It's 1983. At 27, Annie—who's taken a break from medical school to work and pay down her crushing student debt—falls deeply in love with Dean, a smart, sexy fireman, whose only noticeable vice is cheesecake. More than anything, she wants to accept his proposal of marriage. But she has hidden her affair with alcohol that she knows she must moderate. During a grueling four-day road trip with her estranged mother, her loving but clinically depressed stepfather, and a tranquilized cat, Annie begins to understand the family trauma behind her gray-area drinking. Sober curious, she stumbles on her way to moderation but continues to get up and try again.

Annie strives for perfection, but that impossible pursuit makes her seek solace in alcohol. At age twelve, Annie's alcoholic father abandoned her. Since then, she has pushed herself toward excellence in a vain attempt to win back his love. As a twenty-seven-year-old medical student, she finds relief from crushing debt, exhaustion, and loneliness in a bottle. During a much-needed break from med school, Annie falls passionately in love with Dean, a smart and sexy fireman. But when she is unable to answer his marriage proposal—out of fear that he will discover her affair with alcohol—she knows she must face the ghosts of her past and change. This awakening happens on a grueling, four-day road trip with her estranged mother, her clinically depressed stepfather, and a tranquilized cat. Can she stop her secret drinking and become the woman Dean thinks he proposed to? Inspired by her own infatuation with alcohol, Susan Keller crafts a compelling depiction of the rocky road faced by those who aren't alcoholics but who yearn to know what life is like freed from a daily drinking habit. And, for anyone who's sober-curious and is searching for a way to moderate or minimize their consumption, Mostly Sober: A Love Story and a Road Trip contains an expansive Resource Section that will help readers loosen alcohol's seductive grip. This is the story of one woman's journey toward health and honesty. It's an adventurous ride.

Susan Keller was an award-winning medical writer for nearly three decades. Her poetry has taken prizes in regional and national contests. She has a degree in Public Health and Immunology from U. C. Berkeley. Her background in science as well as poetry make the voice in her first book, Blood Brother: A Memoir, both lyric as well as credible. The tagline: Johnny's bone marrow could save my life, but he'd vanished thirty years ago. Mostly Sober: A Love Story and a Road Trip, her second book, melds self-help and romance. Susan lives in the Bay Area with her husband, Daniel.