Hi, you. 

I’m Holly Whitaker, the author of the New York Times Bestseller Quit Like a Woman, the audio guide 30 Days to a New Relationship with Alcohol, the founder of Tempest, Inc. (acquired by Monument, 2022), and most recently the writer of the column Recovering. I’m currently working on my third book.

I’m a person in long-term recovery (I’ve recently discussed that I now use cannabis and some psychedelics) who thinks that the key to everything we’re looking for, both individually and societally, comes from the work we do on ourselves and that our global liberation depends on our individual liberation. Hurt people hurt people, and a core part of my work is to extend compassion, charitable assumption, and grace to all.

If I had to choose professional labels for myself, I’d choose writer, researcher, teacher, and student. I prefer laptops to pens, cats to dogs. I enjoy gardening, piles of books, creating stuff, talking on the phone for hours, doing absolutely nothing with people that fit like old sweaters, and napping. I find life to be excruciating, but I also am thrilled by the mystery of it, and what comes from harnessing our most devastating experiences. I am extremely playful and I make jokes at all the worst times because what else is there to do but basically cry and laugh?

I swing left; equity, equality, and social justice are core to me and the alleviation of addiction. I believe all humans are inherently and basically good, even the worst of them, even people I strongly dislike. Love ethic and non-violence are my north stars and I am constantly interrogating myself and biases; I’m willing to be wrong because I often am.

My work is personal and subjective and how I make sense of the world and my place in it.

I don’t know you, but I care about you. You deserve a soft place to land. It is my sincerest hope that my work is of benefit to you.

xx,

Holly