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Sacha Z. Scoblic
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Unwasted: My Lush Sobriety Paperback – August 1, 2011

by Sacha Z. Scoblic (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,095 ratings
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The single glass of wine with dinner. . .the cold beer on a hot day. . .the champagne flute raised in a toast. . . what I'd drink if Hunter S. Thompson wanted to get wasted with me. . .these are my fantasies lately. Too bad I've gone sober.

When Sacha Z. Scoblic was drinking, she was a rock star; the days were rough and the nights filled with laughter and blackouts. Then she gave it up. She had to. Here are her adventures in an utterly and maddeningly sober world. . .and how she discovered that nothing is as odd and fantastic as life without a drink in hand. . .

"Wildly entertaining. . .An unabashed account of getting clean and getting a life." --Steve Geng

Sacha Z. Scoblic is a writer living in Washington, D.C. A former editor at The New Republic and Reader's Digest, she has written about everything from space camp to pulp fiction and was a contributor to The New York Times's online series "Proof: Alcohol and American Life." She currently blogs about addiction at TheFasterTimes.com. Her sobriety date is June 15, 2005.
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  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Citadel
  4. Publication date
    August 1, 2011
  5. Dimensions
    5.45 x 0.6 x 8.24 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    080653429X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0806534299
  8. See all details
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  1. When you finally realize how much you have, it’s pretty hard to feel entitled to more.
    Highlighted by 605 Kindle readers
  2. Maybe I should choose to stay sober, not just accept it as my sad fate in life.
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  3. Apparently, the void inside me must be filled with something that makes me feel awful about myself.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Scoblic's testament to life on the wagon is pertinent and raffish, marked by considerable candor and humor. A dryly witty, spirited memoir."
--Kirkus Reviews

"A gripping, inspiring tale that picks up where most sobriety memoirs leave off. ... This is a story for anyone trying to enact meaningful change in their lives." --Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, co-authors, The Nanny Diaries

"Hilarious and heartbreaking, Unwasted is a traveler's guide to the perilous, wondrous land of sobriety. Scoblic's scorched, sweet prose is the work of a writer at the top of her form." --Jennifer Finney Boylan, author of She's Not There

"As someone who's been drunk with Sacha Scoblic, I can attest that she's even smarter, sweeter and funnier when sober. This book is all of those things, one of the best memoirs I've read in a long time." --Tucker Carlson

"Sacha Z. Scoblic's often funny, always honest, and wholly unflinching look at her sobriety is not to be missed. As Sacha chooses her life, you'll choose this author: she's a revelation." --Megan Crane, author of I Love the 80s

About the Author

Sacha Z. Scoblic is a writer living in Washington, D.C. A former editor at The New Republic and Reader’s Digest, she has written about everything from space camp to pulp fiction and was a contributor to The New York Times’s online series “Proof: Alcohol and American Life.” Her sobriety date is June 15, 2005.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Citadel; 1st edition (August 1, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 080653429X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0806534299
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.45 x 0.6 x 8.24 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,095 ratings

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Sacha Z. Scoblic

Sacha Z. Scoblic

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Sacha Z. Scoblic, who also writes as Sacha Zimmerman, is a writer and editor. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New Republic, The Huffington Post, The Guardian, Reader's Digest, and The New York Times, where she penned essays for the Times blog "PROOF: Alcohol and American Life." Her memoir is UNWASTED: MY LUSH SOBRIETY (Citadel, 2011).

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
1,095 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

John R. Daubney
5.0 out of 5 stars What a Great Ride!
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2012
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Brace yourself for one hell of a ride! Sacha Z. Scoblic has written about the crazy carnival called early sobriety in a way that will have you errantly promising yourself to read just "one more page." over and over before you tuck yourself into bed and finally close your eyes. As the early chapters dizzily bounce back and forth between her active and inactive drinking life, she very accurately projects the state of consciousness that people who are attempting to live soberly exist in. The past, present and future create a wild stew of existence as she attempts to find her way in this new, frightening world of reality called early sobriety.
Like reading Shakespeare and having to be patient while my mind acclimates to the rhythmns and language of his writing,once I was able to swing with Sacha's style of humor and pathos I became mesmerized by her story.
Her depiction of active addiction ending in a wild, sad night of partying with a male co-worker that ended in a drug house and then feeing shocked, disgusted, and ashamed as she sees a child wandering amid the squalor and moral emptiness of that world.was as moving as anything in the book. With no apologies and an honest portrayel of her 'rock star" personality and where that, coupled with her reliance on substances to ward off the unpleasantness of reality took her, is one of the best travelogs through that empty landscape I have ever read. It is so worth reading to see where ego unchecked, and addiction can take any of us.
She takes us through the decisions that must be made to live soberly: the friends like Jack and Tessa, and the social gatherings that must painfully be left behind; drinking situations that must be negotiated; developing relationships with non-drinking people, like her so-called "wolfpack" of sober friends; and creating new personal standards to live by. I found this part of the book, so heart-warming, sad, and necessary at the same time. I loved her process of developing an idea of a "higher power" that could be a spiritual( but not religious)resource for her. and then gradually beginning to see glimpses of the beautiful Sacha who lives behind the masks of bravado and craziness that passed for her proud uniqueness.
That Sacha was able to escape her "wasted" life and begin the brave process of creating a new way of participating in and contributing to life is nothing short of a miracle. Anyone who has ever made a conscious decision to leave a habit, lifestyle or relationship behind because it was killing their spirit, will recognize the bravery and steadfastness that Sacha had to summon to achieve her new existence.
"Unwasted" left me wanting to know the "rest of the story" but I know I will have to wait for Sacha's next book, if she decides to go that route. If not, I am satisfied by this entertsaining, informative, and deeply inspirational story. If Sacha can do it; so can I! Thank you for a great book.
11 people found this helpful
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Lynne M. Spreen
4.0 out of 5 stars Wishing Her the Best
Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2011
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Unwasted is well-written reportage from the front, if the front is the battle to mature and the warrior has been shot in both kneecaps by alcoholism. Or the reverse.

At times (most of the time) Sacha is cynical, but she is also naïve (e.g. expecting the attendees at AA to be escapees from a noir circus of some sort, and being surprised that many are conservative-looking middle America types. Wow, edge in the form of a pale librarian. Who knew?) She's introspective as she shares her world with us, both before and after sobriety.

Through Sacha's writing I really got a sense of how lonely and painful it would be to deal with alcoholism. For example, she describes torture rendered by friends/coworkers Kate, Nathan and Dina. The first two were well-meaning but thoughtless to the point of cruelty, while Dina was a winged bitch who exploited Sacha's new vulnerability.

A couple of little dings: I wonder how Sacha managed to hold down a job? She shares a little about how she skated through at work, able to deliver an insightful, edgy comment at just the right time to impress her bosses, but I wonder how she managed the day-to-day, like getting there on time. Or, given the prodigious drinking, drugging, and lack of healthful sleep and food, at all. Along the same lines, I don't remember her doing normal daily maintenance things, like paying bills, shopping for groceries, doing laundry, getting a physical. There's just relentless edge.

Also, Sacha's writing can be complex. If you're not paying attention, you can lose the context, because some of her chapters are like exceptionally complex compound sentences. Example: describing why she wanted to run in a marathon, in which she moves from present day to a childhood flashback and then back with perhaps too much detail. But she's very literate and she has a good editor. It's all there, you just have to pay attention.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that this is as much a coming-of-age story as a memoir of beating back alcoholism. Sacha's story arcs from youthful delusion to where she suspends her cynicism and tries out the systems other humans have devised for survival. Accomplishing things in a group (The WolfPack, the Sweat Hogs) was a leap of faith for her. When she experiences success, she discovers the comfort of being normal (I'm projecting.)

Unanswered but fascinating: why was she desperate to see herself as ultra-cool, so edgy? I'm no shrink, but I wonder if this is an extreme variation on the need of young adults to differentiate. She was narcissistic but young people often are in their twenties, and then life kicks them around a bit and they become more aware.

A couple of life strategies that anyone can take away from Unwasted:

1. Act like you believe it and see what happens (i.e. suspend your cynicism and see what the world might offer you). And related but different:
2. It doesn't have to be true if it somehow works (e.g. prayer, release to a higher power, giving established systems a chance).

The last thing I want to say to Sacha is this: be comforted by the knowledge that you are surrounded by people just like you who have labored mightily, perhaps in silence, to achieve that most Olympian of awards: a peaceful, normal, satisfying life. I wish that for you.
20 people found this helpful
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T. Swearingen
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2013
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I read this book approximately 5 months ago...which is coincidentally about the same time I had my last drink. I had "stacks" of unread (e)books about drinking...controlled drinking, curing alcoholism, being sober is boring blah blah blah. The truth is I just started reading this book and didn't want to put it away to gather dust for eternity, or at least until the next time I was so hungover I would privately swear myself into sobriety and skim the back covers or introductions of said books.
One reason I kept reading is soley due to the author's unique way of writing. I'm not a writer, so I can't exactly say what it is. I just know that I identified, ALOT with her struggles, and for me, humor is essential in all things. She has a wicked sense of humor that at times you almost feel guilty about laughing out loud, considering the subject matter.
I also felt like crying at times because of the multitude of feelings that are dredged up while reading about her experiences with alcohol, and replacing myself into many of the scenarios.
Although AA seems to be her choice of an anchor (so to speak) which is fine, but, i think there is acquiescence that this might not be for everyone. She doesn't harp on about the structure or philosophy (12 steps) which to me a HUGE no-go. I think there is a chapter dedicated to a spritual connection that is important to many in recovery. Bottom line though, for me, is whatever works for you.
Overall, I think it was gripping handle for me to hang onto while i was in the midst of the scale tipping from wanting to NOT drink more than I wanted to drink.
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Danielle Bergeron
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on May 15, 2017
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A great read!! Very entertaining and well written. I found it very helpful in my early stages of recovery.
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Mr Robert Jones
4.0 out of 5 stars My Lush Sobriety
Reviewed in France on April 5, 2015
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Lots of amusement with a serious and very helpful side to it. Whether or not the reader has a problem it is a good read and surprisingly good english

Good book.
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Bronwen Grey
5.0 out of 5 stars Superbly well-written
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 6, 2013
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This book is beautifully-written and could be enjoyed by someone not even remotely interested in recovery from addiction for the superb quality of the prose alone. A poignant account of how a non-believer found through AA humility and a spiritual dimension to existence, it is witty, incisive, imaginative and profound. I was spell-bound from start to finish by Scoblic's masterful use of language and am now going to hunt down anything else she has ever written! The last chapter finishes in a crescendo: her words therein will reverberate in my head for days to come.
11 people found this helpful
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C. A. Cook
4.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful insight into recovery.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 3, 2018
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I enjoyed this book and I felt that Scoblic gave what felt like a very truthful account of her journey to sobriety. She didn't try to shock or horrify as to the depths of her addiction, instead she told it like it was for her. She is clearly a talented writer who thinks deeply and philosophically. The chapter about the religious aspect of the "12 step" recovery programme was particularly insightful and I enjoyed her description of training for a marathon. Without being at all mushy, Scoblic described the support she had from her family with real gratitude and - I am wondering if she rents her husband out! Having read her acknowledgements, I think she really should write the non alcoholic cocktail book!
2 people found this helpful
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Heather
4.0 out of 5 stars many great insights
Reviewed in Canada on August 25, 2015
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I have read several books about struggling with alcohol, and this is one of the few that I have reread because of its new perspective on a very timeless problem. The combination of insight and humour make this book one I would recommend to anyone struggling with alcohol related issues.
4 people found this helpful
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