Alcohol, Izzat and me: South Asian women in recovery

Galvani, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3794-9378, Fox, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5911-0536, Guru, Surinder and Khan, Naima (2023) Alcohol, Izzat and me: South Asian women in recovery. Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester.

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Abstract

This book is grounded in the lives of 18 women from South Asian communities in the UK. The experiences presented in this book have been drawn from the fuller narratives of women who had the courage to speak out about their experiences of alcohol (and other drug) use. Their names have been changed to protect their anonymity. We thank the women for their time and for trusting us with their words as we curated this book. It is because of their courage and resilience that we can shine a light on the judgement, the hardship and the stigma facing South Asian women with histories of problematic alcohol use. These abridged and selected narratives reveal the trauma in their lives and their quest for help within their families, within their communities, and within a treatment system that often ‘didn’t look like them’. This book is for all those who love, live with, support or care for South Asian women with problematic alcohol use. It seeks to inform and enlighten those who read it, to help people to understand and reflect, and to go forward with empathy and understanding. Finally, it is for the women who are concerned about their alcohol use now, to give hope and to show you are not as isolated as you may often feel.