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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Journalist Jenny Valentish investigates the female experience of drugs and alcohol, using her own story to light the way. Her travels around Australia take her to treatment facilities and AA groups. Mining the expertise of leading researchers, she explores the early predictors of addiction, such as childhood trauma and temperament, and teenage impulsivity. Drawing on neuroscience, she explains why other self-destructive behaviours - such as eating disorders, compulsive buying and high-risk sex - are interchangeable with problematic substance use. Valentish follows the pathways that women, in particular, take into addiction - and out again. Woman of Substances is an insightful, rigorous and brutally honest read.' (Publication Summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
y
A Conversation with Jenny Valentish and Brigid Delaney
Chris Gordon
(interviewer),
Nina Kenwood
(interviewer),
Melbourne
:
Readings
,
2017
23466711
2017
single work
podcast
interview
'Hear our Events Manager Chris Gordon and our Marketing Manager Nina Kenwood in conversation with Australian writers Jenny Valentish (Woman of Substances) and Brigid Delaney (Wellmania) as they discuss their new works exploring wellness, addiction, treatment, and the female experience.'(Production summary)
-
Investigating Ourselves
2017
single work
— Appears in: The Monthly Blog , June 2017;'‘Woman of Substances’ is more than just another example of memoir-as-journalism'
-
Antidotes to Misogyny
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 10 June 2017; (p. 22) -
Jenny Valentish : Women of Substances
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 10-16 June 2017; 'If anyone is qualified to give a firsthand account of the ways addiction, treatment and recovery are deeply gendered experiences, it’s certainly Jenny Valentish, who has more than enough knowledge of addiction to fill any number of memoirs. Fortunately, Valentish also has the mind of a journalist, and in her new book, Woman of Substances, she combines investigative rigour with illustrative snippets from her own life. The book accomplishes its balancing act well, being both gripping memoir and an illuminating investigation into the specific experiences of women with addiction. Valentish uses her own story of early trauma, teenage rebellion, alcoholism and addiction as a case study for understanding the latest research into how addiction functions. In straightforward, lively prose she relates even her darkest moments without self-pity or aggrandisement, and often with a streak of gallows humour, leading to more laugh-out-loud lines than you might expect.' (Introduction) -
‘Mine Is Not a Hedonistic Tale’ : Jenny Valentish on Trauma, Addiction and the Women Left behind
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 8 June 2017; 'For any woman who drinks or takes drugs, Woman of Substances makes for a frightening read – but an essential one.'
-
‘Mine Is Not a Hedonistic Tale’ : Jenny Valentish on Trauma, Addiction and the Women Left behind
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 8 June 2017; 'For any woman who drinks or takes drugs, Woman of Substances makes for a frightening read – but an essential one.' -
Jenny Valentish : Women of Substances
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 10-16 June 2017; 'If anyone is qualified to give a firsthand account of the ways addiction, treatment and recovery are deeply gendered experiences, it’s certainly Jenny Valentish, who has more than enough knowledge of addiction to fill any number of memoirs. Fortunately, Valentish also has the mind of a journalist, and in her new book, Woman of Substances, she combines investigative rigour with illustrative snippets from her own life. The book accomplishes its balancing act well, being both gripping memoir and an illuminating investigation into the specific experiences of women with addiction. Valentish uses her own story of early trauma, teenage rebellion, alcoholism and addiction as a case study for understanding the latest research into how addiction functions. In straightforward, lively prose she relates even her darkest moments without self-pity or aggrandisement, and often with a streak of gallows humour, leading to more laugh-out-loud lines than you might expect.' (Introduction) -
Antidotes to Misogyny
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 10 June 2017; (p. 22) -
Investigating Ourselves
2017
single work
— Appears in: The Monthly Blog , June 2017;'‘Woman of Substances’ is more than just another example of memoir-as-journalism'
-
y
A Conversation with Jenny Valentish and Brigid Delaney
Chris Gordon
(interviewer),
Nina Kenwood
(interviewer),
Melbourne
:
Readings
,
2017
23466711
2017
single work
podcast
interview
'Hear our Events Manager Chris Gordon and our Marketing Manager Nina Kenwood in conversation with Australian writers Jenny Valentish (Woman of Substances) and Brigid Delaney (Wellmania) as they discuss their new works exploring wellness, addiction, treatment, and the female experience.'(Production summary)
Awards
- 2017 longlisted Walkley Award — Best Non-Fiction Book
