STRATEGIES TO QUIT

Find Inspiration From These 7 Wise and Empowering Quotes by Former Drinkers

Quit-lit books are filled with motivating and touching quotes that helped me find sobriety and can help you, too.

I was desperate when I decided to quit drinking. I needed all the help I could get.

I started my sober journey by filling my bookshelves from floor to ceiling with quit-lit books. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration. However, I was probably one of Amazon's most loyal customers in that category.

I devoured these testaments to giving up the drink. These books were the lifeline to my new alcohol-free life.

Here are my top 10 favorites that helped me find sobriety.

From those inspiring reads are quotes that will move you and motivate you never to give up your quest for sobriety.

My all-time favorite book and author, Annie Grace, This Naked Mind, has gone from writing one book from her heart to helping millions worldwide.

In a way, she has saved my life. At the very least — she helped me design a new one.

Our health is the single most important thing we have, and without it, nothing else matters….We need to see that we are strong, whole, and complete. We need to understand that alcohol, instead of acting as a support to help us deal with life, actually deadens our senses and harms our immune system.

Jason Vale, in Kick the Drink…Easily, warns not to give in after quitting, thinking you can handle it:

In order to remain free for ever, we should never fall for “OK, just the one.”

Drinking starts a chain reaction that will last for the rest of your life unless you break it. It is a disease which gets progressively worse, unless you cure it. Cured means making absolutely certain that, whatever happens, you never have ‘just the one’. Make sure that you never, ever recreate the disease because the reason why you will be hooked immediately with just one drink is not because alcohol is physically addictive. …it is because, if you view just one drink with genuine pleasure, you will see genuine pleasure in thousands.

I fell for "just this one" twice after quitting, and I was down the tunnel of addiction once again. Finally, I learned there is never "just one."

The alcohol-induced illusion of pleasure takes the place of genuine pleasures and becomes your be all and end all. But that’s all it is: an illusion. The genuine pleasures still exist and they’re still enjoyable…Think about all the pleasures that you have enjoyed in your life without drinking and start looking forward to enjoying those pleasures to the full again. — Allen Carr, Stop Drinking Now.

I have re-discovered the pleasures Carr writes about, and you will, too.

Those three books are my all-time favorites and are chock-filled with solid evidence of what works to be free of the addiction to alcohol. These authors have years of experience, and it wasn't easy to settle on only one quote from each.

Following are quotes from my next four faves. The authors are a diversified group, all women. But, men, don't shy away. They all hold nuggets of wisdom regardless of gender.

Lucy Rocca and Sarah Turner in The Sober Revolution warns us to guard our sobriety as if our life depends on it:

No matter how firm the resolve, there always has to be a totally honest rapport between you and sobriety. The decision to be faithful and true initially seems so easy and manageable that you want to share the first glow of enlightenment with anyone who will listen. Just as with any solid relationship, however, a lifestyle choice of sobriety needs to be protected and nurtured if it is to last.

Entering into a relationship which will hopefully last a lifetime takes great courage and plenty of soul-searching…Only with the best of care can the necessary solid foundations be laid, upon which to lay a long-term commitment to sobriety.

Those who are alcohol-free know all about soul-searching — it's the honesty to admit we need to stop the insanity.

Kristi Coulter's book Nothing Good Can Come from This had me laughing out loud. Her words and advice also touched me. She hasn't left a stone unturned, and here's a bit of her wisdom after she found sobriety:

The more sober time I racked up, the more clearly I saw that those unimpressive fuckups and lost evenings had been acts of aggression against myself. I’d hurt myself over and over.

She realized:

I need to find my people. Sober people.

We all need sober people to confide in, to laugh with, and to cry with.

Lotta Dann, author of Mrs. D is Going Without, shares:

I choose to be sober. I choose to be sober because I was worried about the insides of my body having to do all that processing of wine…I choose to be sober because all I have to do is not put any alcohol into my body and I will feel immeasurably more proud and connected to myself. A small action denied = huge beautiful consequences.

After decades of ingesting ethanol, I was worried about my insides, too. Now, I'm healthy, energetic, and productive once again.

Rebecca Weller, a health coach and author of A Happier Hour realized, after too many hangovers, it might be time to quit drinking:

I slowly opened my eyes. I could already tell it was going to hurt. A jackhammer had taken up residence in my skull and my body ached. Oh, how it ached.

No, no, NO! I silently screamed in frustration. Not again!

The morning after. How many of us have felt like this? That wasn't Rebecca's last night, but it did awaken her senses that she was in trouble.

I keep a pen and a highlighter with me while reading. Invariably, a writer's words will move me, and I'm ready.

I gained inspiration, motivation, and knowledge from these books, and the quotes left a deep impression.

I wish you well on your journey to sobriety. It'll be one of the most trying, frustrating, and rewarding expeditions you'll ever undertake.

For help quitting drinking, call your local alcohol abuse helpline or SAMSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration) at 1–800–662-HELP (4357).