STICK WITH THE WINNERS! –
Jan. 13, 2026 – Sacha Zimmerman is a writer and editor. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New Republic, The Huffington Post, The Guardian, Reader’s Digest, and The New York Times, where she penned essays for the Times blog “PROOF: Alcohol and American Life.” Her memoir is UNWASTED: MY LUSH SOBRIETY (Citadel, 2011). She also has deep experience working with nonprofits and think tanks on white papers, annual reports, website materials, and other written collateral. Her first novel is expected in 2026.
Q. If you are in recovery, what was your drug(s) of choice and when is your sobriety date?
A. Alcohol all the way. I’ve tried a lot of addictive substances, but nothing ever gripped me like alcohol. My sobriety date is June 15, 2005. So this questionnaire arrived during my 20th year!
Q. Is there anything special in your sobriety toolkit that helps keep you sober?
A. I replay the “old tapes” of my life when I was using. It was chaos, and I was a liar. Now I have a sense of moral truth and a bright, awesome life. And I’ll never be drunk when my kid needs me. The before-and-after of sobriety is stark. The “after” is so much better.
Q. Do you think addiction is an illness, disease, a choice, or a wicked twist of fate?
A. All of the above. A twist of fate gave me a disease that made me ill until I decided to choose everyday not to drink.
