Showing results by author "Jill Stark" in All Categories

Jill Stark was living the dream. And then it all fell apart. It forced her to ask if she’d been sold a lie. From the ashes of Jill’s epic breakdown and through her own battles with mental-health issues comes this raw, funny, and uplifting exploration of our age of anxiety. Why, she asks, in a western world with more opportunity, choice, and wealth than ever before, are so many of us depressed, anxious, and medicated? When we’ve never had more ways to connect, why do we feel so profoundly disconnected?

What happened next? It's the question Jill Stark has been asked most often since the publication of her acclaimed memoir, High Sobriety. Now, in this updated and extended 10th Anniversary edition, narrated this time by Jill herself, she retells and continues her story.

I'm the binge-drinking health reporter. During the week, I write about Australia's booze-soaked culture. At the weekends, I write myself off. Born and raised in Scotland, the home of whisky, Jill Stark had booze in the blood. Alcohol had dominated her social life ever since she had her first sip of lager, at 13. She thought nothing could curb her love of big nights. Then came the hangover that changed everything. In the shadow of her 35th year, Jill made a decision: she would give up alcohol.