For food and drink writer Max Brearley, 2020 has been a chance to reset his relationship with alcohol – but the holidays required some strategic moves
A welcome casualty of 2020 was my alcohol intake. Since February I’ve been mostly dry.
My reason was part health – physical and mental – and also a very simple thought: that I’ve been drinking pretty solidly since I was about 16. I’m now 42. Over years I’d questioned such a move, while being drawn ever closer, telling myself drinking is a part of my social life and my career and that it’s a big part of who I am. This last point was powerful. It told me I needed to reset my relationship with alcohol – and if there was ever a year for such a reset, it’s this one.