course times (ET)
genre
type
Memoir Reading & Q&A with Elizabeth Jannuzzi
Join us for an evening of reading and conversation with Elizabeth Jannuzzi, centered on her debut memoir, Sober Mom, co-hosted with River Road Books.
Sober Mom is a candid recovery memoir chronicling one suburban New Jersey mother’s journey from secret vodka binges to sobriety—told with unflinching honesty and unexpected humor.
Elizabeth reads from the book before sitting down with PWN instructor Jennifer Gaites for a Q&A about writing through recovery and finding language for the hardest parts of our lives.
Light refreshments and book signing to follow.
In-Person: St. John’s Episcopal Church
325 Little Silver Point Rd, Little Silver, NJ
Registration is required and includes a copy of Sober Mom. If you’ve previously purchased the book, consider donating your second copy—a collection box will be available at the event to send books to rehab centers and correctional facilities.
UPDATE: Registration is closed for this event. If you’d like to attend, please email pwnwriters@projectwritenow.org.
About the Memoir
For fans of The Many Lives of Mama Love and anyone who has ever tried to hold a family together while falling apart inside, Sober Mom is a candid, unflinching memoir about one suburban New Jersey mother’s journey from secret vodka binges to sobriety. With honesty and unexpected humor, Liz Jannuzzi traces her path from a failing marriage and a bottle hidden behind the coffee maker to her first AA meeting, the Twelve Steps, and the messy, hard-won work of rebuilding her life—one day at a time.
Advanced Praise
A Zibby Owens’s Most Anticipated Book of Summer 2026
“With candor, wit, and unflinching self-awareness, Elizabeth Jannuzzi invites us into the messy middle of addiction, motherhood, and recovery—not as a morality tale, but as a mirror. Sober Mom is both a confession and a celebration of what happens when a woman stops pretending and starts telling the truth.”—Lara Love Hardin, New York Times best-selling author of The Many Lives of Mama Love
“Sober Mom is a courageous and moving portrait of a woman who, against all odds, reclaims her life. With honesty and tenderness, Jannuzzi shows the reader, step by step, that anything is possible”—Mary Beth Keane, author of the New York Times bestseller Ask Again, Yes
“Sober Mom offers a bracingly honest account of one woman’s journey toward sobriety. An important addition to the addiction-and-recovery canon, Elizabeth Jannuzzi’s moving, layered, stigma-dispelling story will inspire and embolden women and mothers who struggle with alcoholism.”—Sari Botton, author of And You May Find Yourself . . . and editor of Oldster Magazine
About the Author
Elizabeth Jannuzzi’s work explores themes of loss, motherhood, and recovery from alcoholism. Her essays have been featured in HuffPost, Under the Gum Tree, The Rumpus, Memoir Monday, WOW! Women On Writing, The Brevity Blog, and more. Elizabeth earned a Best of the Net nomination in 2023. She is the program director at Project Write Now, a nonprofit writing organization. She engages with her audience through a weekly Substack newsletter.
UPDATE: Registration is closed for this event. If you’d like to attend, please email pwnwwriters@projectwritenow.org.
$20.00
sold out
Project Write Now is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization transforming individuals, organizations, and communities through writing. By taking a class, you help support our community programs.
Project Write Now offers no refunds or credits once registered, except in the unfortunate case a class or event is cancelled. We reserve the right to change instructors if necessary. We reserve the right to cancel, postpone, or reschedule any class, workshop, or event because of low enrollment or other unforeseen circumstances. Contact us at info@projectwritenow.org or call 908.675.0467 for more information. Please note that when you register for a class you are reserving one of a limited number of spots available. Your registration also counts toward our consideration of class minimums.
Our organization was founded to help amplify the voices of those who are often not heard—including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+ individuals, and other historically marginalized groups. We have witnessed how writing and sharing stories has the power to effect change by generating greater love, compassion, and empathy in the listener. In all of our programs, we provide an inclusive, supportive, and welcoming environment. We do not tolerate writing and/or behavior that perpetuates harmful stereotypes or fuels hate. Failure to align with our philosophy can result in your removal from class.