Like so many small town girls, Abby’s first drink was a wine cooler in the middle of a field. Though she hated the taste, she learned that alcohol could be a tool to rely on: for an escape from her painful home life, as a way to fit in, and to help her ignore the nagging feeling that she didn’t belong. Throughout college and young adulthood, she leaned on it, throwing herself into a heavy drinking social life until she realized… She didn’t like herself.  Even as Abby began to work on...

This is such a pinch me moment! The incredible Annie Grace is on the podcast. Annie’s first book, This Naked Mind, changed my life. And I’m not alone! So many women in the Sober Mom Life Cafe have had the same experience. In addition to being the bestselling author of multiple books, Annie Grace is the founder of This Naked Mind, where millions of people have found freedom from alcohol through her groundbreaking emotion-based change framework.  In today’s episode, we’ll talk about how a...

Katie and I are back for the second installment of SobieTEA where we spill the tea about our favorite escape: Bravo TV! This week we’ll deep dive into The Valley, and Katie will explain why the pool party gave her ‘the ick’. Then, we’ll share our thoughts on Carl and Lindsay’s impending breakup on Summer House.  Plus, Lala’s insemination party, the power of Craig and Shep’s friendship, and Katie brings us a brand new segment: Gone in 60 Seconds!  Do you have feedback or topics you’d like to...

Society has done such an effective job of teaching us to restrict our emotions that it can feel hard to believe that emotions are a completely natural human experience. So many of us learned to reach for a drink when we started to feel an uncomfortable emotion, and we lost touch with how to feel anything at all.  Learning how to feel your emotions is often one of the biggest parts of a sobriety journey. So today, I ask my therapist mom: How do you feel emotions in an effective way?  We’ll...

Today’s real sober mom, Ashlee, made a pledge to herself when she was young: she would never drink. Ashlee had experienced first hand the damage caused by a parent who drank, and she never wanted to be that mom. Yet, when she turned 21 and had her first drink, things got complicated. For her, it was ‘love at first sip’.  Today, Ashlee tells the story of how the ‘attention seeking party girl lifestyle’ upended her life almost immediately. She details the intense drinking culture she...

It’s an exciting day on the pod - The incredible Emily Ley is finally here, and she is telling her sobriety story publicly for the very first time!  In today’s episode, Emily will share about how she began to self medicate with alcohol to manage undiagnosed ADD, her silent sober curious journey, the doctor that completely invalidated her urge to quit drinking, how she feels like she discovered a ‘secret to life’ in sobriety, and so much more!  Emily wants you to know: you do not have to...

In this flashback from May 2023, I’ll share my approach to sobriety, and how I found myself at the place I am now with alcohol.  When I began my sober journey, I only knew what I didn’t want: I didn’t want alcohol to take one more day away from me. Now I know what I do want: a full, expansive and beautiful sober life.  Your sober journey gets to look the way YOU want it to. It doesn’t have to follow anyone else’s guidelines.  If you’re looking for a community of wonderful sober moms to...

Today, Audrey and I are tackling a big topic: Why we believe pregnancy does not count as a true sober experience. We know that might sound harsh, but stick with us! Because our goal in today’s episode is to empower you to see all that sobriety has to offer you that you didn’t experience during pregnancy. We lay out how sobriety differs from pregnancy, the ways in which pregnancy makes it easy to abstain, how society pressures us to pick a drink back up immediately after giving birth, and so...

Kelly is a mid-40’s mom of three, on again/off again stay at home mom who is working on figuring how to navigate a new ADHD diagnosis and sobriety. She began her drinking career in high school like many of us. It wasn’t her favorite, due to the lack of control she felt when drunk. Between joining the military at 20 and then being a mom not wanting to find a new pot dealer in her 30’s, she shifted to alcohol. First it was for fun partying, then it became a helpful way to shut down her brain to...

If anyone can make sobriety look glamorous, it’s Morgan Matkovic. Morgan is a lifestyle blogger, special needs advocate, mother, and author. On top of all that, she is almost three months sober! Morgan and I have been blogging buddies for nine years, and I am so happy that our paths have crossed in this wonderful way!  Today Morgan talks about the role alcohol played on her social feed when she was drinking, why she felt so ready to try Dry January this year, how her daughter’s ASD diagnosis...

Katie joins me today for the first episode in a new series: SobrieTEA!  Like so many sober moms in our community, Katie and I are both obsessed with Bravo. Plus, Katie is plugged into the reality world professionally! So today we're here to spill all the tea from the Bravo world, with a special lens on how alcohol plays a role. In this episode we tackle the latest seasons of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Summer House and Vanderpump Rules, sharing our thoughts on the drama, the...

Erinn O’Neill of the 2 Sober Girls Podcast joins me today!  Erinn is a big proponent of AA, and she should absolutely be in charge of the organization's rebrand. She was so kind to answer all of my burning questions about AA, and her approach to sobriety is so soulful, light and non-judgmental!  In this episode Erinn shares her sobriety journey, how reconnecting with her faith led her to sobriety, why she finds power in the term ‘alcoholic’ and why she believes so deeply in the mission of...

Growing up, Kara felt like her father had chosen alcohol over his family. He was in and out of rehab for alcohol addiction when she was young, which ultimately led to her parents divorce.  Kara’s mom remarried when she was four and Kara grew up in a blended family of six kids. Though it was a great family life, with so many kids in the house there was no space for her parents to support her emotional needs. Kara had social anxiety, and she began to lean on alcohol to support her in social...

Lifestyle reporter Rachel Paula Abrahamson recently penned the article Sober Moms are challenging wine mom culture one playdate at a time for Today.com, and I am honored to welcome her to the show for her first podcast conversation about her own sobriety. We’ll talk about how drinking became central to her life, the reasons she ultimately chose to quit, how we talk to our kids about alcohol, and the need for society to abandon the idea that a ‘rock bottom’ is required for sobriety.  Follow...

Today’s real sober mom, Aimee, is a dietician who spent years educating others on the dangers of alcohol… all while struggling to find her own way to sobriety.  Alcohol became Aimee’s primary way to cope after she became a mom. She leaned on it to get her through sleepless nights, a job she despised, and the fear and stress of working in healthcare during Covid. Due to her expertise as a dietician, Aimee knew that her relationship with alcohol was problematic, but she couldn’t envision what...

We just returned from the AMAZING Sober Mom Life retreat! The laughter, the tears, the hugs (!!!) and the connection with other IRL sober moms in our community was so much more meaningful than we could have ever imagined. We left elated, renewed, exhausted, and full of stories.  Join me, Audrey and my mom Susan as we recap our personal highlights from this incredible weekend!  This whole experience truly made us realize: alcohol was never the magic… We are the magic.  Would you like to...

For most of Emily's life, she only knew one way to drink: ‘Wisconsin-style binge drinking’. (I can relate. We grew up in the same town!) After becoming a nutritionist, however, a subtle sense of guilt about her drinking began to bubble beneath the surface. She didn’t think much of it, though, because she had no idea how toxic alcohol was - they never addressed it in her nutrition classes!  After becoming a mom, Emily’s weekend binges became 5pm glasses of wine, and year over year her guilt...

You made it! 365 Days have been marked off the calendar. You are officially one year sober!  …Now what?  Today my mom & our resident therapist, Susan Knower, is here to talk about this unique point in the sobriety journey. We’ll chat about the thoughts that arise when the novelty of sobriety wears off, how to deal with the emotions that lie beneath your drinking, the importance of community in all stages of sobriety, and even what you can learn from the ‘gift’ of boredom.  Resources...

Today’s Real Sober Mom, Erin, is here with a story that is so relatable.  In high school, alcohol gave Erin her first taste of ‘fitting in’. She leaned on it to socialize on the weekends throughout her teens and early 20s, and she never gave it much thought. Her drinking always seemed ‘normal’ when compared with those around her! Once she began having children, though, alcohol slowly started to seep into her weekday life, as wine became a ‘reward’ for making it through the intense days being...

There is a massive blind spot within the medical community when it comes to the dangers of alcohol. Dr. Kara Pepper is on the podcast today to help us understand why. Dr. Pepper is an Atlanta-based Internist who has been practicing for over 16 years. Before sobriety, her own biases and internalized shame led her to often avoid the topic of alcohol with her patients. She is now two years sober, and it has completely changed her approach to patient care! Today, she shares her sobriety...

In this replay from last February, we're talking a big first: Your first sober vacation. It's a big milestone! You might be wondering: can a vacation be fun without alcohol? I'm here to assure you that the answer is yes. Honestly, vacations can be even more enjoyable when you leave alcohol out of the equation.  If you’re gearing up for your first sober vacation, I’m here to help. Today I’m sharing steps to help you discover what a vacation without alcohol can be like.  You can do...

Bookstagrammer Hailey Conroy is on the pod today!  Hailey had been a weekend binge drinker through high school, college, and even law school, despite her Irish family history of alcohol abuse. She quit during pregnancy, but when her twins were born at 23 weeks, the bottom fell out. Her son passed after 3 days, and her daughter fought to live in the NICU for 9 months. Her 2 glass habit was also born. Alcohol was no longer a social tool for the weekend. It became a daily tool to bludgeon away...

My worlds are colliding! Today’s real sober mom, Jessica, and I go way back. We met in college, became good friends as adults, and now she’s one year sober and in The Sober Mom Life Cafe!  Jessica’s relationship with drinking always centered around her social life. Alcohol felt like a natural part of the social equation, so much so that she didn’t even think about it. After Covid, her home became a social hub for family and friends, and drinks became ever present.  Slowly, Jessica started...

Here today by popular demand, it’s Mallory Ervin! Mallory Ervin is a Kentucky-grown, Nashville-living dreamer who had a roundabout way of arriving at today. From her time in the Miss America pageant to being a three-time contestant on The Amazing Race, Mallory turned her passion for sharing her love of fashion, beauty, and life into a platform for impact. Today she runs a global lifestyle brand she founded in 2016, hosts the Living Fully podcast where she encourages and inspires her...