Hello, I’m Seana Smith

My quit lit memoir ‘Going Under’ is out now

With a tender touch, Smith contemplates the two truths of her childhood: the wild island adventures and the brutal eruptions behind closed doors. Standing on the precipice of her own alcoholism, she realises that reckoning with the past is the only way to shape the future.

Jenny Valentish

Author of Woman of Substances

Going Under is funny, insightful and inspiring.  This is like hanging out with a really brilliant friend who, you know, will make you a better person.

Seana Smith is the real deal – a truth-teller and a writer of immense integrity.

Kathryn Heyman, Author of Fury

Buy Going Under

In Australia: Going Under is available in bookshops and online stores in Australia and on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com.au/memoir-family-secrets-addiction-escape/dp/1920727434/

In the USA: https://www.amazon.com/Going-Under-secrets-addiction-escape/dp/1920727434

In the UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Going-Under-secrets-addiction-escape/dp/1920727434/

Going Under Audiobook: Going Under on Audible, narrated by Seana Smith, click here.

Going Under on Spotify: Listen to Going Under on Spotify here.

With sparkling, musical prose and unflinching generosity of spirit, Seana Smith lays bare the facts of a life stalked by alcohol. A life that ricochets ‘between privilege and terror, between adventure and fear.’

So much more than a book about the booze, Going Under is an intricate, often beautiful mosaic of family, the individuals caught inside its sharp-edged cracks, and the self yearning to make sense of all it all. The story of a woman emerging from the brokenness of the past and the never-ending pressures of the present to reclaim joy. 

Honest. Tender. Laugh-cry funny. Walking with Seana through her year of Going Under is to make a new and wise friend.

Kim Kelly, author of Ladies’ Rest and Writing Room

On this website you will find writing on all my favourite subjects:

  • my published books
  • podcasts
  • alcohol-free adventures
  • ocean swimming

Latest stories

It’s Just A Glass of Bubbly, After All

I never, ever thought I would be able to give up a glass of champagne on a flight. It had meant SO MUCH to me. So I wrote this reminder of why that was, and the times I had fallen …

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Một, Hai, Ba, Vô! Alcohol-Free Drinks in Vietnam

What a stroke of luck to have my first ever alcohol-free holiday in Vietnam. I hadn’t planned it this way at all, but it turns out there are dozens of delicious drinks options for the sober traveller in this South …

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The 7 Things We Really Want When We Think We Want Alcohol

Often, when we think we want a drink, what we really want and need are nothing to do with ethanol and the sensation it brings. Instead what we might be looking for could be:  

Alcohol Creep

I bet I’m not the only person who knows exactly what ‘alcohol creep’ means. It’s when you start off small, drinking just a glass or two of wine once or twice a week. Or perhaps you are not drinking at …

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Atauro Island Snorkelling + A Stay at Barry’s PLace

Snorkelling The Reefs of Atauro Island, Timor Leste The sea snake leads us on a merry underwater dance, both as it glides sinuously through the open water and as it winds itself around and through the coral. Our twins have …

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Where To Swim in Cairns: Pools, Lagoon + Snorkelling

First things first, when in Cairns there is no swimming at the beach! Too many crocodiles and too many stingers from November to June. Luckily there are some great pools and the excellent Cairns Esplanade Lagoon. Cairns Esplanade Lagoon You …

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Swim The World – My Swimming Stories

  • Best places to swim in various cities around the world
  • Why swimming is so good for us
  • Australia’s best ocean swimming
  • Swimming pools and hotel pools

Alcohol-free adventures

  • best sobriety books
  • Non-alcoholic drinks to enjoy
  • Our sober journey stories

The Publisher & The Writer Podcast

Find podcasts and show notes covering all aspects of writing and publishing books in Australia.

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I must introduce my wee poodle Maisie who is crucial to writing, swimming, podcasting, to life!!