Book Review: This Naked Mind
How One Book Completely Changed My Perspective on Drinking
It’s hard to believe, but reading a book changed my life. I stopped drinking—completely—and haven’t looked back since May 16, 2022. It might sound too good to be true, but it happened, and I’ll do my best to explain how.
Before I dive in, here’s some background. I drank for 25 years, starting later than most, at the age of 21. By the time I quit, my drinking had escalated to 10 beers a day, every day, with no ability to stop for more than a day or two. I’d known for years that I had a problem, but the path to sobriety always felt elusive.
I tried to quit many times. I went to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), got three sponsors, and tried to follow the Program. I worked with therapists who wanted to unpack my childhood—memories I’d long since blocked out. I desperately searched for answers but kept coming up empty. Nothing worked.
Then, almost by accident, I discovered a book called This Naked Mind by Annie Grace. I had been following sober influencers on Instagram and reading blogs about sobriety when the book popped up in my search results. Skeptical but desperate, I ordered it. What happened next was nothing short of a revelation.
The Struggle to Find Sobriety
AA didn’t work for me. That’s not to say it doesn’t work—it has helped millions of people find sobriety—but I found the process demoralizing.
Matt Salis summed up my experience perfectly in his article The One Thing That Actually Comforted Me Through Early Sobriety:
“…the typical Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting was a damp church basement full of cold, metal folding chairs occupied by hopeless sad-sacks drinking bad coffee from Styrofoam cups and chain-smoking cigarettes while whining to each other about their bad luck and hopelessness.”
While that description might sound harsh, it resonated deeply with me. Every time I tried to engage with AA, I left feeling more shame than I’d ever felt while drinking. Sponsors told me to make time for daily meetings, but as a parent with a full-time job and household responsibilities, I couldn’t imagine how to fit them in. “If you had time to drink, you have time for AA,” they’d say. Yet, there was no AA meeting in my kitchen at 10 p.m. when my kids were asleep—but there was always beer.
That’s not to say AA failed me entirely. The men who sponsored me were kind, patient, and genuinely wanted to help. But the Program itself didn’t align with my life or my mindset. And I’m not alone—many sources suggest that only 10–15% of people who try AA achieve lasting sobriety.
I wasn’t ready to give up, though. I kept searching for an answer, determined to find something that would click.
Finding This Naked Mind
When I started reading This Naked Mind, I didn’t expect much. It was another book in a long line of attempts to figure out my addiction. But almost immediately, Annie Grace’s words spoke to me in a way nothing else had.
The book isn’t just a guide to quitting alcohol; it’s a deep dive into the subconscious beliefs that fuel our addiction. Grace shines a light on the mental programming that makes us associate alcohol with fun, relaxation, and relief. Then, through repetition and storytelling, she systematically dismantles those associations and replaces them with the truth: alcohol is a poison that offers no real value.
Critics of This Naked Mind often complain that the book is repetitive, but to me, that’s part of its magic. The part of my brain that wanted to drink—even when I consciously didn’t—was childlike, and Grace treated it as such. Just like a children’s show uses repetition to drive home key points, this book methodically reprogrammed my thinking.
By the time I reached the end of the book, I didn’t feel like I was sacrificing anything by quitting alcohol. I felt like I was gaining everything.
The Power of Connection and Storytelling
What makes This Naked Mind stand out isn’t just the information it provides—it’s how that information is delivered. Annie Grace’s tone is conversational and relatable, like an old friend sharing her journey rather than a clinical therapist diagnosing a problem.
The preface alone hooked me. Grace described a daily routine that mirrored my own: the cravings, the justifications, the cycle of guilt and shame. That immediate connection kept me engaged and open to her insights.
Critics point out that much of the book’s content is derived from other sources, such as Alan Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Drinking. Grace acknowledges these influences and cites her sources, but what critics miss is this: information alone isn’t enough to spark change. As Derek Sivers famously said:
“If more information was the answer, we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs.”
The difference lies in storytelling. Grace’s ability to connect with readers is what makes this book transformative.
A Shift in Perspective
By the time I finished This Naked Mind, I wasn’t just convinced that I needed to quit drinking—I was excited about it. My mindset had completely flipped.
For years, I dreaded the thought of not drinking. If I couldn’t have a beer at the end of the day, what was the point? Drinking was my reward, my escape, my coping mechanism. But Grace helped me see that alcohol wasn’t adding anything to my life. It was stealing from me—my time, my energy, my health, my relationships.
Now, the thought of not drinking fills me with pride and excitement. I feel free. I no longer see sobriety as a loss; I see it as a victory.
Looking Forward
This isn’t the first time I’ve stopped drinking, but it’s the first time I’ve done it with the knowledge that I can never go back—not even to “just one drink.” The mistake I made in the past was thinking I could moderate, but moderation always brought me back to addiction.
Thanks to This Naked Mind, I now know that any amount of alcohol will awaken the addiction monster inside me. And for the first time, I feel strong enough to keep it at bay.
Sobriety has given me more than I ever imagined. I’m grateful to Annie Grace for unlocking a part of me that had been buried under 25 years of drinking. If you’re struggling with alcohol, I hope you’ll give her book a chance to do the same for you.
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