Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Book Review: Euphoric

Happy Monday, lambs! I hope you had a good weekend, and have at least a semi-decent week lined up. I have a ton of little things going up, but that all leads to feeling like I am super busy, which stresses me out. I need to get better at focusing at one day at a time and not looking at the entire week.  

I have a really great non-fiction book for you today and it may be relevant to people who have a goal for 2022 to drinking less, or not at all. Maybe you are someone who has thought about it but you're just not there yet, either way, you might gain something from this one. 

Eupohoric - Karolina Rzakowolska

Euphoric is your eight-week plan for an alcohol-free lifestyle that can lead to more happiness, well-being, and self-love. It's the modern woman's guide to relax without alcohol, find freedom from cravings and fitting in, and create the life you want - along with the audacity to go after it.

Imagine a program that makes the benefits of "Dry January" last all year. That's Euphoric!

Alcohol is everywhere in our society, and it's hard to resist. The pressures to fit in and have "just one drink"--that turns into several - whether at a party or on a casual Friday night, can lead to an imbalanced life that's plagued with unhealthy habits, low self-esteem, and decreased productivity.

How can you change your relationship with alcohol without feeling deprived or like a social outcast? First, decide you want a change and then pick up Euphoric, from certified alcohol-free life coach Karolina Rzadkowolska.

Karolina has helped thousands of casual drinkers transform their relationship with alcohol, including herself. In Euphoric, she shares a proven strategy to make alcohol insignificant in your life.

If you don't know me in real life, you likely don't know that I am someone who doesn't drink alcohol at all. I don't abstain because of a bad experience or anything like that, I've just literally never been a drinker. In my whole life (and I'll be 40 in March), I can count on one hand how many sips I've had: once sip of champaigne at my wedding reception, a sip of a wine cooler and a Mike's Hard Lemonade at my reception, and.... I think that's it? Not only did they all taste terrible anyways, and the smell of all alcohol makes me a bit nauseous, just the general idea of not being in control of my body and mind makes me nervous. Not to mention alcoholism runs through my family and that isn't something I want to play chicken with, so I made the decision as a teen that I just wasn't going to drink. 

So I haven't. 

I won't lie and say it's been a breeze because every social situation is pretty much centered around alcohol in some way. It doesn't bother me at all but if I were someone in alcohol recovery, I can fully understand why being in a lot of social situations is just really hard and it's easier to just avoid them, which leads to feeling left out. If you've ever been at a bar, maybe it's a birthday party for a good friend or something, and say, "Oh, no thanks, I don't drink.", you're going to hear the proverbial record scratch. Suddenly you've made everyone uncomfortable around you and now nobody knows what to do, can they drink? Can they even be near you? It's really quite silly and honestly I don't really get it. I do know that that awkwardness makes it hard for people to turn down a drink and makes it easier to turn down invitations, which leads to loneliness for sure, but also leaves you wondering where you fit in now? 

Enter Karolina Rzadkowolska's book Euphoric, Ditch Alcohol and Gain a Happier, More Confident You, a relatively quick read that ties together your body with your mind and soul, but also a realistic eight week plan on how to ditch alcohol but also put you on a path leading you to a better version of you. I really enjoyed that the author includes "journaling homework" throughout the book because anytime you are reading a "self help" book, it really is meaningless unless you're really looking at how it applies to your life, right? These prompts really help with that. 

Week four focuses on your social life and I love how the author comes right out and names the emotion we feel when we say we don't drink, and it's embarrassment. I don't know why, even now, I sometimes feel embarrassed to say that. Probably because almost immediately someone will ask you why not, and suddenly you're on the spot. Nevermind the fact that when says no, it needs to be no and dropped. We teach our young people that when you say no, it means no, but somehow as adults that's lost and we feel like we deserve an answer. 

Whether you drink or not isn't a measure of your personality or worth, and it doesn't mean you're the life of the party, or not. I love so much the author suggests a perfect one liner retort to that dreaded question by replying with, "why do you drink?". 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Though I've already made the decision to not drink, I have many friends who are in stages of recovery, some who are considering cutting back or maybe made quitting all together their goal for the year, and I think this would be a beneficial read for anyone, no matter where you are on the pendulum. 

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and Harper Horizon for having me on this tour and sending me a copy for review! 

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