Last week I wanted to throw in the towel. I honestly cannot recall the last time my sobriety was so tested. Sure, my toddler’s meltdowns have made me second-guess this whole sobriety thing, but never seriously. It was how I articulated my stress about parenting. “Man, this is a horrible time to be sober!” Chuckle. Wink. But I was…

Why can’t I stay sober??? You’ve probably asked yourself this question before. Maybe hundreds of times. I know I certainly did. It’s a horrible kind of swirling storm in the brain when you’re in this space. I remember feeling stuck on a rollercoaster. …

We hear this a lot in the recovery community, but is it accurate? At the core of this message is an admission that for many of us, recovery doesn’t happen in a straight line. We progress, then we fall back. We try, and we fail. (I’m certainly guilty of it.)…

On this day, two years ago, I was waddling around the mall with my husband and mother. Doctor’s orders. He told me to walk thirty minutes every day, but the plantar fasciitis ravaging my tired feet made it nearly impossible. Still, I tried. I was on Week 40 of a…

Sobriety has been one of the most humbling and illuminating experiences of my life. The process, however, isn’t always comfortable. In fact, it’s the deeply UNCOMFORTABLE aspects of sobriety that help you grow the most. Which is why I want to talk about them. Sobriety shows you who you are, but also who you were. When you abuse alcohol, that inner…

I recently read the somewhat controversial New York Times piece called “The New Sobriety” and my head started to spin a little. On the one hand, I love seeing people grab onto the idea that you don’t have to get shit-faced to have a good time. That feels like progress. …

As a member of various online sober communities, I see more and more people attempting to define sobriety on their own terms as if this descriptor is somehow fluid. Peppered into my Facebook Newsfeed are various iterations of the following: I identify as sober but I still drink a little…

I’ve been sober for about 2.5 years and I still find the whole experience of telling someone I don’t drink incredibly awkward. It usually goes something like this: Them: Do you want a beer or a glass of wine? Me: No thanks. Them: You sure? Me: Yeah, I don’t drink. …

Note: this is a post from 2016, one week before I got sober for good. I’ve been having an eye-opening experience with Caroline Knapp’s book, “Drinking: A Love Story.” Before I get started with this train of thought, I will just say that anyone who has or has had a…