I’m vacuum cleaning at work, hungover. Again.
Beating myself up—for the hundredth time—I think, Why don’t I have a stop button? Why do I always want one more? I feel awful.

I reach for my phone to change the music and see an ad for This Naked Mind by Annie Grace. I download it instantly and start listening. That moment marked the beginning of my sober-curious journey.

There Was No Stop Button—So I Knew It Needed To Be A Full Stop

That book led to many others. Quit lit, podcasts, AA meetings—online and offline—I entered a whole new world. These resources changed my relationship with alcohol and helped me understand the science behind why I drank and why I felt the way I did.

I needed support. I needed people who understood. None of my close friends were dealing with this, and I didn’t even fully understand what I was dealing with myself. I just knew I was exhausted—sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, of detoxing and retoxing, of losing parts of my days.

What started as social drinking had slowly turned into self-medication during one of the hardest periods of my life. I drank to escape anxiety and stress, not knowing alcohol was actually making both worse.

I’d taken breaks before—weeks here and there. This time was different. I wanted lasting change.

Forever felt impossible. No wine with cheese? No beer with chips? How?

One day at a time!

If I don’t take the first drink, I can’t take the second.