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  • The Sober Lush

  • A Hedonist's Guide to Living a Decadent, Adventurous, Soulful Life - Alcohol Free
  • Written by: Amanda Eyre Ward, Jardine Libaire
  • Narrated by: Eileen Stevens
  • Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (7 ratings)

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The Sober Lush

Written by: Amanda Eyre Ward,Jardine Libaire
Narrated by: Eileen Stevens
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Publisher's Summary

A sober hedonist's guide to living a decadent, wild, and soulful life - alcohol-free.

In a culture where sipping "rosé all day" is seen as the epitome of relaxation, "grabbing a drink" the only way to network; and meeting at a bar the quintessential "first date", many of us are left wondering if drinking alcohol really is the only way to cultivate joy and connection in life. 

Jardine Libaire and Amanda Eyre Ward wanted to live spontaneous and luxurious lives, to escape the ordinary and enjoy the intoxicating. Their drinking, however, had started to numb them to the present moment instead of unlocking it. Ward was introduced to Libaire when she first got sober. As they became friends, the two women talked about how they yearned to create lives that were Technicolor, beautifully raw, connected, blissed out, and outside the lines...but how? 

In The Sober Lush, Libaire and Ward provide a road map for living a lush and sensual life without booze. This audiobook offers ideas and instruction for such nonalcoholic joys as: 

  • The allure of "the Vanish", in which one disappears early from the party without saying good-bye to a soul, to amble home under the stars 
  • The art of creating zero-proof cocktails for all seasons 
  • Having a fantastic first date while completely sober 
  • A primer on setting up your own backyard beehive and honey tastings 

For anyone curious about lowering their alcohol consumption or quitting drinking altogether, or anyone established in sobriety who wants inspiration, this shimmering and sumptuous audiobook will show you how to keep indulging in life even if you stop indulging in alcohol.

Includes a PDF of the appendix in the book.  

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio. 

©2020 Amanda Eyre Ward and Jardine Libaire (P)2020 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

“This wonderful book has everything, incredible writing, laugh-out-loud moments, raw storytelling, honesty, friendship, humor and sex. Read this book! I absolutely loved it. Sober Lush truly shifts your mindset about how incredible and fulfilling a sober life can be! Sober Lush is a provoking read that left me wanting more.” (Annie Grace, author and founder of This Naked Mind)

What listeners say about The Sober Lush

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  • MPerry
  • 2020-07-18

This could have simply been called Lush Living

Even if you’re not currently seeking sobriety or maybe you’ve already reached sobriety, Amanda and Jardines stories invite you on a joy-ride of sense-driven experiences that will open your mind to seeking a more fulfilled life. The freedom they share here is not that of hanging on white knuckled until hopefully alcohol mysteriously disappeared from their desired list, but rather an intentional opening of their taste buds, new delightful ways to see and experience life all over—soberly. Their tales will give you ideas, maybe even challenge you a little and definitely leave you wanting a bigger outcome than simply walking away from drinking. You’ll never experience anything quite the same, which is exactly why I turned away from alcohol, to run forward into living fully.

I’m always wary of books narrated by someone other than the author(s). Eileens reading instantly welcomes us as if she is one of the authors. Her intonation and familiarity of the words come off as if she’s had a front row seat to everyone of Amanda and Jardines experiences. She made it so easy to melt into the book from the first line. Really the best narrator I’ve ever heard.

8 people found this helpful

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  • Kindle Customer
  • 2020-08-21

Pretentious

not relatable whatsoever. I felt like she was bragging the entire time . she knows so much more than everyone so hip

6 people found this helpful

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  • JillB71
  • 2020-10-14

Bland

I appreciate the effort , but so boring. Just because you stop drinking doesn’t mean you go dumb (actually the opposite) and need to be told how to have a nice picnic!
Lame.

5 people found this helpful

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  • Jessica
  • 2020-11-14

not interesting

It was very much not worth purchasing and impossible to keep interest while reading or listening.

4 people found this helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2021-03-10

Boring

Couldn't even finished it...
The names of the friends are mentioned over and over so often specially that "Jardine" OMG! It made me dizzy.
Would never recommend this book to someone looking to get sober as the the picture of the Other side is depressing.
Makes me think that alcohol free people are excluded from fun and real life and the rest of the world is sooo wrong!!
All this food and cocktails mentioned for what??... I thought there was going to be a Recipe at some point but no... just dropping some names because is sooo cool to know just about anything you can think of, regardless the importance.
Sorry but that was the vibe I got from this book.

2 people found this helpful

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  • DG
  • 2021-02-22

Book did not resonate with me.

I've read quite a few recovery oriented books, this one didn't really work for me. It felt like a how to book and, in my experience, there is no one size fits all approach to recovery. I only made it about halfway thru the book.

2 people found this helpful

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  • Blair Sharp
  • 2020-08-12

Simply AMAZING!

This book was so amazing. It explains so perfectly the feelings of appreciating life sober. I want to read it again already!

2 people found this helpful

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  • Rachel Beam
  • 2021-04-20

Essential Quit Lit

This book was truly beautiful! As someone who is newly (ish) sober, this book was like medicine. While it is not like other quit lit in the sense that it doesn’t throw a bunch of facts/statistic/quitting tactics at you, it does show how beautiful & decadent sobriety can be. Aside from that, it also can restore a sense of awe, wonder, and appreciating the little things in life.

The activity, food, and drink recommendations are in the dozens, so I recommend being ready to jot things down. Likewise, the food for thought in this book makes listening in small bits and then reflecting necessary. I felt like a little kid listening to this audio book, and if you feel like you need a little magic & spark in your life, this book is for you!

1 person found this helpful

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  • Mama
  • 2021-01-03

Just listening made me feel pampered

The reader and the story made me feel pampered, accepted and inspired. I plan to listen again. While traveling for the holidays I didn't want to arrive so I could hear more. I wish I started a list of the ideas I liked sooner which a second listen should accomplish. I wondering is there a sequel?

1 person found this helpful

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  • Karen
  • 2023-01-11

Skip

I suppose I expected something different from what the book really is about. I wanted to hear more first-person accounts and heard instead, third person ideas and concepts of how you could spend time rather than drinking. I fast forwarded a lot and found it tedious. For anyone at the beginning of a sober journey there are better reads.