HIGH DRAMA –
April 2, 2026 – I asked my friend how she managed to stop, and we began a dialogue that would completely change my life. At the time, she was listening to the “HOME Podcast” with Laura McKowen and Holly Whitaker, two authors whose work focuses largely on recovery and the culture of alcohol. She also recommended Annie Grace‘s book “This Naked Mind.” which I promptly devoured; I found unspeakable relief in the way Grace put the blame on alcohol, not the drinker. Alcohol is inherently addictive; of course so many humans become addicted!
I quit in October 2016, and while I was dedicated to being a non-drinker, I had a lot of trouble using the word “sober” because in my mind, “sober” equaled “alcoholic,” and I could not bring myself to feel that I fit the cultural definition of alcoholic. After all, I’d never had a DUI, no one had flagged my drinking as a problem, I wasn’t waking up in places I didn’t remember getting to, and I was a high-functioning mother and writer.
A lot happened in the next 15 months. I got divorced, and it wasn’t pretty. I was grateful every day during that grueling year of negotiations and emotional turmoil that I could see the process clearly, wake up every morning feeling sharp and show up for my kid in a way that was fully present.
