BACKSTAGE
The private cultural membership for grown-ass sober adults with taste.
Founding pricing ends at 200 members.
You already did the hard part.
Welcome to the fun part.
You quit drinking years ago. You’ve got the career, the calendar, and the opinions. What you don’t have is a room where sobriety is the foundation instead of the whole conversation.
Somewhere to dissect the reunion episode. Trade book recs. Make something with your hands on a weeknight. Hang out with people who remember the chaos and still want to talk about the outfit.
That’s BACKSTAGE.
This is your room if:
- Day 1 content stopped speaking to you a long time ago
- You’d rather talk about what you’re watching and where you’re going than why you quit
- You have taste, opinions, and a group chat that could use new blood
- You’re ready to find your people, and you’d like them to have good taste
See the room before you walk in.
Watch this first:
Two minutes on what actually happens inside BACKSTAGE, from the founder who built the room she couldn’t find.
Sober Curator Fun Fact: I edited this video using a video editing skill that a member of BACKSTAGE created based on our weekly Claude Anonymous meet-ups. The entire group has been testing it and helping him improve it.
THE CALENDAR + THE MIXTAPE
Something Live Every Single Week
The regulars:
- Claude Anonymous (weekly): AI meetups for sober humans who’d rather learn the tools than fear them, with business strategist Preston Peterman of Far Point Strategy.
- The Story Session (every other week): A writers’ room for members working on their own pages, hosted by author and Senior Sober Curator Amy Liz Harrison.
- BACKSTAGE Book Club (monthly): Bring whatever you’re reading. Literary fiction, a juicy memoir, the beach read you’d never admit to in public. No assigned book, no homework, just a stack of new recs by the end of the night.
- Sober Swap (monthly): Senior Sober Curator Anne Marie Cribbin hosts a themed trade of everyone’s favorite things. The theme changes every month. Bring your best rec, leave with ten new ones.
The wild cards:
Rotating conversations and guests all month long. Authors, creatives, experts, and the occasional night nobody saw coming. Some months it’s a TV deep dive, some months it’s a collage party. You’ll find out when the calendar drops.
Every live session is recorded. Show up live or watch the replay in your pajamas.
And Every Month, a Mixtape
The Sober Curator Mixtape is our monthly mini zine, with editorial, puzzles, and a cassette-tape soul. Every issue comes with a Digital B-Side: a flipbook edition, curated links for every track, a Spotify playlist, the Clued In Crossword, and Sober Search.
Digital members get it on screen. Print members get it in the mailbox and online.
The Perks Nobody Posts About
- The replay vault: Every session, on demand, whenever you want it.
- The members-only forum: Recs, rants, and recaps with people who get the reference.
- The Mixtape archive: Every past issue’s B-Side, flipbooks, playlists, and puzzles in one place.
- The founding rate: Lock in $19 digital only or $35 print & digital for life. When we hit 200 members, it goes up
- Special discounts on merch from TSC and our partners: Did we mention shopping is our cardio?
Pick Your Seat
Founding pricing, locked for life.
DIGITAL
$19/month or $190/year (two months free)
- Every live session plus the full replay vault
- The members-only forum
- The Mixtape, digital edition, every month
PRINT + DIGITAL
The full experience
$35/month or $350/year (two months free)
- Everything in Digital
- The Mixtape printed and mailed to your door every month
- Shipping included. USA only at this time.
Cancel anytime. Once we hit 200 members, new members pay $27 and $45. Founding members never do.
A Note from
Alysse Bryson
I’ve been sober since May 1, 2006. Twenty years.
Back then, recovery was something you did quietly. There were no podcasts, no Instagram accounts, and no shelf of quit lit at the airport bookstore. You had your people, your meetings, and a Diet Coke in your hand at every party.
I was lucky. I had sober besties from the start, and I still do.
I watched sober culture go from anonymous to everywhere from inside the media business. I spent 25 years in newspapers, magazines, and television, including nearly a decade as Publisher of Seattle Met and six years at KING 5 NBC.
So when sobriety started showing up in social feeds, podcasts, bestselling memoirs, and late-night TV, I didn’t just notice. I knew what it meant.
Sober was becoming a culture, not a secret.
In 2020, I started recovering out loud and launched The Sober Curator to cover all of it.
What I still couldn’t find was a room for people who’ve been at this a while. Somewhere sobriety is the foundation, not the headline.
So I built it.
BACKSTAGE is where we talk about books, TV, music, art, ambition, and whatever is blowing up the group chat. We make things. We swap recs. Nobody asks for your drinking story.
Since we opened the doors in April 2026, it’s become a weekly habit for a lot of people, me included. There’s a writers’ room, an AI meetup, a book club with no homework, and a zine that shows up in mailboxes every month.
Sobriety did not save my life. It gave me a life I never imagined possible.
This is where I want to spend it.
Pull up a chair. I’ll see you inside.
XOXO
Alysse Bryson
Founder, The Sober Curator
Backstage with The Sober Curator: FAQ
Is this a recovery program or a support group?
Nope. BACKSTAGE is a cultural membership for people who are already sober and want to talk about books, TV, art, business, and pop culture. Think clubhouse, not meeting. If you’re looking for recovery support, The Sober Curator’s Resource Guide is the place to start.
Who is Backstage for?
People who’ve been sober long enough that sobriety is part of their life, not the whole plot. If you’re past the early days and want culture, conversation, and good company, you’re in the right place.
Do I have to be a certain number of years sober?
No hard rule. This room works best for people who are steady and ready to have fun with it. If you’re in your first year, we’re cheering for you, and the Resource Guide is a great place to start.
What actually happens inside?
Something live every week: Claude Anonymous weekly, The Story Session every other week, plus a monthly Book Club and Sober Swap. Rotating guests and conversations fill in the rest of the month. Every member also gets The Sober Curator Mixtape, our monthly zine, plus its Digital B-Side.
What if I can’t make the live sessions?
Every session is recorded and lives in the replay vault. Live is more fun, but it’s never required.
What does it cost?
Founding members pay $19/month for Digital or $35/month for Print + Digital, with two months free on annual plans. Your rate is locked for life. Once we hit 200 members, new members pay $27 and $45.
What’s the difference between Digital and Print + Digital?
Mixtape mailed to your door every month, shipping included.
Where does the print Mixtape ship?
At this time, only in the USA.
Can I just get the Mixtape without the membership?
Yes. The Mixtape is available on its own as a monthly subscription in [our shop].
Can I cancel?
Anytime, from your account page. No guilt trip, no “are you sure” emails.
Is this only for women?
No. BACKSTAGE is open to anyone. All gender identities are welcome.
Why should I trust you to run this?
The Sober Curator is an award-winning sober lifestyle and pop culture media brand that launched in 2020. It has reached more than one million unique visitors, published 3,000+ articles, and works with 35 contributors across six countries. I’ve been sober since 2006, and I built TSC because sober life is extraordinary and somebody needed to cover it that way.
How do I join?
Pick your seat above and you’re in. Founding pricing ends at 200 members.