THIS ISN'T WORKING ANYMORE. Alcohol: The Hard Truth

There comes a point when you've heard enough of your own excuses. You may still be making them. Still promising yourself tomorrow will be different. Still trying to find a version of drinking that doesn't end the same way. But somewhere underneath all of it, you already know. This isn't working anymore. You don't have to hit rock bottom for that to be true. You don't have to lose your job, your health, or your family before your concern counts.
If alcohol is quietly making your life smaller - your mornings harder, your excuses more practiced, your promises to yourself less believable - that's reason enough. Ian Bates spent the best part of thirty years functioning on whisky and beer. He knows exactly how convincing "tonight is understandable" can sound. He also knows, as a counselor and hypnotherapist with over 20 years of experience, why willpower alone so often fails - and what actually has to change instead.
This book won't lecture you from a safe distance or shame you into stopping. It will walk with you through: Why alcohol only needs you to believe tonight makes sense, not that it's good for you The permission thoughts and cultural scripts that keep intelligent, self-aware people drinking Why shame doesn't get you sober - and what does What's really happening in your brain, and why cravings feel so convincing How to handle the people around you who don't understand what you're doing How to get through the first sober stretch without white-knuckling it How to build a life where alcohol isn't required to make the day bearable There's no miracle promise here.
No moral sermon. Just an honest look at what alcohol has been doing for you as well as to you - and a clear way through, from someone who has stood exactly where you're standing. If part of you already knows this can't carry on, this book was written for that part of you.