I got happy and sad news at the same time yesterday. First, a phone call revealed that my friend, Tracy, who had been bravely battling cancer for 3+ years, had passed away. Then I received a text from a previous client, who just celebrated three years of being alcohol-free, I considered the three-year timing for them both. My client chose to live in her most awakened state by ditching the drink and doing the necessary and sometimes painful work to get there. My friend Tracy worked towards living to her fullest potential while preparing for and accepting her departure, doing the necessary and sometimes painful work to get there. Thinking about these loved ones and their journey these last three years was very sobering, to say the least. 

Where will I be three years from now? Where will you go? We don't know all that is around the corner for us. What I do know is that I have never regretted ditching the drink. I wasn’t really living when I was drinking. I was...

Since the day I was born, beer has been an omnipresent staple in my life.

Before I tasted wine, which would become my drink of choice and also the nail in my coffin, so to speak, before mommy wine culture was an even thing, before my relationship with alcohol would be labeled as problematic, before my recovery, if you call it that, or my discovery, if you don’t, before my sober coach training or expertise in the alcohol free space, before I became the person I am today, before I knew anything about alcohol, there was beer. Beer was my first sip. Beer was tightly woven into the tapestry of my identity. It still is. In short, I love beer.

In some ways, falling in love with beer was my destiny.

My parents were both beer drinkers and beer lovers who met in a local beer tent. I was born in a small town that was home to more bars than churches. The local taverns had more worshippers than the parishes. My hometown is located in a state whose Major League Baseball team is named after...

Will I lose weight if I quit drinking?

This is one of my most asked questions.

I can’t guarantee anything about the scale, but I can share my experience.

When I quit drinking, I let myself eat whatever I wanted, with abandon.

I didn’t have a sweet tooth until I gave up alcohol.

Without wine, my body craved sugar and I indulged.

Alcohol had a hold on my brain and giving it up was hard.

Super hard.

I let myself consume whatever I wanted, craved, and needed.

I only had one exception: no alcohol.

That was the only simple rule imposed.

For me, this was the only way to make it through the first hours, days, weeks and months.

Giving up alcohol was enough.

More than enough.

This was my life’s work.

To grab a Twizzler instead of a drink.

This simple type of transformation is profound.

If you know, you know.

I went out for coffee and dessert instead of drinks.

I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.

Whatever tasted good and whatever comforted me.

I allowed it.

...

I am loving my new routine of snuggling up on the couch on Sunday night’s with my family.

We are enthralled with Michael Jordan’s Documentary, The Last Dance.

It’s an incredible show that has me on the edge of my seat every week. 

The show has me laughing, crying, and mostly remembering my glorious high school years in the 90’s. 

It brings me right back.  

Thankfully Netflix and ESPN teamed up with Spotify to create an official dance playlist.

There is so much to learn about success in anything from this series.

5 Takeaways for Sobriety from The Last Dance:

Fail Forward

Michael Jordan has unbelievable talent, but what you see so clearly in this documentary, is that it was his practice, determination, and will that made him the GOAT. 

His ultra competitive nature is what put him above the rest.

Failure made him work even harder. 

 "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six...

One of the best outcomes of sobriety is going from a dull existence to a vivid electric life. When you stop dulling your senses and escaping your feelings,  you get in touch with your own intuition and you start to trust yourself. Your confidence grows and that is the ultimate glow up. This is the most beautiful transformation. Love in sobriety is all about self love whether you are single or in a relationship. 

Here’s a few ways I like to celebrate love this Valentine’s Day with or without a partner. 

1- Taste of Love

You don’t need alcohol for a romantic Valentine’s Day. There are so many other flavors to enjoy. Coffee and dessert is the sexiest combo in my opinion. But if that is not your style, you can also mix up fancy drinks on your own. I love ordering something special from NA Craft Beverages and mixing up a fancy combination. Strawberries, raspberries, and mint make great garnishments for Valentine’s Day. Saint Ivy Gin and Tonic...

In sobriety I have found new hobbies and interests.

Drinking is no longer my only form of entertainment.

The automatic cure for my perpetual boredom when I was drinking, was obviously...drinking. 

I am no longer entertained by sitting on the couch for hours sipping a substance into oblivion.

Drinking was not an actual cure for boredom at all, but it was a distraction from not knowing what to do with myself.

Boredom is a first world problem, but that doesn’t make it less boring. 

The word boredom means lacking interest.

I was lacking interest in my whole life.

This was the real problem and boredom was just a symptom. 

Drinking created chaos in my mind and in my relationships, which in turn, gave me something to do. This added interest to my life and solved the boredom problem.  

Negative attention is still attention. Bad press is still press, as they say.

Drinking gave me bad press and attention.

Problem solved. 

Drinking was also an easy way to...