As many revelations do, mine began with an online quiz. I was sitting on the couch, listening to the fizz of my kombucha on the coffee table. Do you look forward to your first nonalcoholic drink of the day? I kept scrolling, trying not to think about last Friday at 4 P.M., when a “quick turnaround” e-mail appeared in my in-box and I longed for the instant release of my first sip of tarragon-infused sparkling water. I scrolled back up. Does not drinking interfere with your relationships? I couldn’t help but remember my sister asking on Saturday night if she could open a beer, her toddler propped on her hip, or the friends who I now hang out with only in the context of movie-watching, so that we don’t have to make sober conversation.
“Whatever,” I told myself. “If my friends and family don’t want to not drink with me, that’s on them.” But then I swiped to the next question: Do you feel comfortable only when spending time with people who aren’t drinking? And I had to admit to feeling “seen,” which, honestly, really made me want a Shirley Temple.
Denne historien er fra May 15, 2023-utgaven av The New Yorker.
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Denne historien er fra May 15, 2023-utgaven av The New Yorker.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
SLEEP ESSENTIAL FOR HEALTH
To achieve good health, you must maintain a regular sleep schedule, and be able to get back to sleep once you are awake.
THE K-POP KING
Chairman Bang is bringing his formula for creating idols to the U.S.
THE SIGHTED WORLD
Growing up with the writer Ved Mehta.
QUARTET ISLAND
Mendelssohn on Mull celebrates chamber music away from urban pressures.
FIX YOU
The self-help positivity of Coldplay.
ILLUMINATIONS
Suzanne Jackson captures the transformative power of light.
RAT PACK
The classic rodent studies that foretold a nightmarish human future.
ROYAL TREATMENT
The unrivalled omnipresence of Queen Elizabeth IL.
WELL, WELL, WELL
Eating—and not-in the epicenter of hype diets.
NEWARK STATE OF MIND
Mayor Ras Baraka's reasonable radicalism.