SOBER IN SECONDS –
Mar. 7, 2022 – I love the phrase “sober curious,” because it centers curiosity — something that feels more organic and accessible than hard-and-fast rules that sobriety has historically been associated with. Jordan Grainger is a 23-year-old TikToker in Seattle who satisfies that curiosity by making TikToks about all of her routines and life experiments, from trying press-on nails to quitting drinking. She makes earnest TikToks about why she became curious about sobriety and what she’s learned about herself and way she uses substances along the way, but she also isn’t shy about telling her audience about the drawbacks. In one TikTok, Grainger admits that her weekends aren’t as exciting as they used to be, but that she still wouldn’t trade them out for her old hungover mornings. The way that TikTokers show the whole rollercoaster of sober life — from euphoric moments of revelation that things need to change to the terrifying temptation to relapse — is refreshing because die-hard abstinence-only enthusiasts sometimes have a tendency to gloss over the reality that there can be very real downsides to sobriety. While romanticizing sober life is tempting, someone who is genuinely curious about reconsidering their relationship with substances probably wants to know the whole truth. James Jones, also known on social media as Notorious Cree, is an indigenous educator and activist whose relatable TikToks make sobriety out to be the adventure it can be.
