I come from a heavy drinking culture - but by the time I stopped drinking - my pattern for many years was like Garner describes. And my cravings blew my mind. That one (and sometimes two) drink a day kept me tethered to the deep grooves in my nervous system that were organized around alcohol.

I've not had a drop of booze for 2+ years. And what screams out to me now is - 10 drinks a week is not at all a little amount.

I just want to pause here.

Our mainstream cultural view of a 'normal' amount of alcohol is totally bonkers.

10 drinks a week is not little. It is a cancer risk, not to mention depression and anxiety...

I get it, in the world view of my childhood she sounds like a 'light' drinker, and that's a huge part of why America has a drinking problem. We don't respect how dangerous alcohol is.

We don't have to hit rock bottom for it to be a good idea to stop drinking. And we don't have to be a problem drinker to have a problem drinking less.

Our culture needs a reset button on our perceptions with alcohol. And I'm so glad to see that's starting to happen, thanks to all of us doing the work - and especially the quit lit authors you mentioned.

I applaud everything she's saying - and you for amplifying it. Thank you.