Intoxicating Lies: One Woman's Journey to Freedom from Gray Area Drinking

by Meg Geisewite Narrated by Meg Geisewite

Overview

Earned First Place for Delaware Press Association (DPA) Communications Contest 2023

Meg never hit a rock bottom.

Most people think that in order to acknowledge and address a drinking problem, you must first hit rock bottom, but this heartfelt story reveals the truth that gray area drinking comes in many shades. Alcohol consumption exists on a spectrum with a vast range of dependency in the middle. Gray area drinking unconsciously haunts most people until it becomes a problem. Our society is inundated with messages that support unhealthy drinking habits, just one of the many insidious lies of alcohol.

Intoxicating Lies, you will find the relatable story of one mom's journey to freedom-not only from gray area drinking but also from the shame and guilt that crushed her sense of worth and inner knowing. This book uncovers surprising insights into the alcohol industry and our society's obsession with the mommy wine culture.

With practical advice and friendly wisdom from a mom who has seen it all, this book should be every woman's guide to living in authentic freedom from alcohol's intoxicating lies.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"If you’re questioning your drinking or curious if you might be a gray area drinker, Meg gives a well documented account of the gray area drinking experience — an experience many woman will relate to!"
Jolene Park – Lead Authority on Gray Area Drinking

"For anyone questioning their relationship with alcohol, this is a MUST read! Intoxicating Lies is filled with truth bombs about how easy it is to fall into the gray areas of drinking. Meg is real, raw and relatable. Through her journey, she provides hope to the reader that they too, can find a path to freedom while navigating societal lies and the grips that alcohol can have on us. I highly recommend this easy-to-read and enjoyable book!"
Kari Schwear - Founder of GrayTonic & Question the Drink

"I know you will enjoy reading Intoxicating Lies as much as I have. Meg encourages open conversation and extends an invitation to see alcohol differently...exposing the intoxicating lies that the marketing and messaging whispers (or screams) to us women everyday! Meg has a way of taking the truths she learned and breathes in a fresh perspective through her personal experience! Enjoy this page turner!"
Jenn Kautsch - CEO & Founder of Sober Sis

"Intoxicating Lies is the book I wish I had when I felt stuck in the drinking trap, dreading the idea of quitting completely but knowing my heavy drinking was unsustainable. Meg's story, combined with a compilation of the lies we tell ourselves about drinking, is going to help so many gray area drinkers who question their alcohol intake but fear the idea of abstinence. A must read for gray area drinkers!"
Celeste Yvonne - Author of "It's Not about the Wine: The Loaded Truth behind Mommy Wine Culture"

Product Details

BN ID:	2940191399669
Publisher:	Clovercroft Publishing
Publication date:	01/30/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

"The big alcohol industry—a vast network of producers, distributors, marketers and retailers—is specifically targeting women with these (pro-drinking) messages, knowing it is keeping us small, quiet, and checked out. It is particularly disparaging towards moms. We are taught by society that we earned it; we deserve it. It is like a mom code we have all gulped down unknowingly."

"Identifying and relating to the gray area drinking category created the space and the capacity for me to explore my relationship with alcohol with a group of sober-curious women who felt just like I did. I was beginning to see through the fog and those gray hues to a place where stories like mine resonated with my inner knowing. It became clear, the bigger question was not "Do I have a drinking problem?" but rather "What is drinking doing for me?" If our gray area drinking looks normal, I began to wonder why there were thousands of women in my group questioning their relationship with alcohol just like me. And maybe just like you."

"The alcohol-free journey was a process of stripping off all my old beliefs and growing new skin, new beliefs, which were beginning to strengthen that very important voice within."

"I was finally waking up to no longer disappointing and abandoning myself, now always choosing what felt true and good to me. Choosing myself over and over again began to appear in many facets of my life throughout my alcohol-free journey, each time like a test to see if I would choose my needs, my beliefs, my voice, and my preferences over external validation. These choices arise, asking you to choose only the ones that bring you joy and forego the ones that don't. The beauty is that every day we get to make a choice, asking ourselves: Will you reconnect with your one true self, or will you abandon her to please everyone else?"

"I had finally come to a place in my journey where I could see my one true self and trust my inner knowing, no matter what or who told me otherwise. I can see I am a reflection of God. It means seeing there is so much more to this one precious life than choosing a substance that takes versus gives. I had shifted to my heart—to my one true self—where all my power fully lives."

Videos