You know how when you procrastinate about doing something it can start to make you feel guilty, and then you procrastinate even more, and then you feel even guiltier, and so on into a vortex of black nothingness?
Yeah. But I’m back! Guiltily. As you’ll see, things have been kinda busy, not that that is any excuse.
First, the big news: my first book, an essay collection titled Want Not, will be published in winter 2018 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. I signed the contract four months ago but typing the words still makes me feel a bit out-of-body. To have a book published at all, let alone from a publisher of personal idols like Michael Cunningham, Lydia Davis, Jeffrey Eugenides, and Michelle Huneven–even three years ago I couldn’t have imagined this would happen. But it is.
The essays in Want Not are personal ones that look at drinking and sobriety (and the wanting and not-wanting that drives both) through a variety of lenses: some funny, some sad, most a bit of both. If you’ve been reading me for a while, some of the pieces in the book will be familiar to you, but many will be totally new. Which is my way of letting you know that if you don’t purchase at least one copy you will be missing a ton.
Of course, the downside to publishing a book is that you actually do have to write it. That’s unfortunate, and accounts for me no longer having much of a social life, aka blog. But I’m still out there! “Enjoli” fever brought a lot of opportunities my way and I said ‘yes, please’ to a few of them. One of my favorites is this “How to Not” series for the Awl, where I explain how to avoid drinking in a variety of (as a friend puts it) setting, circumstances, scenes, events, and milieus:
- How to Not Drink at a Show. In 1987, I was 17 and killing time in the lobby of a club before a Love & Rockets show.
- How to Not Drink at a Wedding. Weddings are like the Oscars: a few big emotional moments against a backdrop of administrivia and waiting around.
- How to Not Drink at the Office Christmas Party. “Why is drinking at office parties such a thing in the first place?” I asked my husband.
- How to Not Drink on Thanksgiving. You matter. Your life matters more than this one day.
- How to Not Drink on Election Night. I don’t know.
- How to Not Drink at the Airport. Easy. Once you zip through security, just walk past all the chain bars and don’t stop till you reach the multiplex where a $20 ticket buys you all-day access to a bunch of first-run movies.
This is an ongoing series, and I love suggestions! I need suggestions. So if there’s a milieu, circumstance, etc. that you think I should write about, hit me up.
I’ve also done some really fun (for me, anyway) podcast appearances, including the cleverly titled “Enjoli Virus” with Laura and Holly from HOME/Hip Sobriety. And writer Claire Rudy Foster and I took over the Since Right Now podcast twice, once the normal way (normal=Skype) and once at my house all hopped up on coffee.
And last but not least, I’m in the January 2017 issue of Glamour! Here’s the first in-the-wild sighting, sent by a friend from her hair salon in North Carolina (which also serves doughnuts:
If I were you I would probably go out and buy at LEAST 2 copies of this Glamour, making sure to move any remaining ones to a prominent place in the newsstand rack.
That’s all for now from me. How are you?
Off-Dry 
Kristi.
I am a fellow writer living in Washington (tiny town of Glenwood in the shadow of Mt. Adams). I’ve only recently become aware of you and your message – and am thrilled you are back at it. Congratulations on your book! I know the words will flow as you settle in and listen. Thank you for putting your courage to work with your words. Welcome back.
Onward and upward.
Molly
Congratulations on the book! I will buy at least at least two copies: one for myself and one for a local women’s shelter. I am also from North Carolina so will immediately go and look for Glamour magazine. I am nothing if not faithful to other struggling (sober) writers. Who knows? At 250 days sober, I could be next!
xoxo,
Shawna
Congrats on the book deal—love your writing and empowering message. Humor is the key; with perseverance and a light heart, one can conquer anything.
Will buy the book, it sounds great!
Ideas, maybe they are lame but here goes…
How Not to Drink on a Friday night
How Not to Drink at a Live Gig or Music Festival
How not to Drink with your old drinking buddies you havent seen in years.
How not to Drink at a Family reunion
How not to Drnink when everything goes tits up 🙂
xxx
WOW 🙂 Just listened to your Home podcast interview and ‘me too’ to all of it!! 90 days behind you and appreciate the inspiration xx
Doing fine thanks. I hope to be on the verge of publishing too. I’m filing up an arsenal of content. So inspired Kristi to watch and follow you. Gives me great hope!
Glamour needs you. They had three words to describe Felicity Jones and one of them is “wine drinker?”
Ha! I know, right? My eyebrow went WAY up at that.
I am so unbelievably grateful for your blog! It has given me hope. You have such a great way with words and expressing yourself. So many things you say I find myself saying “Yes, that’s it’s. That how I feel, think, etc!!”. You are helping so many by sharing your story. It takes a lot of courage to put it all out there with so many mean people in this world looking to tear people down. Thanks for giving me the motivation to move to where you are and know I’m not alone.
Oh my goodness, my two sober idols TOGETHER in one podcast? I’ll be listening to that pronto. I am 3 months now without a drink and life feels clearer and brighter. I am off for a girl’s weekend away tomorrow with 6 girls who are like my kryptonite (we all met at boarding school and bonded over alcopops and cheap vodka). I can’t wait to show them that I can still have fun without a drink in my hand….!