Sober Awkward

Yes, it’s true. Vic has a new co host and it’s only bloody Ulrika Jonsson. No, Vic can’t quite believe it either. She’s trying to act normal about the whole thing.This first episode is basically Vic and Ulrika getting to know each other while you lot listen in. They talk about where they’ve come from, how they drank and how alcohol went from being a completely normal part of life to something that was taking up far too much space.And their drinking stories couldn’t be more different. Vic was your classic life and soul party drinker, always up for another one and usually the last dickhead on the dance floor. Ulrika’s drinking was much more likely to happen at home. Different habits, different lives, same eventual realisation. This booze thing wasn’t really doing either of them any favours.There are a few awkward bits, some oversharing and moments where you can practically hear them figuring each other out as they go. Which, frankly, is exactly how we like it around here.This new chapter of Sober Awkward is going to get stuck into all of it. Why we drink, why everyone thinks drinking is so bloody normal, the weird things we did to justify it, what happens when it stops being fun and what life actually looks like when you decide you’ve had enough.Vic and Ulrika certainly don’t have all the answers, but they’ve got plenty of stories, opinions and questionable decisions to pick apart.So, here we go. A brand new Sober Awkward.New co host. Same awkward-ness.Join Vic and Ulrika every Monday as they rummage around the weird and wonderful world of drinking, not drinking and everything in between.💛 Resources & Links📖 Vic & Ulrika want to hear from you!Have you got a story, weird drunk confession or a question for Vic and Ulrika?Email [email protected] Your message could inspire a future episode.📱 Join the Sober Awkward appSearch “Sober Awkward” in the Apple App Store or find for all other devices click here📲 Follow usInstagram - Sober Awkward: @soberawkwardFacebook - Sober Awkward Community for WomenRetreat with us🌴 Fancy a sober holiday? Click here to come and drink from coconuts with us!📰 Media enquiriesFor interviews, features, partnerships or other media requests, contact Kate at [email protected].📘 A Thousand Wasted SundaysVictoria’s brutally honest and hilarious memoir about motherhood, anxiety and ditching the booze.👉 Get A Thousand Wasted Sundays📙 MummingA Year of Trying (and Failing) to Be a Better Parent—Vic’s funny and painfully relatable memoir about the messy reality of motherhood.👉 Get Mumming📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideA 30-day sobriety kickstart filled with relatable support, practical tools and plenty of awkwardness to help you begin life without booze.👉 Explore the Sober Awkward Guide🎧 Listen to more Sober AwkwardFind more episodes, books, events and everything Sober Awkward.👉 soberawkward.com🛟 Alcohol SupportSober Awkward shares personal experiences and community support, but it is not a substitute for professional medical advice.If you are physically dependent on alcohol, suddenly stopping can be dangerous. Please speak to a doctor or alcohol-support service for advice on withdrawing safely.🇬🇧 United KingdomDrinkline — National Alcohol HelplineFree and confidential support if you are worried about your own or someone else’s drinking.Call 0300 123 1110Weekdays: 9am–8pmWeekends: 11am–4pm👉 NHS alcohol supportAlcohol Change UKInformation, practical tools and support.👉 alcoholchange.org.ukWithYouFree, confidential support with alcohol, drugs and mental health.👉 wearewithyou.org.ukIn an emergency, call 999.🇦🇺 AustraliaNational Alcohol and Other Drug HotlineFree and confidential information and support.Call 1800 250 015Available 24/7 in most states and territories.👉 Australian Government hotline informationLifeline AustraliaCrisis support available 24/7.Call 13 11 14Text 0477 13 11 14👉 lifeline.org.auIn an emergency, call 000. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kelly Gunn found a lump in her breast in 2016. She got it checked, kept up with screenings and was repeatedly reassured that what doctors were seeing was benign. Then, in 2024, Kelly was diagnosed with breast cancer. After a double mastectomy, where seven tumours were removed, she was told she'd probably had cancer for around ten years.In this episode, Kelly joins Vic to talk about what happened, the anger of knowing she'd kept asking questions and still been reassured, and what life looks like after cancer. But they also tackle a difficult question: what role does alcohol play in breast cancer risk, and why do so many women still not know about the connection?This is not a conversation about blaming Kelly, or anyone else, for getting cancer. It's about the information many of us never had while we were drinking, the uncomfortable facts about alcohol and cancer, and learning to take care of the body you've spent years taking for granted.An honest, sometimes difficult conversation about booze, breast cancer, self advocacy and what happens when you finally start giving a shit about Future You.Kelly Gunn is a writer, breast cancer advocate, bodybuilder, and founder of FEINIX HAUS. She writes and speaks about sobriety, identity, bodies, choices, and the wonderfully awkward business of figuring out what comes after.IG - @feinix_hausTT @unapologeticallyafterwebsite - www.thefeinixhaus.com💛 Resources & Links📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted SundaysA brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.👉 https://amzn.asia/d/0aZ69GpKVic's book 'Mumming - A year of Trying (and Failing) to be a better parent - https://amzn.asia/d/0bUJTS2W🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes👉 www.soberawkward.com🫖 Join The Cuppa CommunityOur private, supportive online space for sober folk👉 www.cuppa.community📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideOur downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.👉 The Sober Awkward Guide📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:Instagram: @soberawkwardTikTok: @soberawkwardFacebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, I’m joined by Audrey, host of the Dry Humor podcast, for a very sensible and grown-up conversation about motherhood, college drinking and whether spending your life taking the piss out of yourself is a healthy coping mechanism or simply a way of avoiding your feelings?Audrey lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, two children and two dogs. She has been sober since 11 July 2022 and is an active member of the sober community, including hosting peer-support calls for women. Her podcast, Dry Humor: Finding Levity in Sobriety, explores drinking culture and the messy business of building an alcohol-free life.We travel back to Audrey’s college days, when drinking too much was considered a personality, then explore the strange shift from party girl to parent. What happens when those hilarious stories from your past begin to look as though they might deserve a tiny bit more investigation?There’s mum guilt, embarrassing former selves, questionable memories, motherhood confessions and willy chat. We also ask when self-deprecation stops helping us connect and starts becoming another stick to beat ourselves with. Have we been saved by our ability to laugh at ourselves or should we just go to therapy?Probably both.💛 Resources & LinksFollow Audrey on Instagram: @dryhumorpodcastListen to Dry Humor: Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/4fVwQviO63qMbGVK38sMbK?si=bCsMr6jYQMKf2nDtjmB42A&utm_source=copy-linkApplehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dry-humor-finding-levity-in-sobriety/id1865046082📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted SundaysA brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.👉 https://amzn.asia/d/0aZ69GpKVic's book 'Mumming - A year of Trying (and Failing) to be a better parent - https://amzn.asia/d/0bUJTS2W🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes👉 www.soberawkward.com🫖 Join The Cuppa CommunityOur private, supportive online space for sober folk👉 www.cuppa.community📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideOur downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.👉 The Sober Awkward Guide📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:Instagram: @soberawkwardTikTok: @soberawkwardFacebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vic is flying solo today, with no guest and a letter she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about.You’ll hear from Allison, a woman who started drinking to hide her shyness. She has relied on alcohol for so long that she no longer knows who she is without it.Loads of women have been sharing similar stories in the Sober Awkward Facebook group. They drink before parties, dates and dinners because socialising is fucking hard. Perhaps that’s one of the biggest reasons any of us start drinking. A few glasses quieten the voice telling us we’re boring, awkward or about to say something ridiculous.Unfortunately, that temporary confidence can become the only version of ourselves we trust.Vic looks at social anxiety, identity and the strange business of meeting your sober personality after years of hiding her. There’s some science, plenty of honesty, a penis-shaped teabag holder and a deeply questionable vag spoon.You might never become brilliant at parties. Who cares? Stay for an hour, talk to one nice person, eat the crisps and go home. 📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted SundaysA brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.👉 https://amzn.asia/d/0aZ69GpKVic's book 'Mumming - A year of Trying (and Failing) to be a better parent - https://amzn.asia/d/0bUJTS2W🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes👉 www.soberawkward.com🫖 Join The Cuppa CommunityOur private, supportive online space for sober folk👉 www.cuppa.community📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideOur downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.👉 The Sober Awkward Guide📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:Instagram: @soberawkwardTikTok: @soberawkwardFacebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does your sobriety change with the seasons? Do sunny days suddenly make you think about beer gardens and cold wine, while dark winter evenings have you craving a bottle of red and a blanket?This week, Vic is joined by two guests to explore seasonal living, what it actually means, why humans have always lived according to the rhythms of the year and whether paying a little more attention to the seasons could actually be good for us.First, Vic chats to holistic counsellor Amy Doyle for a broader look at seasonal living. Amy explains why we’re not really designed to operate like machines, doing and feeling exactly the same things all year round, and how noticing changes in our energy, moods, routines and needs can help us feel more connected to ourselves and the world around us.Then Vic chats to Kate Baily, founder of Love Sober, to bring it all back to booze. Kate explores the idea of seasonal sobriety, why different times of year can bring different triggers and drinking associations, and how understanding those patterns might help us prepare for them rather than being completely sideswiped by a sudden urge for a rosé the second the sun comes out.Don’t worry, you don’t need to start foraging or hugging trees. Sometimes seasonal living is simply about paying attention, slowing down when you need to and accepting that perhaps we’re not supposed to feel exactly the same every bloody day of the year.Expect sobriety, sunshine, winter blues, ancient humans and Vic getting unnecessarily excited about a shiny plum.💛 Resources & LinksFollow and find out more about Kat and Love Sober - head to https://[email protected] Read Kats Substack -https://katebaily.substack.comBooksLove Your Sober Year - https://amzn.asia/d/04HRItBVLove Yourself Sober - https://amzn.asia/d/0iclbsZLAmy Doyle - BooksThe way of the five seasons, by John KirkwoodBraiding of sweetgrass, by Robin Wall KimmererBlogshttps://amydoyle.com.au/2026/07/05/why-winter-makes-you-want-to-disappear/https://amydoyle.com.au/2023/05/29/living-in-tune-with-the-seasons-hello-winter/https://amydoyle.com.au/2023/07/17/winter-rituals-seasonal-living-2/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/__amydoyle__/Bio snippet (photos attached - choose either one)Amy Doyle is a Holistic Counsellor who supports women to understand themselves more deeply and lead themselves through the realities of everyday life. Her work brings together self-awareness, emotional wellbeing and practical self-leadership, helping women understand their feelings, needs and patterns and create lives that reflect what actually matters to them. Amy is also exploring seasonal living as a way of deepening our connection with ourselves, our lives and the natural world, and learning to work with our changing rhythms rather than expecting ourselves to be the same every day.📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted SundaysA brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.👉 https://amzn.asia/d/0aZ69GpKVic's book 'Mumming - A year of Trying (and Failing) to be a better parent - https://amzn.asia/d/0bUJTS2W🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes👉 www.soberawkward.com🫖 Join The Cuppa CommunityOur private, supportive online space for sober folk👉 www.cuppa.community📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideOur downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.👉 The Sober Awkward Guide📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:Instagram: @soberawkwardTikTok: @soberawkwardFacebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.