
Diary of an Alcoholic Housewife
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Narrated by:
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Brenda Wilhelmson
About this listen
"A gripping, firsthand story of personal triumph and recovery by a wealthy American housewife who appeared to have it all but who was, in reality, losing life's most important moments in an alcohol-induced haze." (Hazeldon Betty Ford, publisher)
Brenda Wilhelmson was like a lot of women in her neighborhood. She had a husband and two children. She was educated and made a good living as a writer. She had a vibrant social life with a tight circle of friends. She could party until dawn and take her children to school the next day. From the outside, she appeared to have it all together. But, in truth, alcohol was slowly taking over, turning her world on its side.
Waking up to another hangover, growing tired of embarrassing herself in front of friends and family, and feeling important moments slip away, Brenda made the most critical decision of her life: to get sober. She kept a diary of her first year (and beyond) in recovery, chronicling the struggles of finding a meeting she could look forward to, relating to her fellow alcoholics, and finding a sponsor with whom she connected. Along the way, she discovered the challenges and pleasures of living each day without alcohol, navigating a social circle where booze is a centerpiece, and dealing with her alcoholic father's terminal illness and denial.
Brenda Wilhelmson's Diary of an Alcoholic Housewife offers insight, wisdom, and relevance for listeners in recovery, as well as their loved ones, no matter how long they've been sober. Winner of a Bronze IPPY (Independent Publisher Book Awards), Diary of an Alcoholic Housewife was called out by the Today Show as "striking a nerve".
©2011 Brenda Wilhelmson (P)2018 Brenda WilhelmsonListeners also enjoyed...
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Smashed
- By John Riggs on 07-14-05
By: Koren Zailckas
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Blackout Girl (With New and Updated Content for the #MeToo Era)
- Tracing My Scars from Addiction and Sexual Assault
- By: Jennifer Storm
- Narrated by: Jennifer Storm
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Sexual assault, addiction, and other traumatic experiences can leave both physical and emotional scars. For Jennifer Storm, these scars serve as a reminder - both of the darkness and suffering she once experienced, and of how far she has come. Blackout Girl is the heartbreaking, enlightening, and inspiring story of Jennifer's narrow escape from her own self-destructive instincts when all of the odds, and systems, were stacked against her.
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Amazing for those in recovery and have SA trauma
- By Taylor on 03-29-25
By: Jennifer Storm
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Mrs D Is Going Without
- A Memoir
- By: Lotta Dann
- Narrated by: Cat Gould
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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This is an honest, upfront, relatable account of one suburban housewife's journey from miserable wine-soaked boozer to self-respecting sober lady. This audiobook is an inspirational tale of self-transformation, addiction, and domesticity.
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Very Enjoyable
- By Chris Kelter on 07-22-20
By: Lotta Dann
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Woman of Substances: A Journey into Addiction and Treatment
- A Journey into Addiction and Treatment
- By: Jenny Valentish
- Narrated by: Imogen Wilde
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Journalist Jenny Valentish investigates the female experience of drugs and alcohol, using her own story to light the way. Mining the expertise of leading researchers, she explores the early predictors of addiction, such as childhood trauma and temperament, and teenage impulsivity. Drawing on neuroscience, she explains why other self-destructive behaviours - such as eating disorders and high-risk sex - are interchangeable with substance use.
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What women have needed on their recovery journey!
- By Tiffany Dee on 02-23-25
By: Jenny Valentish
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Guts
- The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster
- By: Kristen Johnston
- Narrated by: Kristen Johnston
- Length: 4 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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The two-time Emmy Award-winning actress has written her first book, a surprisingly raw and triumphant memoir that is outrageous, moving, sweet, tragic, and heartbreakingly honest. Guts is a true triumph - a memoir that manages to be as frank and revealing as Augusten Burroughs, yet as hilarious and witty as David Sedaris.
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Whiskey and cigarettes have never sounded so good.
- By John Campbell on 05-14-12
By: Kristen Johnston
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Between Breaths
- A Memoir of Panic and Addiction
- By: Elizabeth Vargas
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Vargas
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Beloved former ABC 20/20 anchor Elizabeth Vargas reveals her alcohol addiction and anxiety disorder in a shockingly honest and emotional memoir. From the moment she uttered the brave and honest words, "I am an alcoholic," to interviewer George Stephanopoulos, Elizabeth Vargas began writing her story, as her experiences were still raw. Now, in Between Breaths, Vargas discusses her accounts of growing up with anxiety—which began suddenly at the age of six when her father served in Vietnam.
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Brave and Beautiful
- By LAFalls on 09-14-16
By: Elizabeth Vargas
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The Sober Diaries
- How One Woman Stopped Drinking and Started Living
- By: Clare Pooley
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Like many women, Clare Pooley found the juggle of a stressful career and family life a struggle, so she left her successful role as a managing partner in one of the world's biggest advertising agencies to look after her family. She knew the change wouldn't be easy, but she never expected to find herself an overweight, depressed, middle-aged mother of three who was drinking more than a bottle of wine a day and spending her evenings Googling 'am I an alcoholic?'
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The performance makes this one worthwhile...
- By River Holmes-miller on 04-24-18
By: Clare Pooley
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Drunk Mom
- A Memoir
- By: Jowita Bydlowska
- Narrated by: Meredith Mitchell
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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A best seller in its native Canada, Drunk Mom is a gripping, brutally honest memoir of motherhood in the shadow of alcoholism. Three years after giving up drinking, Jowita Bydlowska found herself throwing back a glass of champagne like it was ginger ale. It was a special occasion: a party celebrating the birth of her first child. It also marked Bydlowska's immediate, full-blown return to crippling alcoholism.
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A not very lovely story that I love anyway.
- By Alixandra Hice on 01-12-15
By: Jowita Bydlowska
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Overcome
- A Memoir of Abuse, Addiction, Sex Work, and Recovery
- By: Amber van de Bunt
- Narrated by: Amber van de Bunt
- Length: 6 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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From an early age, Amber van de Bunt knew she wasn't like the other girls in town. From childhood struggles with depression and eating disorders, her years as a topless dancer in Florida, and an eventual abortion and suicide attempt, to her rebirth in Los Angeles as a porn star named Karmen Karma, overcoming her relationship with her abusive mother, and her struggle to maintain a clean and sober lifestyle - van de Bunt's life has been a roller coaster. With humor, alacrity, and profound insight, she reveals her deepest, darkest secrets and pulls no punches - least of all with herself.
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Talk about Owning and Living for YOURSELF
- By LuLuababa2 on 07-19-19
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We Are the Luckiest
- The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
- By: Laura McKowen
- Narrated by: Laura McKowen
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
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What could possibly be “lucky” about addiction? Absolutely nothing, thought Laura McKowen when drinking brought her to her knees. As she puts it, she “kicked and screamed . . . wishing for something - anything - else” to be her issue. The people who got to drink normally, she thought, were so damn lucky. But in the midst of early sobriety, when no longer able to anesthetize her pain and anxiety, she realized that she was actually the lucky one. Lucky to feel her feelings, live honestly, really be with her daughter, change her legacy.
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Influencer Recovery, Part One
- By Keith Keller on 01-31-20
By: Laura McKowen
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Lush
- A Memoir
- By: Kerry Cohen
- Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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When Kerry Cohen reached her early 40s, she realized she had a drinking problem - just enough to blur the edges of her life that had become a monotony of working, carpooling the kids to school, and everyday distractions. What she also realized was that she wasn't the only one. Lush is a gripping memoir that examines Kerry's struggles with alcohol, a struggle that a rising number of middle-aged women are facing. Wonderfully poignant and relatable, Lush follows Kerry as she attempts to rediscover the awe in her life, leaving mistakes, regrets, and the bottle behind her.
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Excellent Read
- By Amazon Customer on 09-22-18
By: Kerry Cohen
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Drinking
- A Love Story
- By: Caroline Knapp
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Fifteen million Americans a year are plagued with alcoholism. Five million of them are women. Many of them, like Caroline Knapp, started in their early teens and began to use alcohol as "liquid armor", a way to protect themselves against the difficult realities of life. In this extraordinarily candid and revealing memoir, Knapp offers important insights not only about alcoholism, but about life itself and how we learn to cope with it.
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The Big Picture of Alcohol Dependence
- By Karen K on 07-26-16
By: Caroline Knapp
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The Weight of Air
- A Story of the Lies About Addiction and the Truth About Recovery
- By: David Poses
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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While his wife and two-year-old daughter watched TV in the living room, David Poses was in the kitchen, measuring the distance from his index finger to his armpit. He needed to be sure he could pull the trigger with a shotgun barrel in his mouth. Twenty-six inches. Thirty-two years old. More than a decade in a double life fueled by depression and heroin.
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David’s story is invaluable
- By Kristy Aiken-Smith on 03-13-22
By: David Poses
What listeners say about Diary of an Alcoholic Housewife
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jason
- 01-25-19
LOVE IT !
When I saw that Simon & Schuster calls it “A gripping first-hand story of triumph and recovery,” I knew it was for me. I bought the print version and loved it. The audiobook you can listen to over and again because is is so dense with interesting stories. I also like that it is narrated by the author herself. A great book for anyone suffering from addictions, and anyone who loves them.
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2 people found this helpful
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- aebrady
- 03-10-19
Longgggg
The first part of this book is great; the reader sees how this woman is struggling. She is relatable and the story is interesting. As the story continues, it begins to drag on and on. She quits drinking and really never looks back. It doesn't seem like it was even difficult. Story after story about AA meetings and the mundane life of a mom gets pretty boring. It is difficult to follow the story at times because she doesn't remind the reader who she is speaking about.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Jolie Runyan
- 01-26-19
Raw, honest, refreshingly candid look at recovery
Diary of an Alcoholic Housewife is a raw, honest, candid look at the recovery process through the eyes of a powerful woman with the strength and humility to turn her struggle into inspiration for other women who silently stagger through the fog of high functioning addiction. Brenda's story is profoundly relatable in a society that largely depends on alcohol as a social lubricant and a fundamental facet of hospitality in general.
Alcohol is as intrinsic to culture as food, music, art and literature. Brenda's book shines a light on the tight rope walk that so many of us walk in an effort to feel better and have a good time, to relax and connect with others.
It is a treat to hear Brenda's story narrated in her own voice. It lends authenticity and intimacy to the experience of listening to the courageous journey of this tiny heroine of her own life.
Bravo, Brenda. Thank you for taking the concept and reality of alcoholism out of "skid row" and placing it on Main Street and Fifth Avenue where it also belongs.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Minneapolis listener
- 02-18-21
Wonderful
I found this book enjoyable, informative, heartfelt and not a bit histrionic. I heartily recognize this.
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- ShopGirl
- 05-05-21
Excellent!
Enjoyed this so much! Honesty with ourselves is not always easy to face up to especially faced with alcoholism. Many lessons to be learned from Brenda & we can all use self introspection! Loved this!
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- Phoebe
- 10-22-23
A very long book with very little depth.
I love reading books on sobriety and I truly enjoy empathizing with other addicts and alcoholics even when their story doesn’t align with mine. I didn’t like how small minded and judgmental towards others Brenda came across as. And the only thing I learned about her husband Charlie is that he is non-charmingly horny. The representation of them as a couple was very off putting and slightly repulsive, lol. It was a very long book with very little depth.
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- T. Taylor
- 01-25-19
If drinking is controlling you, GET THIS BOOK
This is a book I couldn't put down. The author is brutally honest about her struggles with alcohol and I found we had ALOT in common! I laughed, teared up, laughed again, gasped and read this (in kindle form) straight through in one weekend. I loved the humor, the honesty and the fact she held nothing back from her readers. I too struggled with alcohol but finished this book along with my last glass of wine and have been sober 2.5 years since. Powerful read.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Danabanana
- 03-03-19
Raw and Real
I found this book to be honest, raw, real, painful, insightful, and connecting.
Brenda took me through her old habits of numbing cocktail hours and painful hangovers. I got a glimpse of how damaging it was to her and how she struggled, yet has overcome such a challenging disease. It was sad to hear about all of her friends and family still struggling with this disease. But I was amazed at the same time that Brenda has been so strong to overcome the holds of alcohol, and the constant pulls of the addiction trying to drag her back down. Even going through the gut wrenching cancer and alcoholism of her father and the steps leading up to his death reminded me that we only have so much time on earth and how we must make the absolute most of our time here.
All of Brenda’s descriptions/imagery of food, places she’s visited and different events were colorfully vivid and I was desperate to taste and could almost taste the different delicacies she described.
Listening to her find connections to her higher power, giving up life to something much bigger than her was completely cathartic for me. Hopeful and amazed, my respect for Brenda has grown exponentially throughout the story.
It also has me realizing how much I have not seen in my life by way of traveling. I imagined myself with Brenda in Budapest and her soulful hike in Havasu.
Overall I’m thankful for the great source of insight that Brenda has provided me via her story. We have choices. There are awesome people around us and we just have to weed through them to find the people who will enlighten us, care for us, root for our victories and be there when we fall. We have to also recognize those who only bring toxicity in our world, like the Kelly’s of the world and other sufferers of addiction whether recovering or relapsing. This book has surely made me think of the dangerous people in my world. These are people who drag us down to their level, only to put themselves on pedestals. It was an eye opening book that I’m thankful to have read.
Brenda, I can wait to read/listen to your next book!!! You have touched me down deep, brought me further into your world, and for that I am grateful. With love.
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1 person found this helpful
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- D. Soderstrom
- 04-21-19
Narrator Detracts; This Might Not Be For Everyone
The narrator has bouts of “vocal fry” which I found distracting. Also character voices, while supposed to be whiny, struck me as over the top.
I worry that this book’s descriptions of her longing for “a vodka over ice” or the lovely “dry Pinot Grigio” might trigger someone early or vulnerable in their sobriety. It is a diary so it is legit as to her state of mind, but be cautious. Good read for friends and family of a problem drinker who hid it well. Gives an accurate portrayal of high functioning upper middle class woman giving up alcohol.
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- Leah
- 09-06-19
Success in sobriety!
While I loved the powerful emotion from the beginning, to about the middle(ish) of the first year of sibriety, the telling dwindled down to just reading words as if the author was reading lists.
I'm positive the author has changed her way of thinking 100% as a sober parent. That she visited her father issues on the boys by forcing them to hug him while he was bullying them was hard to hear. All of his bullying around the boys, and toward the boys was painful for me. Or that he seemingly drove his boat with the boys, while being hammered, was also hard to hear. I so appreciate the transparency throughout the story. I just had to stop and process after the hearing how the father behaved toward his family. It made me feel small and unprotected-it was that powerful.
My very deepest condolences. May your Dad rest, in everlasting peace.
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