Love Sober Podcast

In this episode I have a fantastic chat with top sober sis, sober sexpert Tawny Lara, author of Dry Humping - a guide to dating, relating and hooking up without the booze. And basically, we talk about all of that.  Tawny Lara is an NYC-based journalist and public speaker with 8+ years of reporting on the sober (curious) space, focusing on the role liquid courage plays in interpersonal relationships. She is a podcaster, host of Recovery Rocks and has her own AF drinks brand Parentheses. You can find all of these here Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tawnymlara/ Substack https://substack.com/@tawnymlara Grab a cuppa or a cool drink - it's getting hot in here! Kate x 

In this episode I talk to the gorgeous Sarah Rusbatch, author of the best selling book “Beyond Booze” about all things grey area drinking and being a woman in midlife. We unpick the marketing, cultural messages around alcohol, discuss why midlife is a great time to quit the booze and start making ourselves and our wellbeing a priority.  Sarah is a multi award winning Health and Wellbeing Coach, an accredited Grey Area Drinking Coach, a menopause accredited coach, a motivational speaker and a passionate ambassador for helping as many women as possible to live their best life.She's also an ex-Grey Area Drinker who finally quit booze in April 2019 and has NEVER looked back! Grab a cuppa and let's chat! Love Kate x  You can find Sarah's website and book below.  https://sarahrusbatch.com/   https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze  

The first episode of Love Sober Podcast 2.0  with guest Dufflyn Lammers, relationship and recovery coach.    We know that, as Johann Hari says, connection is the opposite of addiction and so this  season has a focus on relationships with self and others.    We introduce ourselves and delve into a bit of our respective histories, and why we do what we do. Dufflyn got sober 30 years ago, before we had the language around grey area drinking.    Dufflyn talks to us about how she helps women thrive in relationships once they stop drinking or identify as being in recovery.    She will popping  on regularly to take questions about relationships throughout the season and you I will be exploring sobriety questions so please feel free to write in to  hello@lovesober.com if you have a relationship  or sobriety quandary.    You can find Dufflyn at : https://www.dufflyn.com/  https://www.instagram.com/dufflyn/  https://www.facebook.com/Dufflyn  Grab a cuppa and let's chat.  Kate x 

In this episode I have the privilege of talking to the gorgeous author Suzy Greaves about the vital skill of self-care and its foundational place in managing our wellbeing. Inner and outer care, self-respect, self-talk, boundaries and empowerment are just some of the topics we touch upon in this episode as Suzy shares her passion, compassion and wisdom.  Suzy is a mother of two, an author, Chartered Psychologist and Coach. She specialises in self-care, helping people manage their stress, emotions, and energetic bank balance. It was her life experience of motherhood colliding with the terminal illness of her father that sparked her passion for self-care which she now teaches to her clients, young and old, to cope during periods of stress, loss and change and to boost their resilience in the face of future challenges. Suzy is the Psychology Expert for wellbeing brand Neom Organics and is a founding member of the ‘Nourish’ app. She figure-skated her way through her childhood, growing up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, and now makes her home in the hills of Hertfordshire, UK. Her first book ‘The Self-Care Revolution’ published by Aster came out in 2017, 'Stand Tall Like a Mountain: Mindfulness & Self-Care for Children and Parents' and 'The Little Book of Self-Care’ came out in 2019. ‘Self-Care for Tough Times’ and her first children’s book ‘This Book Will (Help) Make You Happy’ were published in 2021. Her first journal And Breathe,  Sit to Get Fit and her new deck of cards, “The Little Box of Self-Care” came out in 2022. Rest to Reset is hot off the press now, just in time to shake off the winter blues and boost the rebirth of Spring.   Join Suzy’s Wellbeing Community at: Instagram: www.instagram.com/suzyreading/  Facebook: www.facebook.com/SuzyReadingPsychologyAndYoga/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuzyReading   www.suzyreading.co.uk Grab a cuppa and let's chat.  Love kate x 

In this episode I talk to sober legend Veronica Valli, creator of the Soberful Program and author of Soberful, about our experiences of the midlife so far and in particular the perimenopause. For too long women's bodies have been ignored in the sobriety conversation and we intend to change that! You can't mindset your way out of hormones! Midlife is a cluster of stresses and transitions for women and we talk about why sober is a super power for this period of our lives to enable us to thrive, process and prepare for the next phase - our Second Spring. We want to invite you to this brand new, one of a kind workshop for sober and sober curious women in midlife, Hot Sobriety.  Hot sobriety was created by therapist and author Veronica Valli, creator of the Soberful program & Kate Baily, author, coach, Menopause Doula and co-founder of Love Sober to help women understand their cycles, support their sobriety and live a healthier lifestyle. SELLING FAST - GRAB YOUR SEAT HERE!  This unique online masterclass combines up to date research-backed menopause information with Sobriety Lifestyle Coaching to guide women towards bossing their midlife transitions and thriving in Perimenopause, Menopause and Beyond. Why midlife is a unique time for women The best way to support your hormonal changes in sobriety  How to transform your past into wisdom The Hormone Collective and how it works The link between hormones, stress and alcohol  How to deal with anxiety Liver Health & Hormones How to use the Holistic Health Sheet Tools to help you take control, understand your needs and thrive in your midlife. Grab a cuppa and let's chat... KX  Resources: Second Spring by Kate Codrington.  

In this episode I talk to Courtney McMahon, the Radical Wellness Founder about her sober journey. She shares her beautiful insights, her wise tips and a weird synchronicity about how we can be connected with exactly the right people to inspire us and not know it (no spoilers!)  Courtney is a Holistic Sobriety Coach and founder of The Radical Wellness. She helps individuals make (seemingly) radical lifestyle changes that improve their overall health and empower them to trust their intuition so they can remove the booze, break the loop of self-sabotage, create healthy habits and start living a life they love. Courtney is certified in Holistic Health and Addictive Behavior Coaching. She has been sober since June of 2019. She lives in Connecticut with her husband Tyler and their two dogs, Leo and Olive.  She is a beautiful soul and a sober sister - check her out!  Kate x  Find Courtney Here:  www.theradicalwellness.com https://www.instagram.com/theradicalwellness/ https://www.tiktok.com/@theradicalwellness

In this episode I talk to bestselling author of We Are the Luckiest and founder of the international recovery community The Luckiest Club Laura McKowen about her new book Push off From Here.  The stories and advice McKowen shares are specific to alcohol addiction, but the tenets are universal in their application and useful no matter what challenge you face. With profound honesty and boundless compassion, Push Off from Here provides an actionable framework for healing what pains us and proves that a life of sobriety can be synonymous with a life of magic, peace, and freedom. When Laura McKowen was two years sober, she received an email from a woman whose sister was struggling with alcohol addiction. McKowen had barely climbed out from the dark place the woman’s sister was in, but she made a list of the things she most needed to hear when she was deep in her own battle. No matter how far astray you’ve gone or how many times you’ve tried and failed before, as long as you’re still sitting here, breathing, and reading these words, freedom and joy are still possible. In this episode we explore her Nine Truths. 1. It is not your fault.  2. It is your responsibility. 3. It is unfair that this is your thing. 4. This is your thing. 5. This will never stop being your thing until you face it. 6. You cannot do it alone. 7. Only you can do it. 8. You are loved. 9. We will never stop reminding you of these things. In Push Off from Here, McKowen delves deeply into each of her nine points: what they mean, how they work, and how every person can live them. She addresses topics such as the correlation between trauma and addiction, the importance of radical honesty, letting go of the illusion of control, the value of community, a reminder that healing is a continual process, and that the process is a gift. Whether you’re just starting out or have been sober for decades, McKowen instructs us to be kind to ourselves: Change is messy and progress is rarely linear, but we can always push off from here. It's a gem so grab a cuppa and let's chat. Love Kate x  Buy the book:  Connect with Laura at The Luckiest Club

In this episode I look at the subject of hope and how to practically cultivate a hope practice.  "an optimistic mindset based on the expectation of positive outcomes.'' It's one of those tools that can be a bit overlooked,  easily mistaken for a lofty virtue or a whimsical fancy or naivety but  it is in fact a badass resilience tool. In this episode I am taking the chapter from our book Love Your Sober Year and delving into hope and actionable steps to cultivate hope and why it's such an important part of the sober toolkit. As I always say, mental health tools, are life tools, are sober tools. In the words of my first and most enduring girl crush, the wonderful Kate Bush in Cloudbusting, ' Oooooh... I just know that something good is gonna happen, and just saying it could even make it happen...' YEAH BABY. 'Love Your Sober Year' is a seasonal guide to sustainable alcohol free living. It starts in Spring so it's the perfect time to grab your copy and start or continue your holistic sober journey.  And a wee favour - If you liked the book please could you leave a review on Amazon? It really helps. Thanks so much x  So grab a cuppa and let's chat.  Love  Kate xxx    

In this episode I chat with Janet Gourand, founder of Tribe Sober, an international membership program which connects and supports people wanting to quit alcohol and then go on to learn how to thrive in their sobriety. Now 71, Janet got sober in her 60s and is a true inspiration showing just how choosing an alcohol free life later on in our lives can be done, happy, fulfilling and rewarding - by reframing and by reclaiming our lives and choices as women, we can boss this sober game, the getting older game and call BS on the limiting cultural narratives of both that we are quite frankly, OVER.  Janet has had many years of experience of corporate life in both Europe and South Africa.  When she decided to stop drinking alcohol, she could find very little available support in South Africa. Janet got sober by her own efforts and by attending a workshop in London. As her journey continued, she decided to use her professional background in training and development to design and facilitate her own Tribe Sober workshop in order to help others to do what she had done. She is married with one son and a chihuahua called June. Originally from London Janet relocated to Cape Town in 2001. Website is tribesober.com and all social media and weekly podcast is "Tribe Sober"

In this episode I 'soul dive' with the gorgeous Sarah Levine, who is an holistic mindset coach for women in recovery and a writer working on her memoir. We met through the process of doing best selling author of 'Drink', Ann Dowsett Johnston's course ' Writing your Recovery' and share our experiences of how writing in recovery and writing our recovery has been a therapeutic foundational piece of The Journey. We talk writing, Internal Family Systems and why we as women need to reclaim our story telling and connect with each other.  Smart Recovery advocates having a  VACI as part of the sober toolkit - (Vital Absorbing Creative Interest) and psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi conducted extensive research into states of Flow and how creativity boosts resilience and helps post-traumatic growth and healing.  So let's grab a cuppa and chat  Kate x  Links and resourses: Ann Dowsett Johnston Course - Writing Your Recovery (starting 18th Jan 2023) https://writingyourrecovery.com/register/ How to find Sarah:  Web: https://sarahlevinecoaching.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/sarahlevinecoaching/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahlevinecoaching  

In this episode I explore bringing 2022 to a close by sharing some reflective practices and welcoming in the new year with intention setting & having a think about the Word of the Year (WOTY). I am also drawing inspiration from Mandy's and my new book 'Love Your Sober Year' and offering journaling prompts to cultivate awareness of slowing down and building patience as part of our sober toolkits. Working with the cycles and seasons for sustainable sobriety has become foundational in the way approach my life and sobriety and I am delighted to share this and the sober journey with you. Sobriety and recovery is creative and as we expand our toolkits life gets richer and more colourful.  Reflective practice from the beautiful https://www.tarynstrong.com/ Intention practice from the legendary https://www.bernadetterussell.com/ Journaling prompts from my book Love Your Sober Year Grab a cuppa and let's chat. 

This week Kate talks to Nancy Evans about tools for long-term sobriety, maintenance and staying in love with sober. Nancy interviews Kate about Love Sober Life school, the flagship 12 week Self-development Group Coaching Program for busy women who want to stay sober & make it stick. Our tools need to evolve and grow as we do through seasons, life challenges and getting older and we need to be on our stress management, routines, socialising, mindset as well as keeping up those sober treats and keeping motivation and resilience when the going gets tough, as sometimes is just does. This course is the toolkit.  Written by: Kate Baily, who is a trauma-informed, ICF Sobriety Coach and habit change coach & author specialising in stress, midlife and addictive behaviours. Also by Mandy Manners - who is a trauma informed life and recovery coach & author. Sessions are facilitated by Kate & Nancy Evans, who is a certifices Life & Addictive Behaviours Coach and a trainee Compassionate Enquiry Practitioner, training with Dr. Gabor Mate.  Course Starts November 13th - Feb 5th. Calls at 5pm GMT Sundays.   Grab a cuppa and let's chat. KX  You can sign up here or find out more :  https://www.lovesober.com/offers/jpkUZhVi/checkout https://www.lovesober.com/love-sober-life-school-copy-2 Any qs: email me at kate@lovesober.com    For more information about Nancy or to get in touch with her it's:  https://www.nancyevanscoaching.co.uk/

Kate talks sober menopause & perimenopause with Ellie Crowe of Pump up the Present and Sober & Present podcast in honour of World Menopause Day 18th October 2022. Ellie Crowe is a Senior Certified This Naked Mind Coach, a Certified Gray Area Drinking Coach and co-host of the Present & Sober Podcast.  Her coaching practice helps overwhelmed and sleep-deprived mums parent peacefully and happily, without needing alcohol to escape at the end of the day. Focusing on both mind and body aspects, Ellie works with mums who want to drink less and be able to manage stress without drinking.  She teaches how to make alcohol small and irrelevant in your life, whilst showing how to get in control and build emotional strength and resilience.  Running both 1:1 and group programs, Ellie has a curiosity-driven approach, knowing the power of understanding ‘why’ in sparking transformative change and expanding life potential. Ellie lives with her husband, three young kids and three hounds in a very old pub in Cambridge, England.  She’s a passionate yogi, Wim Hof-fer and gymnast (back in training!). You can find out more about Ellie at www.pumpupthepresent.com and follow her at @pumpupthepresent on Instagram and Facebook. https://podcast.presentandsober.com (Apple podcast link here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/present-and-sober/id1569061067)   This is the link to our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/presentandsoberpodcast/

In this episode, Kate talks to Relationship & Recovery Coach Dufflyn Lammers about Love addiction and how to spot it. Dufflyn Lammers, AKA “The cool aunt who took you to Rehab and Planned Parenthood but made you tell your mom,” is the go-to relationship expert for women in recovery.  Lammers is the founder of www.rockrelationshipsinrecovery.com where she offers online courses, an online community, and one-to-one coaching for women who want to succeed at sex, love and dating without resorting to tequila, Ben & Jerry’s or *69. She combines a unique background in Tantra, Attachment Repair, Intervention and Coaching to help women create optimum relational wellbeing.  She spent the first 12 years of her own recovery single until at last she met her match. It was a long, hard, painful road for her. But it doesn’t have to be for you! Her mission is to be the coach she would have wished for back then. Of course once she met her match she realized the relationship was not the destination, it was the beginning of a whole new journey. Listen, it takes courage to look deeply at ourselves and allow ourselves to show up fully. And, if we want true intimacy that is what it takes. Dufflyn's Free Talk IS IT LOVE OR IS IT ADDICTION? is available this weekend, Oct. 8th and 9th and also on the 19th.  You can register here:  https://dufflyn.newzenler.com/webinar/is-it-love-or-is-it-addiction/register She'll be breaking down a 4-part strategy for identifying the hallmarks of process addiction. She'll reveal the single most effective way to spot problem behavior. We'll share stories of women just like you who have struggled to love and be loved.  Grab a cuppa and let's chat. Kate x   

This week Kate talks with Sober Legend Claire Sweetman on her two year soberversary. Claire is a sober life advocate, a solo parent and is two years sober. She shares how she reclaimed socialising, how she manages her energy and sensory needs as a sober person and as a mum and how she managed to fall in love with partying again as a sober person.  Claire has so many tips and tools about how to navigate all this stuff in the real world and how to keep it real while bossing her toolkit.  Grab a cuppa and let's chat.  KX 

This week Kate talks to DJ Barroness and co-founder of The House of Happiness, Emma Barron.  Emma has been DJing for roughly 4 years now. She is also a TV producer for C4. Emma always had a major interest in music and was a drummer in various bands, grew up on the clubbing scene in Manchester in the 90's and then London. She also spent many summers in Ibiza - so both old school house and Balearic sounds have influenced her music style today.     After getting sober in 2017 Emma decided that she wanted to follow her  passion so bought some decks, booked a DJ course at Hub16 in Dalston to hone her skills and then got involved in some sober DJ events. She has  played gigs at various venues including House of Barnabus, Fugitive Bar Bethnal Green and more recently Ministry of Sound Members bar. One of her first gigs was doing warm up for Brandon Block on a boat party. She shares the joy and connection of learning to party sober and finder her way back to her first love of music.  London's House of Happiness first event is just a few weeks away on  Saturday 8th September 12 noon - 5pm.  Grab a cuppa and let's chat. Love Kate x  DEETS 🥳👇👇👇👇 Bringing you a FRESH & NEW ALCOHOL & DRUG FREE CLUBBING EXPERIENCE, The House of Happiness is swinging open its doors for the first time to serve banging tunes, a buzzing time and all the highs without the loooows. Whether you've given up alcohol for good, or just taking a booze snooze but still LUUUURVE to PARTY & DANCE... ... THIS. EVENT. IS. FOR. YOU. The roof we'll be raising for our first event is that of the ICONIC venue ELECTROWERKZ - one of London's coolest, most inclusive & alternative venues. You can find out more & grab your ticket over on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-house-of-happiness-housewarming-tickets-349690944027

Welcome to A/W2022 Season of Love Sober Podcast!  In this new season Kate focuses on Sober Stories and we kick off with a wonderful sober sister, mum of two, teacher and 'Cornish Girl, trying to acclimatise to Scotland', Maxine Billing Smith. Max has two sons and has been on the sober path for two and a half years and shares her story, her tools, her challenges and her wins.  Each of us has a story to tell and in sharing our stories we know we are not alone. Love Sober Podcast brings you tips, tools and inspiration from the sober community to brighten your autumn days and Max is a brilliant and funny shining example of being a thoroughly good girl who always keeps it real - so grab a cuppa and let’s chat. Love Kate x If you would like to support the Love Sober Podcast you can become a Patreon supporter here or give a one of donation here: https://www.patreon.com/lovesoberpod https://www.gofundme.com/f/love-sober-podcast?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

In the episode I have the honour of speaking with Dr. Anna Lembke about why addiction is everyone's business and dive into the neuroscience of why this is the case and how we can tackle the dopamine response we all have give ourselves the best chance of avoiding and escaping addictive behaviours., be it alcohol, shopping, smartphone.  Anna Lembke, MD is professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. A clinician scholar, she is the author of more than a hundred peer-reviewed publications, has testified before the United States House of Representatives and Senate, has served as an expert witness in federal and state opioid litigation, and is an internationally recognized leader in addiction medicine treatment and education. In 2016, she published Drug Dealer, MD – How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It’s So Hard to Stop (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016), highlighted in the New York Times as one of the top five books to read to understand the opioid epidemic (Zuger, 2018).  Dr. Lembke appeared in the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, an unvarnished look at the impact of social media on our lives.  Her latest book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence (Dutton/Penguin Random House, August 2021) was an instant New York Times bestseller and explores how to moderate compulsive overconsumption in a dopamine-overloaded world. Grab a cuppa and let's chat.  Kate x   

In this episode I have the wonderful opportunity to talk once again with Ann Dowsett Johnston. Ann is the bestselling author of Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol, named one of the top 10 books of 2013 by the Washington Post. An award-winning journalist for many years, Ann is now a psychotherapist and the founder and leader of Writing Your Recovery, a popular online memoir-writing course for women. https://www.anndowsettjohnston.com/workshops Winner of seven National Magazine Awards, she is also the recipient of a Southam Journalism Fellowship and the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy. It was for the latter that she prepared a 14-part series on Women and Alcohol in the Toronto Star, looking at the closing gender gap on risky drinking. In 2013, she wrote Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol, a book named one of the top 10 of the year by the Washington Post. We talk about why writing is such an important tool for women in recovery, how to look after yourself emotionally in the process and rules of self-disclosure. Ann also gives us her expert tips on how to get started as a writer. Ann has advised many authors including Holly Whittaker when she wrote 'Quit Like a Woman' and so I'm honoured to have her sharing her experience and passion on the podcast.  What a treat! Grab a cuppa and let's chat Love Kate x     

In this episode we talk about our experiences at the She Recovers Conference in Miami. The incredible speakers and the experience of being with 500 women in recovery, dancing, doing yoga, learning, swimming, chatting was an incredible experience. We met other She Recovers Coaches, old friends who have been on the pod, and made new friends. It felt like a global sisterhood moment for sure. There were so many highlights but for Kate, some of her top moments were Nadia Bolz Webber , who founded the Church for Sinners and Saints  in Detroit and for Mandy, Shari Hampton and Jennifer Pastiloff There were so many wow and ahhh moments, dancing with Payton and yoga-ing with Taryn. Still holding on and processing and smiling. On another note... change being part of life and necessary for growth and health, Mandy talks about her decision to step back from Love Sober & the podcast, to honour health, wellbeing, family and transitions after much deliberation. Kate will continue to run Love Sober & they remain great friends and collaborate on their coach training and their second book which is out in September. For now a sacred pause to honour Mandy and her incredible contribution to the sober community in her work with Love Sober & her coaching and awareness raising - she's not going anywhere - you can find her at https://www.instagram.com/mandymannerscoach/ The best way to keep in touch with Kate and all things Love Sober & her coaching practice is at https://www.lovesober.com/ Sign up to the newsletter for all the monthly news and resources, courses and offerings and hello@lovesober.com to DM.  Grab a cuppa your sober stars and let's chat.  Love K&M X