KEEPS COMING BACK? –

Nov. 3, 2024 – Our culture produces influencers for every imaginable product and lifestyle, and recovery from addiction to drugs and alcohol is no different. Some sober influencers satirize their addiction, relating sordid tales of the lengths they’d go to score their next hit.

Others appeal to their fanbase with abstract motivation—inspirational quotes against a pretty background—while still others are more earnest and practical, providing tips for resisting cravings and recipes for mocktails. Some, distancing themselves from wellness culture, reveal the messy sides of sobriety.

You can date the advent of contemporary sobriety culture to the 1930s, when the Twelve Steps were first formulated. Now, sobriety is more of a spectrum—it can mean many things to different people. And the gamut of vices—drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling—have their own built-in communities of sober people, who convene both in person and, increasingly, online.

CONTINUE@GQ