Today marks 2 years, or 730 days, since I became teetotal. By my old habits, that’s 730 bottles of wine NOT drunk (probably many, many more). That’s around £7K (I’ve NOT flushed down the toilet (ouch, how my credit rating has always been so tidy is an absolute mystery). 730 mornings of waking up feeling…
Category: Wine
Half term blues
Is it just me that feels like the very first day of the February half term holiday week off work / school with my kids (I’m a teacher) has aged me like about 5 years? Every time I LOOK FORWARD to this ‘week off’ (bahaha) for weeks, then, when it arrives, it is the source…
Second Sober New Year
The whole New Year’s Resolution thing feels a bit weird once you have some decent length sobriety under your belt after years of “Groundhog Day”-style Day Ones. The years and years of shame and trying and failing and morning breath like a skunk’s arse and hangover food and being mean to your spouse and swearing…
Why Mummy doesn’t drink
My mum gave me this book for Christmas and I want to cry. I thanked her and said that’s very kind, but I probably won’t read it as it’s part of a culture of normalising heavy drinking amongst mothers. She has now spent half of the afternoon telling me how hilarious this blogger/author is (I…
Taking off the sobriety “L plates” at long last
It took me ages to learn to drive. As someone who had historically been a high-flyer and had quietly rejected or mocked anything I wasn’t good at (namely building anything practical and any sports involving hand-eye coordination), I really didn’t know how to cope with learning to do something that I wasn’t quick at. It…
The 8 weirdest things people have said to me while I’ve been recovering from Alcohol Abuse Disorder
To celebrate being nearly 18 months sober, I am writing my first “listicle” – reminiscing about the weird shit people have said to me because my not drinking makes them feel super awkward. I would like to make the disclaimer here that most of these were said by friends who I love and also love…
500 days! Boo-YAR!!!
“Well, I drank more than a lifetime’s worth in the first 36 years of my life, so I thought I should call it a day.” “I just couldn’t moderate, so I figured I shouldn’t have it at all.” These are the sort of responses I have typically given when people ask me why I’m…
Let it go, let it go! 🎶
I’m sat writing this in bed at 6.45am on Saturday, 13 months sober TODAY I just noticed. I’m gladly sacrificing my one weekly ‘lie-in’ (OK, I am lying in, but not sleeping). My husband and I get one lie-in each at the weekend, the other getting up at the usual daily 6.20am as dictated by…
Eat, drink, be … recovered
Alright, so, today I’ve been mulling over just how much recovering from alcohol abuse disorder has shed light on my old eating disorder. One of the hardest parts of overcoming the E.D. to which my life became tethered throughout my late teens and early twenties was my deep confusion, guilt and frustration about it. I…
“I’M IN RECOVERY” What does that even mean?
18 months ago, when I first dipped my toe into the sea of the sobriety social media scene, I observed people writing things like, “I’ve been in recovery for 10 years”. This used to puzzle me. When I first gave up alcohol 12.5 months ago (it was not the first time I’d given up, but…
Ultraviolet Sobriety 