Humble Pie: Sober Menopause, Sugar Dependancy, and the Sweetness of Restoration (Bloomsbury; Jan. 2026) is a memoir that’s by turns laugh-out-loud humorous, emotionally charged, and extremely relatable throughout a large spectrum of points and ages.

A trifecta of themes present the story’s backbone. Because the title states, Bowman (the writer of two earlier habit and restoration memoirs) relates her ongoing sobriety journey, whereas concurrently navigating the maddening unpredictability of menopause, and coming to phrases with sugar and overeating as a brand new coping mechanism.

Instructed by way of in-the-trenches scenes of mothering teen boys, marriage and friendship — replete with set-backs, hiccups, facet journeys, surprises and “Ahas!” — Humble Pie is a fascinating, entertaining learn, one which imparts classes discovered and one girl’s perspective on staying on observe and absolutely onboard life’s wagon, even, or maybe particularly when life doesn’t cease so you possibly can catch your breath. Which, in fact, it not often does.

Printed Bloomsbury’s educational imprint, Humble Pie is well-researched and listed, for straightforward reference and discovering that insightful, useful or hilarious bit you need to learn once more or share with a buddy. For additional context and depth, every chapter ends with footnotes and a bibliography of sources. Whereas the footnotes operate in a lot the same old approach (offering further data or background with out interrupting the circulation of the story), they’re usually very humorous. The footnotes, and even the bibliography, add one other dimension to the memoir — informative and intriguing, by no means educational or dry, and all within the writer’s voice-of-a-friend, a buddy who’s “been there.”

Right here’s an instance of a footnoted passage:

“Once I was about 13, any individual talked about that I had a chubby chin, and since then, my chin is a buzzkill. Like my chin was answerable for damaged relationships and presumably my whole single scenario in my thirties after I’d been dumped. It’s all my chin’s fault.” ¹

¹ Thanks, Nora Ephron, to your e-book I Really feel Dangerous About my Neck. I too really feel unhealthy about my neck.

Most of the footnotes are longer than this one, extra detailed and twisty — drawing the reader into extra anecdotes, side-bars and again alleys. Whereas these tidbits are distinctive to the narrator’s expertise, readers will doubtless discover themselves nodding in recognition at many passages. I did.

The e-book is split into three components: Dependancy and Menopause; Restoration; and Dessert. Inside Half 1, are a number of chapters relating the writer’s lifelong battle with physique picture and insecurity, weight-reduction plan and bingeing, and the related guilt and disgrace. Being in restoration and menopause, consuming large portions of sugar — consuming to fill the outlet and quiet the noise — can assume the position as soon as performed by alcohol. Whether or not or not one is in restoration, or menopause, these points will resonate for a lot of.

Bowman phrases the so-called behavioral addictions (the place the habit is arguably to not a substance, however slightly to a conduct, resembling playing, procuring, or disordered consuming) “sister addictions.” (A caveat could be made for sugar, which some research present could be as addictive as cocaine.) Augmenting the writer’s anecdotal experiences, the bibliography sections that observe every chapter embrace references and hyperlinks to related research and science. Readers who need to delve deeper right into a given subject will recognize the citations.

The center portion of Humble Pie chronicles the phases of restoration — from the preliminary day-by-day battle to remain the course, to everlasting sobriety (which the writer acknowledges requires every day acceptance, self-awareness and observe). Chapters chronicle the various and steady challenges and obstacles to sobriety — plenty of that are chosen and treasured, but usually triggering, nonetheless. Youngsters, for instance. (The writer’s sons are teenagers on this narrative, an age when even essentially the most terrific youngsters can push our buttons; it’s what they do.) Add to that, medical melancholy, meals as a drug, menopause and growing older, and, as a author, anxiousness and doubt when the phrases don’t come, and also you concern that an important a part of you is gone for good.

On the plus facet of the ledger are instruments and antidotes, laborious truths discovered, and acceptance that simply as there’ll all the time be triggers, that “life is triggering,” there are serving to palms and the data that this too will cross. A husband and mates who “get it,” who’re there whenever you want them, and who pay attention and hear, are an essential a part of the equation for Bowman. On the worth of time together with her “mother mates,” she writes:

“All of us air the ache and challenges of parenting on that again porch earlier than dawn. I don’t really feel placated. I don’t really feel misunderstood. If something, I really feel just like the complexity of child-rearing is simplified with the convenience of the “me too.” Friendship trains my mind to control feelings. It’s practiced and real looking optimism at its best.”

“Dessert,” the ultimate a part of Humble Pie, chronicles the abundance, the sweetness — the fruits and presents of restoration. Bowman tries stand-up comedy and, regardless of being terrified, finds she loves it. She achieves a long-time objective when she provides a TED speak about going grey. She works at studying and training self-forgiveness. She begins writing once more.

“I understand this all sounds slightly woo-woo, however I take my creativity very significantly. It has saved my life. Making an attempt to elucidate this can be a little like making an attempt to elucidate religion. You possibly can come off as a wee bit nut ball. However I feel addicts actually get creativity. We now have too. We get sober and we get wrung out. There’s nothing else. Creativity is all you may have. It uncovers who you might be, however gently.”

Which doesn’t sound in any respect woo-woo to this author.

As a reward, on the very finish there’s a scrumptious sounding recipe for a literal dessert, the writer’s favourite lemon-meringue pie — an apt reminder that life is good and bitter and it’s all about discovering the steadiness that makes the tastiest pie, or life.