Thirst: Twelve Drinks That Changed My Life

Over the past two years you may have heard John make the odd thinly veiled reference to a book.

Well, that book is now finished, and it is called Thirst: Twelve Drinks That Changed My Life

This is what John had to say about it: “I wanted to find out what alcohol means. Other books about recovery from alcoholism tend to skip over what makes alcohol so addictive. They focus on the gory details of rock bottom and the freedom of sobriety. For me alcohol is mysterious, it is a shapeshifter and I wanted to sit with that mystery.

I wanted to explore why something that I know will kill me still calls out to me. I also wanted to describe what an alcoholic is. There are huge misconceptions about what makes someone an alcoholic – drinking strong lager on a park bench or drinking vodka in the morning. However, what alcoholism looks like is as varied as those who suffer from it, it’s how it feels that is a shared experience.

And I wanted to find out if I could explore that experience with humour. Could I produce a book about wanting to drink yourself to death that would make people laugh? I also wanted to describe how I have developed tools to live life without alcohol, and what those tools are.

Above all, amongst the stories of throwing up in a strangers wedding reception and panic attacks and crying on the toilet and Jon Richardson’s lamb cookery knocking me off the wagon, I hope this book is useful to people.”

It even includes a footnote about the time John threw up in Noel Edmonds’ toilet.

“Equal parts hilarity and heartbreak, delivered with rare candour” – Lou Sanders, comedian and author of ‘What’s That Lady Doing?‘

Publication date is 7 May 2026, however it’s available to pre-order in a variety of formats (hardback, kindle, and audiobook etc.) at all good retail outlets, including:
Amazon / Apple Books / Blackwells / Foyles / Kobo / Libro.fm / Waterstones / WHSmith

Top tip: Signed special editions are also available at Waterstones.