Book Reviews – The Wine O’clock Myth

The Wine O’clock Myth
By Lotta Dann. Allen & Unwin

This book’s subtitle is ‘the truth you need to know about women and alcohol’. Have you noticed on social media how many memes and gifs focus on wine o’clock, or have a drink because you deserve it, or wine is what gets mummies through the hell hour?  
This is Dann’s third book about drinking/alcoholism. Her blog ‘Mrs D Is Going Without’ was all about her journey from alcoholism to sobriety. She writes openly and honestly and has garnered many followers. In this book she looks at some of the nitty-gritty of alcohol in New Zealand culture. Did you know that the liquor industry has been aiming many of their campaigns at women since the 1960s? And did you know that with each drink of alcohol we increase our chance of getting cancer? With sly campaigns that include sponsoring triathlons, Mother’s Day specials and even sponsoring mental health events, the liquor industry is doing its best to ensure women are drinking and are seen to be drinking.  
Of course, with the ability to buy wine and beer with our groceries, alcohol has been normalised to such an extent that trying to give up or stop drinking has been made incredibly difficult. Lotta Dann has interspersed each informative chapter with a real-life account of someone’s personal journey with alcohol. This was the hard-hitting stuff for me, and many of these women’s stories were very impactful.

Tracey Lawton