WALKING BACK TO HAPPINESS
THE SECRET TO ALCOHOL-FREE LIVING & WELL-BEING
THE SECRET TO ALCOHOL-FREE LIVING & WELL-BEING
BOOKS
Thinking about taking a break from alcohol? Or perhaps you’re already alcohol-free and want to understand more about the habits, beliefs and behaviours that can keep alcohol in our lives?
Here you can listen completely free to selected full chapters from my audiobook, Walking Back to Happiness – The Secret to Alcohol-Free Living & Well-Being.
I wrote Walking Back to Happiness after changing my own 35-year relationship with alcohol. The book follows my journey through my first year alcohol-free, from day one through the first weeks and months to a year and beyond, sharing what I learned along the way.
I’ll be adding selected chapters to this page covering some of the subjects people ask me about most — from cravings and willpower to moderation, habits, beliefs and building an alcohol-free life.
Put your headphones on, go for a walk and have a listen.
One drink, one evening or one setback doesn’t have to become your reason to abandon everything you started. What can you learn from what happened? And what will you choose to do next?
Over 35 years of drinking, the longest I stayed on the wagon was six days. I tried hundreds of times to get back on.
In Chapter 25 of Walking Back to Happiness, I explore the four ways we can leave the wagon — jumping off, falling off, being pulled off or being pushed off — and share practical steps to help you get back on and stay on.
I’m making the complete chapter available here for you to listen to free.
Chapter 25: If You Fall Off the Wagon, from Walking Back to Happiness, read by Nigel Jones.
After a break from alcohol, it can be surprisingly easy to start remembering the good bits. The first cold beer. A glass of wine with dinner. Holidays, parties, celebrations and laughing with friends.
And then the questions start: Maybe one wouldn’t hurt? Could I just drink at weekends? Perhaps this time I could moderate?
That is what I call the mirage of moderation.
Chapter 22: The Mirage of Moderation, from Walking Back to Happiness, read by Nigel Jones.
Perhaps it’s 6pm at the end of the working day. Friday night. Watching sport. Meeting friends. Feeling stressed. Or even celebrating something good.
In Chapter 3 of Walking Back to Happiness, I explore the Habit Loop — the pattern of cue or trigger, routine and reward that can make drinking feel almost automatic. I also look at how identifying your own triggers and replacing the old routine with new behaviours can begin to break that loop.
I’m making the complete chapter available here for you to listen to free.
Chapter 3: The Habit Loop, from Walking Back to Happiness, read by Nigel Jones.
Where does that urge come from? How long does a craving last? And do you simply have to rely on willpower to get through it?
Cravings can be one of the biggest concerns when people think about taking a break from alcohol. In Chapter 13 of Walking Back to Happiness, I explore cravings and willpower, what I discovered about them during my own journey and some of the ways we can begin to change our response to them.
I’m making the complete chapter available here for you to listen to free.
Chapter 13: Cravings & Willpower, from Walking Back to Happiness, read by Nigel Jones.
If you enjoyed these free chapters, the complete unabridged audiobook of Walking Back to Happiness follows my journey through my first year alcohol-free and explores our relationship with alcohol, why we drink, habits, beliefs, cravings, moderation, mindfulness, exercise, purpose and what can happen when alcohol stops being such an important part of our lives.
The audiobook is available on Spotify, Audible and across leading audiobook and library platforms.
If listening to this chapter has made you think more about your own relationship with alcohol, there are other free resources on 9KM BY 9AM that can help you explore it.
How Saucy Are You? is my test designed to help you look at your relationship with alcohol and give yourself a score from 0–100%.
Take the How Saucy Are You? Test
And if you’d like more personalised support, I also work one-to-one with people who want to change their relationship with alcohol and become alcohol-free.
Find out about Alcohol-Free Coaching
I’ll continue adding selected complete chapters from Walking Back to Happiness to this page, exploring different aspects of changing your relationship with alcohol.
Next up: If you “Fall Off The Wagon”
© Copyright Nigel Jones 2022-2026. The moral right of the author has been asserted. All rights reserved.
