How 'Quit Lit' is helping women on their sobriety journeys

"Quit Lit" is a new way women are finding support, with a new genre of self-help books helping to turn the page.
2:51 | 03/30/23

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Transcript for How 'Quit Lit' is helping women on their sobriety journeys
>> NO WE TURN TO A NEW WAY WOMEN ARE FINDING SUPPORT AND COMMUNITY AND THEIR SOBRIETY JOURNEY. IT IS CALLED QUINTLET AND MANY SAY IT HELPS THEM TRANSFER IN THEIR LIVES. RHIANNON ALLIE IS HERE WITH THE STORY AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE THIS, RHIANNON, PEOPLE NOT HAVING TO GO IT ALONE EVER. >> THAT'S THE WHOLE THING. GOOD MORNING TO YOU. REMEMBER DRY JANUARY? WHO CAN FORGET CONNECT IS A GROWING NUMBER OF WOMEN WHO ARE DITCHING ALCOHOL ALTOGETHER WITH A NEW GENRE OF SELF-HELP BOOKS, HELPING TO TURN THE PAGE ON A DECADES-OLD STIGMA. >> IT'S A MOVEMENT DOMINATING SOCIAL MEDIA AND FLYING OFF THE SHELVES. >> THIS BOOK HAS CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER. I AM SO GRATEFUL. >> A SELF-HELP GENRE CALLED QUIT LIT, A MIX OF STORYTELLING AND STORIES OF CHOSEN SOBRIETY. >> I WANT TO FIND SOMETHING ELSE BEYOND THE 12-STEP PROGRAM THAT I WAS ATTENDING AT THE TIME. >> BOOKS INCLUDING "THE NEXT IF IF THE JOY OF BEING SOBER," AND "THIS NAKED MIND," AIMING TO HELP ALLEVIATE THE STIGMA OF BEING ALCOHOL FREE AND TRANSFORM IN THE MINDSET OF ADDICTION. >> I WAS ABLE TO IDENTIFY SO MUCH WITH THEIR STORIES, AND I HAD A DEEP DESIRE TO TRANSFORM MY LIFE. >> EVEN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, RESEARCH SHOWING AN INCREASE IN HIGH-RISK DRINKING CONSUMPTION AND WOMEN JUMPED BY 58% IN A LITTLE OVER TEN YEARS. >> WOMEN TURNED OUT WELL FOR MANY REASONS, WHETHER IT'S TO SLEEP, TO RELAX, TO UNWIND FROM A DIFFICULT DAY. BUT IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT WHAT USED TO BE A TOOL CAN TURN INTO A SUBSTANCE USE ISSUE. >> HOLLY WHITAKER, AUTHOR OF "QUIT LIKE A WOMAN," SAYS DRINKING CULTURE AND MARKETING TARGETS WOMEN WITH PHRASES LIKE "MOMMY JUICE, AND "ROSE ALL DAY," AND HAS BEEN SINCE AT LEAST THE '70s. SPEAK OF THESE WOMEN ARE HOLDING THEIR POWER POSES AND SCOTT ON THE ROCKS, SAY START WITH IS MESSAGING THAT ALCOHOL IS A REALLY EMPOWERING THING YOU DO AS A WOMAN. IT'S HOW YOU ESTABLISH YOUR LIBERATION AND YOUR INDEPENDENCE. I WANTED TO CREATE THIS DIFFERENT NARRATIVE THAT SHOWED US THERE WAS SO MUCH FREEDOM ON REMOVING IT FROM OUR PERSONAL LIVES AND CULTURE. FOR ME IT FELT REALLY EMPOWERING TO KNOW THAT I CHOOSE NOT TO DRINK ALCOHOL. I CAN CHOOSE TO BUILD A LIFE THAT I WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT BEING DEPENDENT ON THE SUBSTANCE. FOR ME IT WAS A VERY DIFFERENT APPROACH THAN WHAT I HAD EXPERIENCED BEFORE. >> AS WE MENTIONED, THE QUIT LIT MOVEMENT IT'S REALLY ABOUT TRYING TO CREATE A COMMUNITY, SO PEOPLE FEEL COMFORTABLE. OF COURSE THERE ARE RESOURCES AVAILABLE OUT THERE, BUT IN A LOT OF CASES, REBECCA, IT'S ABOUT STARTING THE CAN DOWN THAT

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