Glorious Rock Bottom, Bryony Gordon

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If you follow Bryony Gordon on Instagram, you’ll agree her life does look goddamn glorious. But she writes freely about her battles with mental health and Glorious Rock Bottom is the latest instalment and the tale of her getting sober.

I read this sort of for a piece (published here) but really for self-interest. How much was Bryony drinking? And how hard was it for her to give up? Can I do the same? Do I need to? These are the questions you ask yourself when you know your drinking is getting out of hand and you could –possibly, probably, most likely – live a better, fuller and happier life if you drank less, or not at all.

Bryony’s writing is funny and pacy and full of sensitive details and uncomfortable truths, as always. She opens with a story about waking up in a garden with a man’s head between her legs. He is not her husband, and she has been sharing his coke at a 40th party. What she has put herself through while drinking is terrifying, but her escape and what she’s made of her life uplifting and reaffirming. Her fans will love this. I snorted it up. I’d recommend it to anyone who reaches for a glass of wine when they know it won’t make anything better. Or perhaps before you get to that stage.


Glorious (Picador, £16.99) is published on 6 August