In Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol, award-winning journalist Anne Dowsett Johnston combines in-depth research with her own personal story of recovery, and delivers a groundbreaking examination of a shocking yet little recognized epidemic threatening society today: the precipitous rise in risky drinking among women and girls.
With the feminist revolution, women have closed the gender gap in their professional and educational lives. They have also achieved equality with men in more troubling areas as well. In the U.S. alone, the rates of alcohol abuse among women have skyrocketed in the past decade. DUIs, "drunkorexia" (choosing to limit eating to consume greater quantities of alcohol), and health problems connected to drinking are all rising—a problem exacerbated by the alcohol industry itself.
Battling for women's dollars and leisure time, corporations have developed marketing strategies and products targeted exclusively to women. Equally alarming is a recent CDC report showing a sharp rise in binge drinking, putting women and girls at further risk.
As she brilliantly weaves in-depth research, interviews with leading researchers, and the moving story of her own struggle with alcohol abuse, Johnston illuminates this startling epidemic, dissecting the psychological, social, and industry factors that have contributed to its rise, and exploring its long-lasting impact on our society and individual lives.
This powerful blend of memoir and investigative journalism explores:
- A Journalist’s Recovery Story: The author’s raw, unflinching personal journey through alcohol dependence and her courageous path back to wholeness.
- Self-Medication for Modern Women: An insightful look at how women use alcohol to numb anxiety and depression, and the seductive, dangerous combination of mood disorders and drinking.
- The Alcohol Industry’s Playbook: An exposé on how corporations target female consumers with pink packaging, ‘skinny’ cocktails, and lifestyle advertising that sells a dangerous myth.
- Breaking the Cycle: Moving accounts of growing up with an alcoholic mother and the generational impact of alcohol abuse on daughters.