IT’S A TUESDAY NIGHT AND PIPPA* IS IN A STAND-OFF WITH A BOTTLE OF RIESLING, VIA A GROCERY DELIVERY APP ON HER PHONE. THERE ARE TWO ROUTES, AS SHE SEES IT, FOR THE EVENING AHEAD. ONE: SOOTHING PLAYLIST, READING THE SELF-DEVELOPMENT BOOK SITTING ON HER CONSOLE TABLE, PERHAPS JOURNALLING SOME THOUGHTS IT WILL PROMPT. THE OTHER? ADELE, BATH, WINE.
“It’s almost a sense of relief when I finally order the bottle,” Pippa says. Giving in feels like a free pass; a screw you to her own expectations that demand an optimising evening after a full day. “Just by deciding to drink, the grip of my own expectations — to be the perfect employee, daughter, friend, woman — loosens a little,” the 32-year-old management accountant tells WH.
Pippa’s relationship with alcohol is a little complicated. She doesn’t consider herself reliant on booze — in fact, she can go days, weeks, months without it — but unscrewing a bottle of white after a challenging day does help take the edge off the burden of responsibility she feels. As for so many others,
