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Humble Pie

Sober Menopause, Sugar Addiction, and the Sweetness of Recovery

Dana R. Bowman

$50

Hardback

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English
Bloomsbury Academic
23 April 2026
Laugh-out-loud funny, emotionally charged, and highly relatable across a wide spectrum of issues and ages...

An engaging, entertaining read. -- Hippocampus Magazine

“Lemon pie, if done right, should hurt just a little. When you eat lemon pie, the tartness should make your tongue and your brain do a tiny wince, but then the cloud of meringue melts it away. The slice needs to be ice cold and paired with a cup of very hot black coffee, which is served in a thick white mug. This is the pie I had in a small diner in North Carolina, and it made me want to cry…""

In this hilarious and deeply honest memoir, Dana Bowman asks the question, “How do I stay sober while menopausal?” As she reckons with aging, sober parenting, and how she accidentally fell into food addiction while on her second book tour, she offers a story that is both relatable and real, and it just might include a recipe for pie.

Veering off her sober path and into the world of food addiction and binge-eating, Dana Bowman found herself unable to stop.

Menopause — food addiction’s bitchy sister — made her feel invisible. Then the isolation and fear of a global pandemic layered on top of everything, as she sank into doom-scrolling and frenetic over-exercising. Eventually, her higher power seemed to throw up her hands and say, “Ok. It’s time to deal.” There was plenty of whining about cupcakes, but slowly, she got better.

And then she had to write about it. So here we are.
By:  
Imprint:   Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 232mm,  Width: 154mm,  Spine: 22mm
Weight:   560g
ISBN:   9798881800819
Pages:   280
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Dana Bowman is the author of How to Be Perfect Like Me and Bottled: A Mom’s Guide to Early Recovery, which was selected as a Kansas Notable book. She teaches writing at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, and works as a librarian at her local branch. Dana lives in a sweet little town in the Midwest with her family and two cats. You can visit her at danabowmancreative.com.

Reviews for Humble Pie: Sober Menopause, Sugar Addiction, and the Sweetness of Recovery

Humble Pie is laugh-out-loud funny, emotionally charged, and highly relatable across a wide spectrum of issues and ages....An engaging, entertaining read. * Hippocampus Magazine * This is a book about cross-addiction, being human, and giving yourself grace. An intimate look into food addiction that will help you feel less alone, Bowman generously shares personal stories of her binges and healing in a way that invites you to step into your personal agency. -- Katherine Morgan Schafler * author of The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control * Humble Pie is an extraordinary and fearless excavation of the second act of recovery—where the original addiction may be in remission, but the psyche, body, and spirit still crave, collapse, and, eventually, reconstitute. Dana Bowman writes with searing clarity about sugar, menopause, aging, relapse, invisibility, and the complex behavioral compulsions that often arrive to fill the emotional vacuum left by alcohol. As a therapist, I see this all the time: the symptom shifts, but the suffering remains unless we confront it with radical honesty and self-compassion. Dana does exactly that—and she does it with exquisite prose and biting humor that’s as therapeutic as it is literary. This book belongs on the shelf of every clinician, sponsor, and struggler who’s ever wondered why getting sober didn’t make everything easier. Bowman proves that healing isn’t about perfection—it’s about persistence, humility, and telling the damn truth! -- Mark B. Borg, Jr., Ph.D * co-author of the Irrelationship book series and Love. Crash. Rebuild * Dana reminds us that 'it's ok to not be ok' and gives the reader permission to free themselves from more labels and instead wear their authenticity like a coat of many colors. If you want to feel seen, understood, and travel through a journey of ups and downs but end up on higher ground then this book is for you. -- Jenn Kautsch * author of Look Alive, Sis * Menopause stories are having a moment, but menopause + sobriety + food addiction? Dana Bowman is early to market on that. More than a pioneering truth teller, in Humble Pie, she’s a mom who does her research, a master of digressions that make sense in a minute, and a writer whose wise cracks resonate whether you’re sober or not. In her Fear and Loathing in Las Dana voice, she makes it AOK to LOL about recovery, relapses, and swapping alcohol for sugar. Why not have a laugh about how to deal with hard things while making sense of the madness that is menopause and the chaos of midlife — and cozy up with a new friend while you’re at it. -- Amy Cuevas Schroeder * Founder of The Midst * Humble Pie is a courageous and deeply reflective exploration of what it means to stay sober through life’s second act. With unflinching honesty and hard-won wisdom, Dana Bowman sheds light on the hidden challenges of long-term recovery—grief, aging, hormonal upheaval, and the unexpected pull of new addictions. This book is a powerful reminder that healing is not a finish line, but a daily choice. A must-read for anyone navigating recovery, midlife, or the quiet ache of feeling unseen. -- Arlina Allen * Author of The 12 Step Guide For Skeptics *


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