Karen grew up in a home without alcohol, but that didn’t stop it from finding her in high school. Binge drinking quickly became a part of her life, and she chose not to go to college because she knew she would party it away. After making her way through beauty school, Karen became a mom, and drinking ended up slipping pretty easily into the backseat of her life. She was able to moderate her drinking for years.  Then, Karen’s children got older, and more space appeared in her days. She consistently began to fill that new free time with alcohol. Like so many moms, the pandemic pushed alcohol to the center stage of her life, and in a full resurgence of her drinking, Karen struggled to show up for her family and experienced her first blackout - at age 53. It seemed like something was wrong, and Karen committed to Dry January to see if alcohol was the problem. On Day 18 something incredible happened. She ‘woke up’. The lights were brighter, the colors were more vivid, and Karen started to wonder - what had she been missing while numbing out with alcohol? That experience led Karen to dive deep into quit lit, podcasts and meetings in the Sober Mom Life Cafe. All the while, though, she kept drinking. But over the months she found courage to ask herself a big question: What was she getting from alcohol? And, was it making her experience better in any way?  Karen committed to 90 days of sobriety to find out. By Day 40 it was clear to her - alcohol was making her life harder and was robbing her of experiences. She was not going back.  Join us in the The Sober Mom Life Cafe! For just $25/month, you get access to 8 weekly peer support meetings, the exclusive Cafe social feed (like Facebook, but better!), our monthly book club, the monthly Q+A, the ability to join the retreat, and the chance to share your story on The Real Sober Moms, and merch discounts! For a limited time, get one week free!  We also have The Sober Mom Life Community for just $5.95/month - In the Community, you’ll receive access to the exclusive Community social feed (like Facebook, but better!), the exclusive community chat, our monthly book club, and one free weekly meeting.  My mocktail recipe book, ‘No Ethanol Needed’ is finally here! Grab your copy here: https://mykindofsweet.com/2024/01/the-no-ethanol-needed-mocktail-ebook-is-here/ Click here to follow The Sober Mom Life on Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices