Beyond Booze (Sarah Rusbatch, Murdoch)

The term ‘sober curiosity’ has been around for a few years now, but Beyond Booze: How to create a life you love, alcohol-free offers something a bit more. Author Sarah Rusbatch describes her prior experience with alcohol as ‘grey area’ drinking: consuming more than a moderate amount of alcohol without meeting the criteria for actual dependence. Based on Rusbatch’s own experiences, Beyond Booze is a guide to lifestyle change—a change that is anything but frivolous. In 2023, the World Health Organisation declared that ‘no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health’, classing it as a Group 1 carcinogen. Despite the risks, alcohol advertising targeted at women represents its consumption as an acceptable—even necessary—lifestyle choice to cope with stress. Calling out the hypocrisy, Beyond Booze is a call to a healthier life. While Rusbatch doesn’t attempt to diagnose or treat clinical addiction, she offers a personal story and doesn’t shy away from the hard facts. Her advice is responsible: she sets out to support, not just inspire, offering practical, evidence-based, deeply personal guides for women as they navigate relationships and a changing attitude toward fulfilment after quitting.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Becca Whitehead is a features and content writer based in Naarm-Melbourne. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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