Mommy Doesn't Drink Here Anymore

A lot of us make jokes about Mommy needing a martini, but for Rachael Brownell, author of Mommy Doesn’t Drink Here Anymore, the joke turned out to be pretty dark.

After having twin girls, Brownell found herself a frazzled, busy mom juggling a family and career. To help take the edge off, she made a glass of white wine an afternoon ritual. Soon, one glass became four or five, and it wasn’t long until a box of wine lasted her only a couple of days.

Brownell’s book is rife with accounts of her mood swings, sex problems with her husband and vomiting at the twins’ school. What’s unusual is that a nagging feeling, not a DUI or other dramatic hit-bottom moment, made her admit her problem. After telling her brother about her drinking, she starts Alcoholics Anonymous the same night. “I know something is very wrong here,” she writes. “And I think my drinking might be making it worse.”

The book scores points for its honesty and dark humor, and you’ll finish it in a pool- or beachside afternoon. But I wanted to hear more about how Brownell’s alcoholism affected her family, especially her daughters and mother, who was an alcoholic herself. Still, its diary-like style will keep the pages turning, even if you’re a mom who has never touched a drop.