The Social Rebellion is a non-fiction book by Australian media personality Maz Compton. This endearingly written and super relatable book describes her journey to going completely alcohol free while also exploring the role that alcohol plays in our society and offering a guide for those willing to follow a similar journey. The aim of the book is to start with going just 31 days alcohol free, and has a daily guide for anyone up for the challenge.
While most of us know that alcohol isn’t great for you and the risks involved with drinking, it’s something that it is so normalised and such a huge part of Australian culture that even if we know we want to quit or cut back, the reality is it’s quite hard. As she discusses in the book, drinking is a massive part of our social lives AND used for so many different occasions; celebrating, commiserating, relaxing, unwinding, partying – there’s an excuse to drink for almost every milestone and even minor daily occurrence in life. Even worse than that, is the use of drinking to avoid dealing with emotions, or cope with the stresses of everyday life.
Let’s face facts…
But for those who may not know, or chose to conveniently forget about the realities of drinking, here are just a few (but hard hitting) fast facts as included in the book:
- Alcohol kills one person every 10 seconds worldwide and more than 240 per day (which is more than prescription and illegal drugs combined in the US)
- Alcohol doesn’t make you forget anything, when you get blackout drunk your brain temporarily loses the ability to create new memories
- 3.5% of cancer deaths worldwide are linked to alcohol consumption, and over 30% of cancers could be prevented by avoiding alcohol and tobacco and instead having a healthy diet and exercising
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) classifies alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen; I think people forget it’s a poison
As with anything that’s a huge part of the society and culture you live, going against the norm is always going to be hard, and most people don’t even know where to start – which Maz also talks about being the case for her. So if you find yourself being in a similar position, or even if you’ve never really stopped to think about your relationship with alcohol then this book is definitely a must read for you.
I think most readers will relate strongly to Maz’s story, however I especially did having gone through a similar process myself. Like her, I also decided to give up drinking one day and managed to not have a drop of alcohol (not even a sip) for three years. I still drink on very rare occasions now (I had my first drink of the year a couple of weeks ago), but I’d definitely have no issue or problem with going completely alcohol free again.
You don’t drink?! Do you have a problem?
One of my favourite discussion points in the book is that she highlights people’s reactions when she told them she was quitting drinking, and the association people had when asking her if she had a “problem” with drinking. She actually calls this her least favourite question – and it’s definitely one of mine too (also along with “why are you eating turkey mince at 10am” which I used to get in the office). People tend to assume that those who give up drinking or stop completely must only do so because they’re at a complete extreme end of the drinking spectrum, and are alcoholics whose drinking habits are ruining their daily lives.
However, as Maz points out, a “problem” with alcohol can simply be analysing and being completely honest with your habits and realising that you’re not completely comfortable with your relationship with alcohol. I’d probably add too, that the majority of Australians, and people globally, of all ages, races and sexes who do drink are most likely not honest with themselves about how their drinking habits really do affect their lives.
My own journey
For me, it was also a similar situation. I had never had a “problem” with drinking or anything terrible happen, but I woke up with a shitty hangover one morning and said the classic “I’m never drinking again” line – but this time actually stuck to it. As the book discusses, drinking may seem “fun” but how fun is it really? You may enjoy yourself at the time, but realistically you’re probably acting like a bit of a dick, spending a lot of money, increasing your risk of cancer, stressing your liver, ingesting liquid calories and most likely going to wake up feeling very average. These were all factors I considered when wanting to give up drinking, and for me were not worth the “fun” I got from it.
Are you comfortable with your own relationship with alcohol?
In the book, she also explores how to analyse your relationship with alcohol and any red flags that may mean you have more of a problem than you thought, how to practically prepare yourself for going alcohol free, WHY you actually drink (and more constructive things to do instead), what to expect when giving up drinking, dealing with other people, the benefits of quitting drinking and most importantly – how to get your mindset right to be successful. For me, as I’m pretty stubborn and have no problems going against the norm and doing my own thing – I found the process pretty easy. I’m also pretty lucky now to be surrounded by a lot of friends who don’t drink at all or rarely drink, which definitely helps. I can understand however how this would be such a hard process for people pleasers, for people whose friends all drink or those who really LOVE drinking, which is why this book would be such a fabulous help.
The verdict
The Social Rebellion is a book and conversation which is SO overdue in Australian culture, and I’m so glad that someone took the time to write this. It’s also so wonderfully written, and even if you’re not planning to cut back on your drinking habits just yet it’s still worth a read to understand her journey, more about the role of drinking in our society and our personal relationship with alcohol. If you DO want to cut back (yay you – you can do it!) then I suggest running outside and buying a copy of this book now (or downloading the e-book if you don’t want to brave the cold, I don’t blame you). Not only is in the initial part of the book so helpful in explaining mindset and all aspects of what to expect, it then includes a daily guide for the initial 31 days, with awesome tips and daily missions to help keep you on track. (Plus it’s July – perfect timing for trying out Dry July!)
In addition to the book itself, you can sign up to the movement via e-course and email mailing list which offers awesome further support and tips as well as information about corresponding social events (including awesome looking retro workout classes). I really look forward to this movement taking off across Australia, and a day when instead of asking those who don’t drink why they don’t, people instead are asked why they do.
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