Author: Alysse Bryson

There is a very specific hour of the day that belongs to the sober person. It’s somewhere between 5 and 7pm. The sun starts doing that thing where everything goes warm and gold. Your neighbors are pouring something cold on their back porches. The bar down the street is an hour deep into happy hour. Every restaurant on the block is doing the low lighting and the clinking glasses and the ritual. For a lot of people in recovery, this is the hardest hour of the day. It’s the hour that used to mean something. It’s the hour that your…

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Join me LIVE on BACKSTAGE Wednesday, April 29, from 6 to 7 PM Pacific for a hands-on demo, tool reviews, and a year’s worth of bedazzle receipts. 🎧Listen to this article in Alysse’s voice  Prefer listening? ▶️Press play and follow along. Here is a sentence I never expected to write in my sober life: I have strong opinions about glue. I also have strong opinions about wax picker tips, which rhinestone brands fall off in the dishwasher, why bigger gems are sometimes better than smaller ones, and whether you should bedazzle the cover of a hardback book. (Yes. Obviously yes.…

There are drinks that whisper “special occasion,” and then there are drinks that walk in wearing black and gold and fully expect to be seated near the centerpieces. Just Enough Alcohol Removed Brut Bubbles is firmly in the second category. At first glance, the can is chic enough to make you assume it has opinions about glassware. The Pantone situation on this can is giving “I know exactly who I am and I don’t need to explain it to you.” Minimalist, intentional, and honestly a little intimidating in the best way. The black with a hint of gold design feels…

Samuel L. Jackson Has Been Sober Since 1991. The Career You Know Came After. While Samuel L. Jackson was in rehab in 1991, Spike Lee called with an offer. The role was Gator in Jungle Fever — a crack addict. Jackson had just spent years living a version of that life. He took the role. He brought something to it that no amount of preparation could have manufactured. He won a special jury prize at Cannes for it, a category the festival created specifically to honor his performance. He was 42 years old and had been a working actor for over a…

Some people have the kind of résumé that makes you want to sit up straighter. Toni Will is one of those people. She has spent 25 years in leadership, starting in banking and eventually becoming the General Manager and Governor of the Kalamazoo Wings, a men’s AA professional hockey team in the ECHL. She was the first female GM in franchise history and the first woman to serve on the ECHL Board of Governors. Under her leadership, the Wings have earned multiple awards for sales, revenue growth, and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Casual. And somehow that’s only part of…

When we dreamed up the first-ever BACKSTAGE with The Sober Curator event featuring Rufi Thorpe, author of “Margo’s Got Money Trouble”, we knew we wanted it to feel like more than a virtual author talk. We wanted a vibe. We wanted a little indulgence. A little conversation fuel. A little “main character energy, but sober.” And ideally, something that felt smart, elevated, fun, and just a tiny bit unhinged in the best possible way. Enter: the Killjoy Mocktail Kit. This is NOT a self-care kit. This is a vibe. This curated box of zero-proof drinks, adaptogenic sips, and delightfully extra goodies…

I have been building something. Not quietly, not slowly, and definitely not without rhinestones. BACKSTAGE with The Sober Curator is our brand new members-only cultural membership, and it is officially open. Two hundred Founding Member spots. A private community. Monthly live events with people who are actually interesting. And a calendar that, if I do say so myself, I am genuinely proud of. This is not a support group. It is not a recovery program. It is not a Zoom room full of people reading from worksheets. BACKSTAGE is a cultural space for people who are done drinking and just…

For those of us living alcohol-free—whether for personal, health, or recovery reasons—reading ingredient labels is second nature. But one product that often flies under the radar? Perfume. Traditional fragrances almost always contain alcohol, usually in the form of ethanol, as the primary ingredient. It’s the industry standard because alcohol helps the scent evaporate quickly and project into the air. But if you’re someone practicing total abstinence from alcohol, you may prefer products that align with your lifestyle on all levels—including your fragrance. The good news? More and more luxury brands are finally getting the memo and creating alcohol-free perfumes that…

Florence Welch Is 12 Years Sober. She Describes Herself as an All-or-Nothing Drinker. Here’s the Full Story. Florence Welch has one of the most recognizable voices in music. She also has one of the more honest answers to the question of why she stopped drinking. She is, by her own description, all or nothing. Not the kind of person who has one glass of wine and calls it a night. The kind of person for whom one glass of wine is simply the beginning of a longer and less predictable evening. She stopped drinking in 2014. As of 2026, that…

 🎧Listen to this article in Alysse’s voice Prefer listening? Press play and follow along. Why Sober Dates Deserve Main Character Energy Here’s what nobody tells you about sober dating: it’s actually better. Not “better considering” — just better. You show up as yourself, you remember everything, and the chemistry you feel is real. No asterisks. In your drinking days, the plan was basically: show up, order something, order another something, and hope the dim lighting and lowered inhibitions did the rest. (Chemistry! Or at least a convincing impression of it.) Take alcohol out of the equation and suddenly you realize:…

He was 20 years old, one of the most famous people on the planet, and he was showing up to work hungover. Not once. Not occasionally. Regularly. Daniel Radcliffe has said he sometimes filmed scenes for Harry Potter while still under the influence, or close enough to it that the line had stopped mattering. He wasn’t partying. He was coping. There’s a difference, and he’s been honest about that difference in a way that most people in his position never are. Radcliffe stopped drinking around 2010, when he was 20. As of 2026, that’s roughly 16 years. No dramatic rock…

Kat Von D Has Been Sober for 17 Years. Her Life Looks Nothing Like You’d Expect. She drew a line in the sand sometime around 2008, and it had nothing to do with a rock bottom. Kat Von D decided to get sober because her work was suffering. That was it. She is an artist before she is a celebrity, before she is a brand, before she is anything else, and when drugs and alcohol started blurring the precision she brought to her craft, she cut them off. Not dramatically. Not with a press release. She just chose the needle…

In a powerful episode of What’s In Your Neighborhood?, host Melanie Vargas sits down with me—Alysse Bryson, Founder and CEO of The Sober Curator—for a candid conversation about recovery, identity, and what it really takes to live authentically. This isn’t a surface-level interview. It’s a deeper look at what happens after you’ve done the “big” work—when sobriety, success, and structure are already in place, but something still feels… off. About What’s In Your Neighborhood? Melanie Vargas’ podcast is built around a simple but powerful idea: We all carry emotional neighborhoods. The quiet backstreets of ambition, shame, identity, and the stories…

Anthony Kiedis Is 25 Years Sober. Here’s the Full Story. He spent his last $10,000 on treatment. It was Christmas Eve 2000. He was the frontman of one of the biggest rock bands on the planet, and he was completely out of moves. That’s where Anthony Kiedis draws the line between before and after. As of December 24, 2025, the Red Hot Chili Peppers singer has been sober for 25 years. No slipping. No asterisks. Just one of the longest continuous sobriety streaks in rock history, held together by hard work, surfing, fatherhood, and a level of self-awareness that took…

Elizabeth Vargas was having a panic attack in the makeup chair while America waited for her to deliver the news. She looked calm. She sounded authoritative. And she was already thinking about which bottle of chardonnay she would open the second the cameras cut. That is exactly why her story hits so hard for those of us who are sober or sober curious. She was not a tabloid regular or a reality star trying to rehab a brand. She was the calm, serious voice of American news, showing up in living rooms in a blazer, not a bandage dress. While…

I’ve been on the hosting side of a podcast conversation enough times now that I know how it goes. You prep your questions, you hold the space, you keep the energy up. You’re in control. Being the guest is a completely different situation. Kelley Kitley had me on her podcast, and I want to say I showed up with everything buttoned up and polished. But here’s the thing about sitting across from a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 25 years of experience and 13 years of her own sobriety: that woman knows how to get you talking. Not in a…

Last month we launched Clued In and you showed up. Like, really showed up. People were screenshotting their completed grids, arguing about clues in the comments, and DMing us about how long 5 Down took them. We loved every second of it. So we’re back. And this time, we’re pouring one out for the drinks that made sobriety taste good. This Month’s Theme: Happy Every Hour April is Alcohol Awareness Month, and we’re celebrating it the only way we know how: by nerding out on everything NA. This month’s crossword is 13 clues dedicated entirely to NA beverages, zero-proof spirits,…

Because Brunch Mimosas Are So Last Season Here is what the Mother’s Day industrial complex wants you to believe: brunch, a gift card, a candle that smells like “relaxation,” and bottomless mimosas until someone cries in the bathroom. For the sober mom in your life, that script does not just miss the mark. It lands like a face-plant in slow motion. She is not a consolation prize version of a mom who “cannot drink anymore.” She is fully, intentionally, sometimes brutally present for her life. That deserves better than a Hallmark template and a round of drinks she does not…

You asked for more puzzles. We delivered. Welcome to Sober Search, the newest addition to The Sober Curator’s puzzle lineup. If you’ve been playing Clued In (our monthly crossword), you already know we take sober brain workouts seriously. Now we’re giving you another one. Same energy. Different format. Zero proof required. What Is Sober Search? It’s a word search. But make it sober. Every month we hide 19 words inside a 15×15 grid. Your job is to find them. Words go in every direction: horizontal, vertical, diagonal, forwards, backwards. Some are hiding in plain sight. Others will make you stare…

Welcome to a world of uplifting and transformative tools that empower you to cultivate positivity, mindfulness, and wellness in your daily life. From feelings to happiness, from gentle reminders to positive affirmations, and from mental health to mindfulness, we’ve curated a list of the top 14 Motivational Card Decks that cover an extensive range of life-enhancing topics. These decks also touch on understanding and managing moods, embracing digital detox, resisting the grind culture, promoting work wellness, and even incorporating desk yoga. Each deck is designed to inspire, motivate, and guide you towards a more balanced and fulfilling life. Join us…

Denzel Washington is not standing at a podium telling you his rock bottom story. He is not on the cover of People magazine with a redemption arc and a recovery memoir. He is doing something arguably more interesting: living like a man who figured out what actually matters and organizing his whole life around that instead. In a pop culture landscape where sobriety is either hidden completely or performed loudly, Denzel lands in a third category. Quiet. Grounded. Wildly compelling. And completely unbothered by the chaos everyone else seems determined to live inside of. That is why we are talking…

The book that’s been living rent-free in our Addiction Fiction section for two years just became Apple TV+’s most anticipated series of spring 2026. Sometimes you read a book and immediately think: this has to be a show. That’s exactly what happened when I reviewed Rufi Thorpe’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles two years ago, and it has been one of the most-read pieces in our Addiction Fiction section ever since. The story hit differently here. Not because it’s a recovery book. Because it’s a book about what happens when the people who love you are also the people most likely…

They started with a group chat and a “hey, I’m in Brooklyn too.” Now they’re building one of the most authentic sober mom communities on the internet. If you got sober before social media made sobriety look aspirational, you know what it felt like to look for your people in all the wrong places. Chat rooms. Bulletin boards. Waiting for someone to type “Hi, I’m Ed” while you quietly contemplated relapsing out of sheer boredom. The landscape has changed. A lot. And for sober moms specifically, one of the freshest additions to that landscape is the Sober Mom Collective, a…