Her Best-Kept Secret: Why Women Drink—And How They Can Regain Control

Gabrielle Glaser

Jul 2013 · Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

For readers of Quit Like a Woman, this “engaging account of women and drink, [cites] fascinating studies about modern stressors…and evidence that some problem drinkers can learn moderation….Bound to stir controversy” (People).

In Her Best-Kept Secret, journalist Gabrielle Glaser uncovers a hidden-in-plain-sight drinking epidemic. Using “investigative rigor and thoughtful analysis” (TheBoston Globe), Glaser is the first to document that American women are drinking more often than ever and in ever-larger quantities in this “substantial book, interested in hard facts and nuance rather than hand-wringing” (The New York Times Book Review). She shows that contrary to the impression offered on reality TV, young women alone aren’t driving these statistics—their moms and grandmothers are, too. But Glaser doesn’t wag a finger. Instead, in a funny and tender voice, Glaser looks at the roots of the problem, explores the strange history of women and alcohol in America, drills into the emerging and counterintuitive science about that relationship, and asks: Are women getting the help they need? Is it possible to return from beyond the sipping point and develop a healthy relationship with the bottle?

Glaser reveals that, for many women, joining Alcoholics Anonymous is not the answer—it is part of the problem. She shows that as scientists and health professionals learn more about women’s particular reactions to alcohol, they are coming up with new and more effective approaches to excessive drinking. In that sense, Glaser offers modern solutions to a very modern problem.

Ratings and reviews

I didn't quite know what to expect from this book but one thing is for sure, I COULD NOT put it down! Hope to see more light shed on the subject of women and alcohol in addition to scratching the surface of moderating one of the choice intoxicants of human beings.

About the author

Gabrielle Glaseris the author of Strangers to the Tribe and The Nose, and a journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Mademoiselle, The Economist, Glamour, The Washington Post, and Health, among other publications.