else who might be going through this journey and lets them know they don’t have to know they have to do it alone. Overall, this book was definitely unexpected for me and I didn’t know how deeply intense it would be in handling these deep and triggering subjects. It was eye opening and heart wrenching. Go read this book.

⚠️TW: alcoholism, alcohol, addiction, suicide attempt, eating disorder, emotional abuse, body shaming

Thank you @macmillan.audio , @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review! All of the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I absolutely loved this book! The narration from Sarah was wonderful and I really enjoyed learning more about being sober. Drinking Games was honest and powerful and came from a place of being nonjudgmental. Would 100% recommend to a friend!

I stumbled upon this in the app and thought I'd give it a listen. This was a very interesting, sometimes painful, often humorous and authentic look at drinking culture in addition to the author's personal story of overcoming addiction. I think what I liked best was the slow reveal for the reader of how Sarah Levy came to realize that her patterns of behavior surrounding, and because of, alcohol were problematic. Never preachy, infused with hope and highly relatable, I thought this was a good listen. Even if someone is not struggling with addiction or seeking guidance or motivation to stop consuming alcohol or drugs, this candid look at the moments we brush under the rug or laugh away the day after is a vehicle to all to look at whatever crutches we lean on, or whatever patterns in our own lives that should be challenged. Usually I stay away from any audiobooks narrated by the author, but she did a good job with this.

I switched back and forth between the audio version and the ebook version, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed both! The audio version of this book is done by Sarah Levy herself, and it feels like a cool cousin or older sister is telling you about all the ways she’s messed up too. Giving advice. It’s really uplifting in a way, and definitely relatable!

DRINKING GAMES
Sarah Levy, Author and Narrator Memoir

This book explores the life of the author, a 23 year old alcoholic. It covers what it is like to become sober at a young age.

This book takes on the age old question of how young a person can become an alcoholic. It explores the process of what happens when a younger person questions whether they can really be an alcoholic. There are varying opinions on this subject matter and I love that she opens up to tell her story. I would definitely give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

Sarah Levy self-identified as a girl "down for anything" in her twenties. At the time, she saw this as a state of being effortlessly cool and as someone who could get along with everyone and have fun doing anything. But now that she's sober, Sarah sees that being "down for anything" really just made her boring and passionless.

Sarah's memoir is really a collection of essays on how drinking alcohol shaped her life and her road to recovery. In some ways, Sarah's addiction and the ramifications felt slightly glossed over. There were certainly references to lost friends, her repeated blackouts, endless shots, vomit, and ending nights in the hospital. But, as Sarah said herself in the beginning, many of these stories are no longer part of her memories because of her blackouts and I could feel that in the writing.

Compared to many memoirs about addiction, this one felt a little tame. Sarah didn't have a child she was neglecting, her work didn't seem to suffer from her addiction, and besides a couple injuries and hospital visits, she didn't seem to suffer any major consequences from her drinking or experience a true "rock bottom." However, her drinking felt more relatable. Many people can relate to overindulgence for holidays and sporting events, experiencing a change of personality after a drink or two, or never being able to enjoy a specific alcohol again because of bad experience.

I liked that we learned of Sarah's recovery but it wasn't preachy nor was it religious or spiritual at all. However, even her recovery seemed a little glossed over. I imagine it was incredibly difficult and it sort of felt like she hit it out of the park. I could see this being a pain point for others in similar situations and wished Sarah had been a little more open about her difficulties on her road to recovery.

I appreciated that Sarah recognized her privilege. She has a great support system, obviously had financial stability, and access to influential people and she openly admitted to all of it. Again, this might be a pain point for others who do not have such a privileged background, but we can't help where we come from and I don't think that Sarah needs to apologize for that.

Sarah included a lot of information about her other addictions - social media, food and body image, clothing, etc. Some of it I could've done without, but I think it did show that she has an addictive personality and helped build her image as more than just an alcoholic.

Because this was more a collection of essays, the timeline was totally nonlinear. I could've used more reminders about when things took place but all in all, it did work.

I listened to this memoir on audio and Sarah is an exceptional narrator. She has a great voice and I liked hearing her story directly from her.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

As someone who is currently sober this is just such a stunning personal book and I love Levys voice so much.

Drinking Games is an extremely well written memoir and series of essays of a millennial women discovering the effect alcohol was having on her and the steps she took to stop drinking and become a happier person. Levy's story is extremely relatable as a fellow millennial women, but I think that this book has something for anyone to relate to in her story. Levy didn't shy away from sharing some embarrassing stories that were caused by alcohol and you can't help but root for her as she becomes the future self she used to want to be. Levy narrates herself and her voice was perfect. This is a quick listen or read with lots of substance, highly recommend!

This was a very real account of a woman who decided to quit drinking. A lot of sober memoirs include really outrageous drunken behaviors and drinking in extreme excess. But this one was more relatable for those of us that don't fit that previous category. The timeline in this one kept switching back and forth which was slightly confusing. I wasn't sure if she was still sober at the beginning of some stories or when in her life it took place. It also led to some repetition. Overall a very real memoir.

I really liked the honesty in Sarah Levy‘s memoir. For me, it really highlights alcohol's role in society and interactions with others. It's powerful to see Levy's changed relationship with drinking and how she created a new dynamic. She also shows the different dynamics of sober living.

t’s the season for holiday parties, get togethers and festive libations!

After reading Sarah Levy‘s memoir Drinking Games, and learning about her struggle excepting her relationship with alcohol and her newfound lifestyle in sobriety it all has me thinking about how society interacts with alcohol as a whole.

I stumbled across this memoir, initially thinking it was from Canadian actress/comedian Sarah Levy. It is not. I realized my error pretty quickly once I started listening to the book but found that Sarah‘s storytelling and reflection was so captivating that I was glad I had found this!

I think what I found most powerful about this memoir, was how a 20 something Sarah was able to find out that her relationship with alcohol was toxic and through trial and error find a way to resolve this relationship, in her case sobriety, and that sobriety created new issues and a new dynamic for the way she now lives her life.

I feel that this book will be motivational for individuals stuck in a destructive cycle and can’t see a way out. Sarah steps out of her comfort zone after reaching some low points… And she doesn’t succeed every time but she does learn and you can see the progress and where she she came from to now, where she is living sober, married and with her own child. She is finally happy with herself and the life that she is living.

Sarah’s personal narration of her story feels like a conversation between friends catching up. Her tale meanders like any storyteller, but feels organic and connects you to the narrative.

Drinking Games was full of insight into the culture glorifying the grind lifestyle and I can see how this story is needed to show that you is can step back from that.

Overall, this is a good listen for those wanting to take control of their lives.

Drinking Games: A Memoir by Sarah Levy is available Jan. 3, 2023.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook arc via NetGalley.

#DrinkingGamesAMemoir #SarahLevy

I was granted access to listen to this audiobook on NetGalley. I am a recovering alcoholic with almost one year sobriety. I saw myself in this book. At times it was cringe worthy because in the past, I behaved the same way. This book is perfect for someone who is sober curious or someone who has been sober for some time. It was a good reminder for me of why I got sober and why I continue to stay sober. Life is just better! Thank you Sarah Levy for a wonderful book!

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to listen to this audiobook. It was an honest memoir surrounding the author and her challenges with drinking. I found the author relatable. It was lighthearted. I felt the author could have shared more of the difficult times she encountered while attempting to quit drinking, but it’s her memoir. I wouldn’t suggest to use this book for an AA meeting. However, if someone wanted a recommendation of books about quitting alcohol, I might suggest this one. Mild sexual content.

This was a heartfelt and honest journey through sobriety. So many people use alcohol or other vices as coping mechanisms. Levy laid out her heart and life in these pages, vulnerable for everyone to read. Her hopes are that it can help change one person's life. She told her story from before alcohol, during and after. She explained how it infiltrated every part of her life and the effects that it had. I loved how real this felt. This was beautifully written, and Levy did a great job narrating her own story. I think my favorite way to “read” memoirs, is to listen to the author themselves read it.

Drinking Games was such a pleasure to listen to - it's a beautifully told story of addiction, love and loss - pillars of life that so many of us have in common.

This story is brave, Sarah's courage in sharing her story with the world, blemishes and all is a testament to her healing journey and the power of acknowledging and moving through such pain.

Sarah's story tells us that the road to recovery is long and winding, and full of u-turns, questions and side of the road stops.

This book should appeal to everyone, but especially those who may be questioning their own lives, their own dependancies, their own healing journeys.

I found this audio account to be extremely powerful and her story resonated with me on many, many levels.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook! This is a memoir of a millennial who describes her problematic relationship with alcohol, social media, and acceptance seeking. I love that the author reads the audiobook because it’s authentic. Of course, this leads to it sounding like a reading vs a story being told but I appreciate the true voice. I want to say something profound about this book but honestly, I liked the drunken stories more than I liked the sober stories. I would recommend this to others both for an entertaining and informed read and it certainly is relatable in how alcohol permeates of culture. The author does a great job of describing things she thought were normal college aged experiences related to drinking but were wildly interfering with her life and others may see some of themselves in her. The timeline was a little funky to me as it wasn’t sequential but followed topics/life events so the listener goes and back between drunk sarah and sober sarah. However, the delineation of chapters was very clear and easy to follow.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A really beautiful and honest memoir. I think this was one of the most unique perspectives on drinking I have read.

I have worked as an addiction counselor for close to 30 years and am always drawn to peoples stories. I applaud Sarah for her courage to bare her soul and to give hope and encouragement to others. At times it was a bit repetitive but they weren’t drawn out. I would definitely recommend this book to other women - whether they are battling an addiction or not.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the privilege of this advance copy for my honest review.

I commend the author for her bravery in sharing her story about her struggles with body image and sobriety. I would definitely recommend this book to young women with similar struggles.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator did a fantastic job. Genuine, vulnerable and a must read.
I can't wait to read what the author writes next!