Sobriety Reflections: A Series

March 29, 2021 was the day I decided to change my relationship with alcohol.  A friend of mine posted a non-alcoholic tequila (Ritual Zero Proof) on her Instagram page and I was instantly intrigued. I had never heard of non-alcoholic spirits before.  What started as sheer product curiosity turned into a 30-day experiment to take a break from alcohol.  I’d been a heavy drinker for over 15 years and never intended to actually stop drinking. But shortly into the experiment a few things happened.  My crippling anxiety that had exploded during the pandemic began to subside.  I started sleeping the best I had in years.  My brain fog lifted and my body literally felt lighter.  It was seeming more and more obvious that I would only become my best self when I was not consuming alcohol.  Somewhere along the way I finally had that (terrifying) thought “I think I wanna give up alcohol for good”.  

I’m grateful that I found a stigma-free method for recovery through Tempest, which I worked for over a year.  I’m grateful for some initial support from friends and family who stuck by me when I was figuring this all out. 

But I’m most grateful to myself for having the courage to fearlessly pursue a life less led.

It hasn’t been perfect, and it certainly hasn’t been easy, but it’s sure been worth it.  Since that fateful day, I’ve racked up over 650 sober days, started graduate school specializing in Social Entrepreneurship, gone deep into the depths of my trauma related to my drinking, researched absolutely everything related to alcohol abuse and drinking culture in society, sampled almost every non-alcoholic option on the market, networked with industry professionals, and built a business plan for my future non-alcoholic bar which I will be pitching in D.C on April 1st.

A key part of recovery is sharing one’s story, and I’m starting this series as a way to share my truth.  Each Friday I’ll share an IG post with a key finding from my sobriety journey and some personal context.  The content will also be posted on my blog (link in bio) if you’d rather check it out there.  If any of this resonates with you, feel free to message me and/or share the post with your networks.

“Sobriety itself is today’s high, for it is ultimately in the most centered consciousness that we find our power to transcend the world.”

-Marianne Williamson