We're delighted to welcome author Lauren McQuistin to Rare Birds Book Shop on Wednesday 10th September to discuss her book No Lost Causes Club, an honest guide to recovery and how to find your way through it.

Lauren has tracked her journey to sobriety through her instagram page @brutalrecovery - her book continues this vulnerable and brutally honest exploration of what living a full life after you get clean looks like, combining practical, empathetic suggestions with intimate memoir. We couldn't be more excited to sit down with the author and hear her story! 

Tickets are £5 and can be redeemed against any purchase on the evening of the event. 

Timings

• Doors open from: 6:45pm
• Talk begins: 7:00pm 

About the book

'I kept thinking, I'm twenty-fucking-five, I've not had a chance to buy a house to lose, and I'm not anyone's ex-wife yet - surely it should take more time to absolutely destroy your life.' 

When she was told that her life expectancy could be as low as twenty-five if she did not stop drinking, Lauren felt absolutely nothing - then the sparks of despair. How was she here? Surely, sobriety was for middle-aged divorcees who'd lost everything, not young, struggling singers who didn't have anything to lose in the first place? Besides, when alcohol is the only medicine that makes the world feel bearable, how can you possibly stop taking it? 

Six years later, Lauren has found her way to an intricate answer. Entwining practical, empathetic suggestions with intimate memoir, No Lost Causes Club is an intrinsically vulnerable and brutally honest exploration of what living a full life after you get clean looks like. From delving into the social complexities that often leave people hopelessly dependent on alcohol, the centring the struggles of those newly navigating sobriety, this book is a soothing balm for anyone wondering how to carve a beautiful life from a world that never made sense before. 

About the author 

Lauren McQuistin is a London based Scottish musician and writer, whose debut book, No Lost Causes Club, is based on her multiple years of sobriety and her running of the instagram page @brutalrecovery (171k followers). She has been creating content there for five years, for recovering humans looking for identification, and a message with equal parts humour and hope. Lauren was a professional opera singer, winning the district round of the Metropolitan National Opera Competition three times. She uses her experience as a musician to teach trauma informed musicianship, and has been featured in the Journal of Singing for her research on the subject of trauma's impact on the voice. 

If you have any questions regarding the event or to request additional accessibility accommodations please contact hello@rarebirdsbooks.com