From two bottles of wine a night to an author several years sober: The Northampton dad helping you to put the bottle down

A former alcoholic from Northampton is publishing a book to help others escape their alcohol addictions, including stories of his time with drink and methods of putting it away for good.

Owen Jones is self-publishing his book titled 'Losing my Addiction' through 3P Publishing in Corby, with advice on how to get away from alcohol addiction, something Owen knows all-too-much about.

At the height of his drinking, Owen would consume two bottles of wine every night and then go to work the next day, as well as going out for drinks on the weekends.

Now, after being alcohol-free for several years, Owen has drafted stories from his drinking days, paired with guidance on how to quit, that he hopes will make a difference in 'at least one person's life'.

Owen said: "There's a really good phrase my brother told me. It says 'alcohol can be a useful servant, but it's an awful master' and I think that describes it nicely.

"I used to use alcohol to escape the fears and anxieties of life. I would drink to relax, to celebrate a good day, to commiserate a bad one, or because it was past six o'clock. I found any and every excuse to drink.

"I found it difficult to fit into the normal world, to form relationships or make friends, because I was just so terribly shy. It didn't help that my family would call me a 'late developer', often to my face. That became an excuse to not develop, because I figured 'I can always do it later'.

"I got to a point where my job was at risk, as well as my marriage and my relationship with my children. I was at a fork in the road; either carry on the drinking and have nothing, or stop."

The event horizon came after one 'monster' weekend when Owen met with several old friends. They got heavily drunk for the night, only to be back in the pub the next day.

Yet it was a chance encounter in that pub, with another friend named Stuart, that finally made the dad-of-two go cold turkey in the middle of September 2019.

He called it an 'overnight decision that took ten years to prepare for'.

Now Owen is self publishing his new book to help others make the same decision.

Owen said: "I was journaling once a day, jotting down my thoughts in the early days after I quit. But as the time grew longer I thought there were so many things I'd experienced that really weren't written about elsewhere, although a lot has been written about it.

"So it became a coping mechanism for me with the hope that I might, just maybe, change someone else's life."

Owen decided to pair his own experiences of drinking with guidance on first preparing for quitting, and then effective ways of doing so.

Owen said: "I decided the key way to approach quitting was like learning how to drive a car. You can't just hop in and have a go. You'd make a right mess of it, not knowing how the car works or what signs to watch out for.

"So you need an instructor to guide you through it. It's about knowing how to do it and what you should watch out for once you have.

"The key thing is that everything gets better after you quit. You see better, smell better, you're more alert. I've found the world is a much better place than I imagined.

"Anyone who is frightened, as is understandable, don't be. Everything gets so much better without drinking."

The book is going to be launched in late January. Anyone who is interested can visit the book's website.