More Than Sobriety

I'm baaaack! And still very much in a postpartum haze over here. But I've been dusting off the cobwebs & getting back into it with More Than Sobriety Season 2... starting with a few episodes from the pre-baby vault. I recorded this episode with Ellie back in February and -- though a lot has changed since then -- so much of this conversation hits home right now. We talk about non-alcoholic beverages, AA, pregnancy, motherhood, moderation, and how it all intersects with Ellie's personal story. I hope this episode helps, wherever you are with your sober curiosity.

Friends! Today we're getting to know Dubbs Weinblatt. Dubbs is the Founder and Creator of Thank You For Coming Out, a live improv show and podcast that was founded in 2015. TYFCO creates a space of belonging for the queer community, by celebrating stories of coming out & coming into oneself.  Dubbs lives in New York City and is a nonbinary genderqueer, trans educator, community leader, speaker, facilitator, activist, storyteller, and of course… sober. Dubbs advocates for all LGBTQIA+ people, and through their work & personal life, fights for a more equitable, trans-affirming world. In today's episode, Dubbs opens up about their drinking history, sobriety story, and how this all intersects with their gender identity story. Connect with Dubbs: IG: @dubbsweinblatt and ⁠@thankyouforcomingouthttps://www.dubbsweinblatt.com/https://www.thankyouforcomingout.com/

We're back with a new episode & a new friend! In this episode, we meet Hilary Sheinbaum: journalist, speaker, 2x author, and founder of non-alcoholic event company, GoingDry.co. Hilary's first book, The Dry Challenge: How to Lose the Booze for Dry January, Sober October, and Any Other Alcohol-Free Month, came out in December of 2020. She has contributed to publications including The NY Times, USA TODAY, Marie Claire and Forbes, covering celebrity, fashion, beauty, wellness, food & beverage, love, lifestyle, and more. In this episode, we cover: Hilary's background and how alcohol was woven into her early career as a red carpet reporter. How a New Year's Eve bet with a friend turned into Hilary's first Dry January. How this experience changed her perspective and later led to her writing The Dry Challenge and covering the non-alcoholic space. Relationships & alcohol, wedding planning, and more!

A quick Sunday morning reflection on rebuilding self-trust in sobriety.

Friends! I'm excited to share our first guest interview of 2024 and first episode of SEASON 2. In this episode of More Than Sobriety, we meet Carrie May. She is the founder of not one, but two sobriety-centered companies. The first, non-profit community Chicago AF. The other, adventure-based sober coaching company, Brave. Carrie is a fierce advocate for the sober community & is constantly curating new experiences to socialize alcohol-free, from no-booze cruises in her hometown of Chicago, to adventure-based retreats in national parks across the United States. Carrie is also a Nurse Practitioner and mother of two teenagers, and I'm not sure how she does it all... but I'm thinking she might be the real-life Superwoman. Listen in to hear us talk about Carrie's sobriety story, including marriage & motherhood, and all the latest on her sober events & retreats. Check out the social pages & websites below to learn more: Instagram: @chicagoafcommunity and @braverecoverycoaching Websites: chicagoafcommunity.com and braverecoverycoaching.com

Friends: This week's episode of More Than Sobriety dives into my love/hate relationship with “sober Instagram.” If you know, you know. Tune in for this honest solo episode if you need some reminders to stop comparing your sobriety journey -- and your life, in general -- to what you see on social media.

In this solo episode, I dive into my history with cannabis and how it overlapped with drinking & sobriety from alcohol. I share 7 ways my THC habits started to mimic my past drinking habits, what led me to take a long hiatus from cannabis, how I stopped & more.I know this one has been a long time coming & I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, if this is a topic you've been interested in. I hope it helps! Please send me a message or leave a review if it does. I'd love to hear from you.Keywords: Weed, Cannabis, Alcohol, Drinking, Sobriety, Quitting Drinking, Quitting Weed, Marijuana, THC, Smoking, Cali Sober, CaliSober

Hi friends! I'm stopping by today with a quick morning-after-Thanksgiving chat and sober holiday rundown. If you need some extra support around the holidays, this episode is for you. Timestamps below for easy listening: 0:00 - 7:45 – Quick (re)intro to your host and what you’ll find on the podcast. 7:50 - 10:15 – My Thanksgiving 2023 reflections. 10:18 - 13:42 – A pep talk for anyone who drank on Thanksgiving or recently slipped. 13:43 - 17:15 – My experience with holidays at the very beginning of my sobriety. 17:16 - 29:00 – My recommendations for a sober holiday or big event. Tools & habits that help me.

We're baaaack! Friends: I got to interview Olivia & Sarah, the awesome Portland-based couple & founders behind one of my favorite sobriety tools: The BuzzCutt app. BuzzCutt is a must-have for anyone interested in finding non-alcoholic beverages wherever you're located. It's a national app revolutionizing the way we access and choose non-alcoholic drinks while out, connecting you to bars, restaurants and stores across the US that have n/a options you can enjoy. BuzzCutt is also more than an app, it’s a mindset -collectively rebelling for good, proudly part of the culture shift in the sentiments around drinking and what it means to have a good time. In episode 10, Olivia & Sarah share: Where they got the idea to build BuzzCutt & what it was like to launch it. What the brand stands for & where it's going in the future. How the app works & different use cases for it. More about each of their personal backgrounds with drinking & sobriety. How drinking was woven into their original dating experience & how sobriety impacted their relationship for the better. Olivia's shared experience with Meg in recovering from disordered eating. Sarah's perspective as an athlete in recovery; how sobriety has improved her performance & mental health. Follow @buzzcuttco on Instagram for the latest updates on app development plans and upcoming events.

Friends: Today we're interviewing the cofounder of my absolute favorite non-alcoholic beverage: Tilden. In this episode, Vanessa shares the full story behind Tilden, how & why the brand was created and what it’s like to be a sober entrepreneur. We dive into Vanessa’s personal background, sobriety story and why she quit drinking 3+ years ago. Toward the end of the episode, we also talk about what it’s like to go through engagement, wedding planning and marriage in early sobriety. More on what we cover below: -What is Tilden?! -Drinking during undergraduate college years -Drinking during the pandemic in 2020 -Mental health - anxiety, depression and alcohol -Going to business school - the drinking culture and being a non-drinker  -Why & how Tilden was born - the backstory of the founders -Making sobriety stick, being open about it with friends -Attending sobriety meetings in grad school -Engagement & marriage - how alcohol intersected with this experience -Tips for achieving longevity in sobriety Tilden makes sophisticated ready-to-serve nonalcoholic cocktails for the growing wave of consumers looking beyond alcohol. Their mission is to bring people together on taste and discovery – without altering the mind. Learn more about Tilden at @drinktilden on Instagram.

Friends! Today we have the pleasure of getting to know Laura Silverman, founder of Zero Proof Nation and Booze Free in DC. Founded in November 2019, Zero Proof Nation is a platform focused on non alcoholic culture, beverages, people and brands. ZPN started as an IG feed where Laura would feature beverage brand founders in the non-alcoholic space & tell their stories. It evolved when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and became an even bigger platform, now featuring a blog, several non-alcoholic resource directories, and more. Most recently, Laura launched the first ever *global map* highlighting booze-free bars and non-alcoholic bottle shops around the world, ranging from brick-and-mortars, to pop-ups to e-commerce companies. Booze Free in DC is her secondary blog and platform, devoted to exploring the Washington DC area from a non-alcoholic perspective, which was started in January 2020. Laura has been alcohol-free for 15+ years (woah) and is FULL of sobriety insight. She shares a ton of background about the evolution of the non-alcoholic industry in this episode. We also cover: Starting Zero Proof Nation & Booze Free in DC within 2 months of each other. How the non-alcoholic industry started and expanded after the Covid-19 pandemic. Laura’s experience building the global map. What sobriety was like before the post-Covid non-alcoholic boom. Anonymous culture and stigmas around alcohol use disorder and recovery. Laura's drinking & sobriety story and what it was like to get sober at the age of 24. Her experience getting hospitalized in NYC for alcohol poisoning in her twenties, and how this impacted her journey long term. [Content warning] Living with trauma, anxiety and HSV-2, and how this all intersects with her sobriety. Her experience in an intensive outpatient rehab program. How recovery and sobriety has changed for her over time. To learn more about Laura's work, follow her on Instagram at: @ZeroProofNation @WeAreSober @BoozeFreeInDC

[*Please note the Content Warning in today's episode description] Friends: We're back this week with another inspiring story of recovery, this time with Jessica Dueñas of Bottomless To Sober. Jessica is an educator by day, Peer Recovery Support Specialist & ICF-accredited Sobriety Coach by night. She holds a Masters degree in special education, an educational specialist degree in instructional leadership; and before becoming sober, Jessica was named the Kentucky State Teacher of the Year. In this episode, she shares about her upbringing as a first-generation Cuban-Costa Rican-American & how this foundation impacted her adulthood, and ultimately led her to leading a life of sobriety. We talk about: Jessica's history with drinking & how it started in college. Being under the pressure of her parents' high expectations to succeed academically. Aspiring to become a teacher from a young age. How her upbringing intersects with body image, relationship with weight and disordered eating. Jessica's experience in detox and rehab programs. Medication-assisted recovery and harm reduction. Toxic relationships while in addiction. [CONTENT WARNING] Opiate abuse, overdose & death. Differences between 1:1 sobriety coaching & other recovery methods, like AA and peer support. What qualities to look for in a sobriety coach. The resources & support you can find through Jessica's company, Bottomless To Sober. Follow along with Jessica at @jessicaduenas24 and bottomlesstosober.com

[*Please note the Content Warning in today's episode description] Friends: This week, we're meeting my friend Jamie. Jamie is a fellow Long Islander, a mentor, a sponsor, a sobriety community leader, and just celebrated 4 years sober in April 2023. In this episode, Jamie shares what it's like to get sober after 15 years of binge drinking. If you're someone who needs encouragement to get back on track; if you feel like you're unworthy of achieving sobriety; if you're unsure how to navigate being around alcohol while you're trying to stop drinking... this episode is for you. We talk about: What it feels like reaching 1500 days sober Jamie’s drinking story & sobriety story Feeling unlovable & drinking as a coping mechanism Growing up in an alcoholic household Relationships while in active addiction drinking Jamie’s perspective being in a 12 step program [CONTENT WARNING] Sexual abuse & how this influenced Jamie’s view of the world Being around alcohol in early sobriety Boundaries and balance Having a Higher Power Community in sobriety

Friends: This week, we're featuring someone very near & dear to my heart: Kelly Belew (@Kelz_living_well on Instagram, but you may have known her first as @Kelz_is_sober). Kelly is a mother, a Virginian, and a thought leader in the sobriety space. She was one of the first people I ever found & connected with online, when I set out on my sober-curious adventure in early 2020. By then, she was over a year sober & was a stable voice of inspiration in my early days of quitting drinking & figuring this whole ~sober thing~ out. And since then, through working together as @1000HoursDry hosts, she has become a true friend. In the episode, Kelly goes deep into her drinking history & story, sharing openly about her past and her journey to sobriety, authenticity and self-love. Here are just some of the topics we cover: College drinking turned into 20s drinking Sober Concerts Marriage and Divorce Motherhood while drinking Motherhood in sobriety Mental health and medication Binge drinking Turning to drugs while drinking DWIs and serving jail time Finding community in sobriety Self love and authenticity To hear more real-talk from Kelly, find her at @Kelz_living_well on IG & TikTok.

[*Please note the content warning in today's episode description*] Friends: Today's guests are officially my new role models. Founders of Zero Proofed, Priyanka & Chirasmita are two sisters on a mission to change the drinking game. On this episode, we talk about: Being raised by a family of non-drinkers. Alcohol & intuition. Being raised with a strong sense of emotional regulation. Questioning drinking while being in college. Experimenting with drinking in college. [CONTENT WARNING] Mental health & suicide. Being in college & early 20s during the pandemic, drinking to cope. The Zero Proofed founding story & mission! Zero Proofed is a non-alcoholic pop-up event and cocktail company founded by sisters, Priyanka & Chirasmita Kompella. With a mission rooted in their tagline, Zero Proofed wants to help you Get Your Sundays Back. They dream of a world where we can all drink less booze, have fewer hangovers, live in the present and create epic memories. Sign up for their newsletter & add them on social to follow along with their latest adventures & catch a future event near you. ig: @getzeroproofed

Friends: Today we're talking to the founder of Mixed Without, Chelsea Leigh Monroe. Mixed Without exists to empower the sober-curious & alcohol-free community through encouragement, education and events. Chelsea is a hospitality industry professional, alcohol-free events planner, marketing strategist, social media creator, and pilates instructor... among many other things. And she uses her social platform to inspire people to change their relationship with alcohol (without being anti-alcohol) by encouraging informed consent. On this episode, we talk about: - Chelsea's latest business ventures with Mixed Without (including some celeb updates from her trip to ATX TV Fest). - What Chelsea looks for in alcohol free / non-alcoholic brand partnerships. - Chelsea's experience working in the hospitality industry for over a decade & how this overlapped with her own relationship with alcohol. - Her love of fitness and how it relates to becoming alcohol free. - Her upbringing, drinking history, relationship history, and what led her to the alcohol-free lifestyle. For more of Chelsea: Follow @MixedWithout on Instagram & TikTok, and keep an eye out for her new website launching soon!

Friends: Today, we're talking with Trina from The Retired Party Girl. On this episode, Trina shares more about her background, her sobriety story, and how alcohol intertwined with motherhood. We also talk about Trina's experience as a foster parent for 9 years and how it overlapped with her recovery. Trina shares how she ended up taking over the reigns at RPG, what she's working on & offering with this new phase of the community, and how you can work with her to get more support on your sober/curious journey. Check out RPG and connect with Trina on Instagram at @TheRetiredPartyGirl - and stay tuned for more resources launching over there soon. For more information about the foster care resource discussed in our conversation: www.psrfa.org

Friends: I'm dropping by today to share some quick morning thoughts on body image & sobriety. If you're someone who is sober / sober-curious and struggling with your weight or body image at the same time: this episode is for you. And you're not alone. Alcohol misuse overlaps greatly with disordered eating. There are many of us who struggle with both issues; and many of us who start to struggle with body image once they ditch the booze. So give this a listen if you relate to these topics - and if it helps you in any way, please send me a message @YouDontHaveToDrink on Instagram and let me know.

Friends: This week, we're interviewing Sam Bail, founder of non-alcoholic events company, Third Place Bar. On this episode of More Than Sobriety, Sam shares more about her story, including parts of her upbringing, drinking history, sobriety - and ultimately, what led her to create a sober business. Third Place Bar is a series of alcohol-free bar events in New York City & Brooklyn. Third Place Bar aims to provide a social space that has all the vibes of a neighborhood bar for all those that are sober, sober curious, or just taking a night off from drinking alcohol. We offer a menu of non-alcoholic cocktails, beers, and sodas, and run events like trivia nights and comedy shows. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay in the loop about upcoming events! Sign up for Sam's newsletter and stay up to date with Third Place Bar's events below: Website: thirdplacebar.nyc Instagram: @thirdplacebarnyc Twitter: @thirdplacebar

Welcome to More Than Sobriety episode zero. This is me starting. No set plan, no set topic. Just a quick intro, to give myself the push I've needed to begin, tell you why I'm here and what to expect from this space. Thank you for being here, I appreciate you.