Author: Contributor to The Sober Curator

I never thought this would happen. The milk sloshed in the Yeti mug in the cup holder in my car. I was driving like crazy to yet another mandatory UA drug test at the lab. It was 2018, and I enrolled in a program for nurses with substance use issues and committed to random UA a few times a month. This was willingly and begrudgingly to save my license from being restricted. I had downloaded an app on my phone that I would check in every weekday to see my fate. Had I been selected to UA today? The other…

The path to sobriety can be extremely challenging, but it’s also very rewarding. It’s a journey that demands coping mechanisms to deal with overwhelming emotions, and yet, you can find tremendous comfort in your new way of life. Aromatherapy can help you feel more in control of your experience because it offers very specific therapeutic benefits to support you through the ups and downs of the process. How Essential Oils Work Essential oils, the heart, and soul of aromatherapy, are composed of specific chemical compounds that indicate their distinctive benefits. When you inhale an essential oil, its molecules are swiftly “read” by the…

When I was approached in 2021 to write a column about fashion and the role it plays in our recovery, I thought it would be a fun, silly way to add glam to a not-so-glamorous topic. I signed off on blog posts with “Grace and Glam” as my signature line and felt that was all I had to say to the recovery metaverse. It was the height of the pandemic during that time, and the self-help arena exploded. I was happy to stick with fashion and style and not contribute to the self-help zeitgeist. Harnessing my energy, I dove into the world…

Season 2 of The Bear on Hulu takes a deeper dive into AlAnon gives us more insight on the cousins and delivers the fun in dysfunction.

Anyone who reads crime fiction is familiar with the alcoholic ex-cop private investigator character. Randy Chalmers is an ex-cop who gets sober and makes millions as an architect, but when his sponsor dies of an apparent overdose he steps into the role. He goes around town, roughing people up, shaking them down for information and trying to find out what happened and who was at fault. Deep down, Randy knows that it was his own fault – at least partially. Life got good for him in sobriety. He got busy and drifted away from AA and his sponsor. If he…

This is the first book by Michele Miller that I have read, and it was excellent. It starts as a hard-core zombie story set in NYC, with a great cast of characters. There are all of the requisite guts, gore, and brains splattering…. It is not my usual genre, but it is brilliantly done. The recovery aspect of the story is barely mentioned in the first few chapters. It comes on slowly and naturally. Eventually, the cast figures out that alcoholics and addicts are “immune” from the zombie disease (the Walking Dead can’t smell them), so they are ultimately the…

The Bear is a gritty authentic look at addiction from an Al-Anon perspective in this surprise, heavily hyped hit from Hulu.

I recently reached the one-year milestone and thought of my journey. I also thought of the people who helped get me here. My wife, my sponsor, and a few friends I met along the way in recovery. One thing that struck me was that my journey, although my own, was not alone. As an Army veteran, like many, I struggle with PTSD. With that comes feelings of isolation and anxiety once you leave the military family you’ve known most of your adult life. The feeling that it’s you against the world.  This bottle or pill may numb you long enough…

I distinctly remember having lunch with a friend in my late twenties when she gave me a little advice, “you can eat, or you can drink, but you can’t do both.” Choosing the empty calories and the mind-obliterating wine over the breadbasket was my vice. I hated my body anyways. My friend chided, “Let’s just call it a liquid lunch.” I learned that day that I could allow myself the calories of a few glasses of wine if I went hungry. A slang term refers to a self-imposed restriction of calories reserved for drinking. It’s called drunkorexia. But I didn’t…

I’m Lindsay, and I live in Knoxville, TN – well, Maryville, pronounced mur-vull, a smaller town between Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I’ve been alcohol-free since June 2021, and I’m just now breaking out into the world of mocktails, NA beers, sober safe spaces, and socializing sober. Thankfully, being sober in Knoxville comes with an amazingly supportive sober community – complete with a sober bar, designated sober safe space coffee shop, and recovery-centric weekly yoga classes. When I started running the @soberinknoxville Instagram page, I didn’t know it would bring me in contact with the kind of…

Juniper Waller is a singer, songwriter, and vocal empowerment coach from Oakland, CA. Her main musical project is her funk-soul band, The Gold Souls. Juniper comes from a long line of singer-songwriters and also has a background in holistic healing, social justice work, and poetry. She has been sober since October of 2018, and much of her journey has been about learning to create in recovery. Juniper is also a vocal empowerment coach and breathwork guide helping people free their voices through guided vocalization and meditation practices. Through her business Voice Body Spirit, Juniper supports people in reclaiming their voices from past…

Day 90. This housewife wants to commemorate her ninety-days of continuous sobriety with a her very first … tattoo. This is our last episode of SEASON 2 BETSY. Featured Music by Jessica Wilde, Francis Lung, Judah Kim, Katie Burke, ⁠Jon Jeremy⁠,⁠ Natalia Zukerman⁠,⁠ Anne Heaton⁠, ⁠Pop Buchanan⁠, Matt the Electrician. Voice Talent by Katie Segal, Otis Gray, Bryan Fitzgerald, Socks Whitmore, Brooke Robichaud, Courtney Halford, Philip Vitela, & Katie Mack Executive Produced & Sound Design by ⁠⁠⁠Katie Mack⁠⁠ ⁠ Written by⁠ ⁠⁠Kimberly Kearns⁠⁠⁠Story Development by ⁠⁠EmJ Hova⁠⁠, Dillon Heape, and⁠ Katie Mack⁠Associate Produced by Brianna Janae & Maggie Stiggers SPECIAL THANKS to Alysse Bryson, The Sober Curator, Intentional Sidekick Training,…

The Creative Sober is a community of sober and sober-curious creatives looking to connect with others who are navigating sobriety, health, and spiritual awareness.

This is an exciting time to be sober or sober-curious, and it’s easier than ever to find delicious alcohol-free fare in beverage superstores, specialty bottle shops, grocery stores, and online. But, if your town is like mine, it’s not so easy to find more than one or two alcohol-free beer brands on the menu at a bar or restaurant. So, what’s an AF fan to do? Here are some ideas… and I encourage you to try them out! 1. Name it to claim it! Many bar and restaurant managers think that because guests don’t specifically ask for alcohol-free options, they…

Smoking is the leading preventable cause of chronic disease and premature mortality. Considering how much harm it does to the human body, smoking cessation is the best way to minimize the risk of illness and early death. The National Cancer Institute’s report on quitting highlights how stopping smoking can significantly reduce the risk of cancer and lung disease— cutting the risk of lung cancer by 30% to 50% after ten years compared to people who continue to smoke. In addition, cutting cigarettes out can improve cardiovascular health and fertility. However, it can be challenging to quit cigarettes due to their…

Based on Cheryl Strayed’s best seller, Hulu’s Tiny Beautiful Things is a highly relatable journey through self discovery

The Creative Sober is a community of sober and sober-curious creatives looking to connect with others who are navigating sobriety, health, and spiritual awareness. The foundation of the Creative Sober is our

The Creative Sober is a community of sober and sober-curious creatives looking to connect with others who are navigating sobriety, health, and spiritual awareness. The foundation of The Creative Sober is our stories and keeping an open mind toward recovery. Creative expression is a fundamental part of what we put into the world. It takes real courage to share this with others. Duality and Art – Interview with Cate Blanchard, The Sober Painter After stopping drinking in 2019, @thesoberpainter from Manchester, UK, decided to swap a pint glass for a paintbrush and hasn’t stopped since! Naming pieces after the numbered days of their…

Cinco de Mayo may have a bad reputation as a “drinking holiday,” but in the Valley of the Sun, there are many ways to celebrate sans alcohol! Check out this curated list of fun sober activities to do by Contributor Kristin Horstman, Founder of Brighten Your Life Coaching. Sober Cinco De Mayo Events Worth Checking Out! Fetching Dog Fetching Dog is a locally owned, family pet food, toys and supplies store. Owners, Becci and Bryce Scott have been involved in animal rescue work, here in the valley, since the mid 1990s. You can stop by their new Barkery cafe all…

Get out of your own way so you can be the artist you’re here to be. Use the power of Subconscious Reprogramming, Somatic Practices & Toltec Wisdom to Activate Abundance Make your work, let money flow, release blocks holding you back. Backed by Neuroscience & Psychology Saturday, May 6th @ 10:30am (PDT) on Zoom *Recorded for everyone who signs up We all know what it’s like to talk ourselves out of living the life of our dreams and not making the art we ache to create. We negotiate with ourselves why it won’t work out for us – it’s never…

The Creative Sober is a community of sober and sober-curious creatives looking to connect with others who are navigating sobriety, health, and spiritual awareness. The foundation of The Creative Sober is our stories and keeping an open mind towards recovery. Creative expression is a fundamental part of what we put into the world. It takes real courage to share it this with others. Jardine Libaire Jardine Libaire has published six novels, including HERE KITTY KITTY (Little, Brown) and WHITE FUR (Hogarth), and the nonfiction essay collection about sober hedonism called THE SOBER LUSH in 2020. She also collaborated on the creative documentary…

It was a sold-out venue in downtown Portland last Saturday when author Laura McKowen @lauramckowen teamed up with Sans Bar @sans_bar owner Chris Marshall to host a book signing and networking event. I call it a networking event because Laura made a point to tell the crowd to “meet at least one person tonight.” Knowing the need for a community of sober people in your corner is crucial to the wellbeing of those giving up booze. This was just what she did at the height of the pandemic in 2020 when she assembled online meetups for a group she called…

Calvin Robinson is a singer/songwriter and owner of @superdupersoberclothing with 26 months, clean & sober, dedicated to sobriety, and working at the Rehab Center that he graduated in detox. His addiction started in 2008 when his father passed away. Not knowing how to deal with that pain, he turned to alcohol. In 2017 he committed an assault & robbery crime that would ultimately change him. Calvin took a deal that gave him a strike. He didn’t straighten up until 2018, after his life went downhill by doing meth & cocaine. He got caught on a warrant in October 2018 and stayed in…

Blackout Orchestra mastermind Ben VanBuskirk was going through a transitional period after years of ups and downs. At the end of a troubled relationship, he found himself two musical projects (the critic-approved death-obsessed shoegaze-pop band The Dearly Bereft, and feminist grunge provocateurs Green Girl), and at the end of his rope. Depression, anxiety, and alcoholism had him metaphorically. And on one night, literally, staring down the tracks at the lights of an oncoming train. He wasn’t sure he wanted to get out of the way. With the help of some close friends, he started to manage these issues that once…

Day 60. Betsy forces family time with a visit to the city for the first time since the pandemic began and since she got sober. Featuring music by ⁠Anne Heaton, Matt The Electrician⁠, Michael Lamendola aka King Sting, and Jacob Derwin.Voice Talent by Kate Segal, Maggie Stiggers, Otis Gray, Socks Whitmore and Bryan Fitzgerald. Executive Produced & Sound Design by ⁠Katie Mack ⁠ Written by Kimberly Kearns Story Development by EmJ Hova, Dillon Heape, and Katie Mack Associate Produced by Brianna Janae & Maggie Stiggers All artists are compensated for their amazing work. All artists involved have their own story with recovery. If you…

Allie K. Campbell (she/her/hers) is a digital content creator and entertainer on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. To date, she has uploaded over 300 videos on the topics of sobriety, queerness, ADHD, and how the three often (hilariously) intersect. Allie has a burgeoning audience of 15K followers across platforms. She hopes to triple her reach in 2021 with more speaking engagements, new approaches to content creation, and the launch of her first publication, The Sober Hobbies Activity Book & Journal. Follow Allie K. Campbell: Instagram @alliekcampbell Youtube Allie K. Campbell Follow The Creative Sober on Instagram! Hosted by Mei McIntosh Sober…

Sabrina is an International British Writer, Expressive Artist, and Entertainer. She has been spreading her creative sparkle and words of inspiration throughout America for the past 15 years. Going wherever the wind whispers to her heart, meditating to the beat of her drum, and blazing through her barriers, be they emotional, mental, or physical. She is an overcomer, and spiritual warrior fueled with a passion for reaching out to others creatively and shining the light where they may only see darkness. Her first mental health memoir is on its way to being published in the Fall of 2021. It deals…

This question has been the most consistent of all questions that come through our community, “Can I be sober and still create?” Working through the “Ad”versity It’s human nature to want to see proof to spark a belief inside of us that something is to be accurate or sometimes the opposite. Alcohol consumption is promoted as a regular part of our society. Image and media are such powerful tools that it’s hard to believe that only 26 years ago, the ban on TV/Radio liquor ads was lifted after being in place for almost 50 years. Some shocking numbers to take in is…

Ben Boden is 3-years sober, an LGBTQIA+ musician, life coach, and creative practitioner from England. He currently works within Education and as the Creative Director for The Lighthouse Bali, a rehab facility in Bali, Indonesia. Including awards such as Yahama’s ‘Unsigned Artist’ and ‘Best Entertainer’ at Northampton’s Diamond Awards, as well as starring in SKY1’s reality talent show Showboaters, his music has been hailed as ‘one to look out for’ by BBC Introducing, with his latest release ‘Ghost’ sitting at the No.1 spot on Q32’s LGBTQ global chart for multiple weeks. Ben has first-hand experience of the arts supporting his…

Ahoy Sober Matey! Carnival Cruise Line recently revealed its partnership with Lyre’s on March 14, 2023, to offer non-alcoholic cocktails while hitting the wide-open sea (source). Now nondrinkers can have the inclusive feeling that drinkers do with a full range of adult beverage choices sans alcohol. Although many refer to this growing demand for alcoholic alternatives as a trend, this NA movement is here to stay. The Alchemy Bar is the place to be aboard Carnival Cruise ships if you like to be entertained by mixologists showing off their craft. Seven NA cocktails will be available: the Martini Seduction, Spicy…