Glorious Rock Bottom: 'A shocking story told with heart and hope. You won't be able to put it down.' Dolly Alderton

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I was struck by the light that reading this account of Bryony’s alcoholism shone on her other novels; while running the marathon she was looking forward to the bottles of prosecco she would have to celebrate and her drunken hijinks in her twenties were followed by a period of crippling anxiety and regret. Never did I think I’d describe a book about alcoholism as “charming” but Gordon has such a way with words that I often found myself pulled into her life and her story in much the same way I assume booze pulled her in: with drama and a bit of a gamble. Bryony Gordon is a respected journalist, a number-one bestselling author and an award-winning mental health campaigner. One of the lines that I found the most powerful was “So when people ask me why, I tell them that I stopped drinking because I wanted to start living. Re: rating - 3 would be too stingy, 4 is a little generous, but I'm happy to err on the side of generosity here.

I have loved Bryony Gordon’s writing ever since ‘Mad Girl’ - the first time I’d ever seen the symptoms of Pure OCD put into mainstream public consciousness. The admittance that this has often not been the case articulates bravely while we may look one way on the surface, the reality may not be the case. In soul-baring flashes to the past, to recovery and to life after getting sober, Gordon paints the reader a picture of the height of her addiction, and echoes so many messages we've heard so often - I'm not an alcoholic, *I* couldn't possibly quit drinking, going to rehab only happens to OTHER people.It's very hard to break through shame, fear and social conditioning to speak about addiction or mental health issues and here Gordon pulls no punches about either.

Very readable, full of striking honesty about the impact alcohol dependency has had on Briony Gordon’s life and loved ones. Until mainstream society realises that “mental health awareness” cannot be sanitised and palatable, no real awareness will ever be achieved. You are not alone, going mad or worthless, there is hope and a guaranteed better life without alcohol.Bryony Gordon] has now charted the whole journey through her through alcoholism and subsequent recovery in her no-holds-barred new book.

The honesty is so appreciated and I had to keep reading portions aloud to my husband as I knew he would totally relate to Harry. The narrative jumps from Bryony’s experiences in rehab to describing the often shocking situations she was in while drinking. Accessible and enthralling , Glorious Rock Bottom is one of the most important books I have read in years. Bryony does this beautifully and shows that a sober life isn't instagrammable hot yoga, green smoothies and boundless positivity and energy but a difficult yet wonderfully worthwhile journey to acceptance and self esteem and a place where shame no longer thrives. I was surprised to learn that Bryony was suffering at the height of her success - when she’d written best-selling books, ran a marathon and became widely revered as a mental health advocate.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.