Drunk Ish

From the author of Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay, a hilariously candid and refreshingly honest account of Stefanie Wilder-Taylor’s journey to breaking up with alcohol for good. When Stefanie Wilder-Taylor became a mother, being able to connect with other moms over drinks or enjoy a glass of wine at the end of a stressful day felt life-affirming. From liquor cabinet concoctions in high school to tequila shots in her early stand-up comedy days to grocery store wine in young motherhood, alcohol was the seasoning that could give almost any activity more flavor. A drink instantly took the edge off and made even the most difficult adversary (be it a tough crowd in a comedy club or a judgmental PTA mom) not just bearable but fun. As the years go by, Stefanie wonders if her relationship with alcohol is different from other people’s. Is everyone else struggling this hard to moderate? Is it even legal to watch The Bachelor without a glass of white wine? Having spent a lifetime grappling with the question of whether or not she is a “real” alcoholic, one evening brings Stefanie close to the edge of losing it all. Miraculously unscathed, she decides that she doesn’t need to dive all the way down to a stereotypical rock bottom before deciding to stop drinking; if sobriety will improve her life, that’s a good enough reason to quit. Stefanie’s memoir is a tender and funny farewell letter to a beloved but toxic friend.

From the author of Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay, a hilariously candid and refreshingly honest account of Stefanie Wilder-Taylor’s journey to breaking up with alcohol for good. When Stefanie Wilder-Taylor became a mother, being able to connect with other moms over drinks or enjoy a glass of wine at the end of a stressful day felt life-affirming. From liquor cabinet concoctions in high school to tequila shots in her early stand-up comedy days to grocery store wine in young motherhood, alcohol was the seasoning that could give almost any activity more flavor. A drink instantly took the edge off and made even the most difficult adversary (be it a tough crowd in a comedy club or a judgmental PTA mom) not just bearable but fun. As the years go by, Stefanie wonders if her relationship with alcohol is different from other people’s. Is everyone else struggling this hard to moderate? Is it even legal to watch The Bachelor without a glass of white wine? Having spent a lifetime grappling with the question of whether or not she is a “real” alcoholic, one evening brings Stefanie close to the edge of losing it all. Miraculously unscathed, she decides that she doesn’t need to dive all the way down to a stereotypical rock bottom before deciding to stop drinking; if sobriety will improve her life, that’s a good enough reason to quit. Stefanie’s memoir is a tender and funny farewell letter to a beloved but toxic friend.

This edition of The Amazing Illustrated Word Game Memory Books (The AIWGMB, Vol. 2, Set 1) introduces readers to the first seven of 21 five-letter-stems that are an essential part of Mentafile(TM), on-the-way, word-game strategy as described in Volume 1, Sets 1 and 2 of The AIWGMB. Amusing, emotionally charged, coded short-stories, illustrations and flash cards of the five-letter-stems that complement the Central Seven and Auxiliary Seven six-letter-stems of Volume 1, act to greatly expand one's photographic-memory and flash-card recall of key seven and eight-letter game-words, i.e., those especially useful in SCRABBLE(R), JUMBLE(R), WORD TOWER, etc. Readers are also invited to play A Game Within the Game where they test their ability to quickly create short stories and sketches from computer-generated, accurately defined, word lists. One never knows where the words will lead, and the five-letter-stems, with their frequently long lists of esoteric, little-used words, can take one's mind to some exceedingly bizarre, surprisingly memorable places. For example, when one adds a second A and another letter to the five-letter-stem REAST, official game-word programs will assign the following interesting list of seven-letter words: ABATERS (reducers of intense occurrences), ABREAST (side by side), CARATES (tropical skin disease), GASTREA (primitive microbe), TEARGAS (tearing gas), KARATES (martial arts), AEROSAT (air-control satellite), ERRATAS (typing errors). To play A Game Within the Game, one uses all of the defined seven-letter words and the game's universal iconic code for the letter "A" (men's ties, ties into something, or ties someone up). When the reader has made their story emotionally charged, used as few extraneous words as possible, and made a rough sketch to illustrate their story, they compare results with the author's for a surprising, fun way to reinforce one's photographic recall. See, for example, page 291.

A futuristic social satire about the big business of organized professional compassion, which has too much caring to do to care much for the amateur individualists traipsing all over its turf.