My Year of Not Getting Sh*tfaced: How I Tried and Failed to Give Up Alcohol and Learned the Joys of Moderation by Pamela Power is out in March from Jonathan Ball Publishers.

After an exceptionally wild Mother’s Day where she danced like there was no tomorrow, picked a fight with a stranger and collided with the floor, Johannesburg scriptwriter and author Pamela Power is forced to take a hard look at her drinking habits. She realises that although she does not need to find an AA group immediately, she might be a serial binge drinker and needs to take back control.

In this honest yet humorous account of her year of not getting sh*tfaced, Power examines her long, complicated relationship with alcohol. She is shocked to realise just how much of a crutch alcohol has been for her. There is always a bottle of wine or Prosecco around to her to help her manage the many demands of life as a freelancer and as a parent.

Power starts her journey to sobriety at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic as her family faces financial troubles, and life in the suburban Parks of Johannesburg isn’t so blissful anymore. Through her, we experience all the frustration, irritation and surprising benefits of going dry. In dealing with her dependence on alcohol, Power also confronts her troubled relationship with her parents.

While many other sober curious books portray sobriety as the only answer, Power has found a sweet spot between total sobriety and binge drinking: moderation.

About the author

Pamela Power is a television scriptwriter and script editor who has worked on the television shows Top Billing, Generations, Rockville and Uzalo, and is currently the script editor at Muvhango.

She is also the author and co-author of several works of fiction, including Ms Conception, Things Unseen and Chasing Marian (with Amy Heydenrych, Qarnita Loxton and Gail Schimmel). Power has two children and lives in Johannesburg.

Categories Non-fiction South Africa

Tags Jonathan Ball Publishers My Year of Not Getting Sh*tfaced New books New releases Pamela Power