Politics
How a Sober-ish Writer Spends Her Sundays
Hilary Sheinbaum, who wrote “The Dry Challenge,” spends her Sundays running, gossiping over tennis and not (really) drinking alcohol.
When Hilary Sheinbaum first heard about Dry January, the concept of giving up alcohol for a month did not compute. A friend mentioned it to her over dinner several years ago, but she wasn’t interested.
“It just didn’t fit into my life,” said Ms. Sheinbaum, who was an entertainment reporter at the time.
Then, in 2017, she and a friend made a bet to see who could conquer the challenge. The loser had to treat the winner to dinner at a restaurant of their choice, and she won.
“Along the way, I recognized how alcohol was affecting my physical health and mental health during that 31-day period,” Ms. Sheinbaum, 36, said. “My anxiety was reduced, and my skin was glowier, even in January.”
Dry January became a tradition for Ms. Sheinbaum, and eventually she started doing Sober October, too. When her first book, “The Dry Challenge,” was published in December 2020, she received a strong positive response.
“I think that people were really starting to look at ways to cut back on their alcohol consumption after being at home and drinking a lot,” said Ms. Sheinbaum, who wrote about drinking less for The New York Times.
