Welcome to the Speak Out Speak Loud section of The Sober Curator, a space echoing Madonna’s call to “Express yourself!” This is where our readers and contributors take center stage, sharing their transformative sobriety journeys. Often, sobriety uncovers hidden talents, abilities, and new avenues of self-expression. By sharing these stories, we not only facilitate personal healing but also offer hope to those still navigating the path of recovery. So, let’s raise our voices, Speak Out, and Speak Loud! In doing so, we combat the silence that often shrouds addiction, offering solace and inspiration. We invite you to share your unique expressions of recovery here—be it through videos, poems, art, essays, opinion pieces, or music. We can’t wait to hear from you! Please email us at thesobercurator@gmail.com or DM us on social!
Disclaimer: All opinions expressed in the Speak Out! Speak Loud! Section are solely the opinions of the contributing author of each individual published article and do not reflect the views of The Sober Curator, their respective affiliates, or the companies with which The Sober Curator is affiliated.
The Speak Out! Speak Loud! posts are based upon information the contributing author considers reliable. Still, neither The Sober Curator nor its affiliates, nor the companies with which such participants are affiliated, warrant its completeness or accuracy, and it should not be relied upon as such.
SOBER SPOTLIGHT goes even deeper into exploring the stories of people in recovery.
Hunter Biden’s addiction and recovery have unfolded under extraordinary public scrutiny. Now sober since 2019, he is increasingly using his experience with relapse, shame and radical honesty to talk about recovery, resilience and what happens when there is nowhere left to hide.
Brad Pitt’s revelation that he is no longer sober after seven years without alcohol quickly became a debate about relapse, moderation and who gets to define sobriety. Danielle Elliott Smith argues that we may be asking the wrong question entirely.
After transitioning from an abstinence-based model to work at a harm reduction psychotherapy clinic, Travis Sackett began seeing recovery through a wider lens. He reflects on peer support, lived experience, meeting people where they are and why empowering individuals to define their own recovery goals can create meaningful change.
As Americans quietly drink less, the conversation often centers on what the alcohol industry stands to lose. Lane Kennedy asks a more revealing question: What are people choosing instead? From better sleep and Saturday morning hikes to meaningful travel, stronger relationships and improved health, our spending habits may reveal a broader cultural shift toward lives that feel better tomorrow.
“How is this my life?” can be a question of awe or exhaustion. Brooke reflects on recovery, postpartum depression, panic attacks and the surprising realization that even dog pee, unfinished walls and ordinary family chaos can be proof of a life she once never believed she would have.
Three days before her 30th birthday, an astrologer asked Patti Clark a question that made her whole body burn with shame. The movies had taught her that alcoholics were derelicts, weaklings, or doomed outlaws. Then she walked into her first AA meeting in Tucson and found out Hollywood had it wrong.
Dr. Jeff Sandoz reflects on growing up in Cajun country, finding recovery through AA, and discovering how honest stories can transform shame, isolation, and addiction into hope.
Sober Curator Sports Contributor Justin Kinney started using kratom for energy, focus, and better workouts, but what looked like a legal performance edge became a dependence he never saw coming.
Bringing non-alcoholic drinks to a party does not have to be awkward. The trick is to make NA options cold, visible, adult, and easy to serve, whether that means non-alcoholic beer, sparkling drinks, canned spritzes, or a solid ginger beer in the cooler.
Author Anna David reflects on the evolution from her early “will-say-anything” sober party girl years to motherhood, trauma recovery, and a more grounded understanding of herself. In this personal essay, she shares why she re-released a cleaner version of Party Girl 15 years later — and what happens when the wildest version of your past is still searchable, sellable, and occasionally handed to you by your child’s school principal.
Trigger Warning: Domestic Violence, Overdose, Loss When I got sober, I thought I had cracked the code on life. I…
When I was a teenager, my mother died of alcoholism. For a year before she died, my mother’s skin and eyes…
I have a habit of turning my job into my identity. If I am employed, I am stable. If I…
I was introduced to the idea of glory through my Christian faith. Or maybe through watching Raiders of the Lost…
For most of my adult life, I believed I was a “moderate drinker.” I worked hard, rarely missed a day…
“The opposite of addiction is not sobriety, it’s connection.”Johann Hari I got sober the first time in Tucson, Arizona, two…
Life has a way of tossing chaos at you. One minute, everything’s fine. The next, you’re dealing with a breakup.…
Apparently it’s getting on for eight years since I had my last alcoholic drink. Wow. Pause for thought. Opening the…
A nerdy look at a great reason to stay sober!
When I was in my 20s and bartending in Alaska (yeah, talk about a kid in the candy shop!), I…
I never set out to be a drug dealer, let alone an addict. I was smart — a straight-A student,…
Every once in a while, Saturday Night Live drops a skit that tries to lampoon culture, but instead lands squarely…
For over two decades, I cycled through incarceration and addiction within Vermont’s correctional system. This personal narrative examines how punitive…
It was July 2010 and even though I don’t remember the exact date, I think I’m pretty close with the…
I never dreamed of becoming a low-level female drug dealer in small-town America. Yet after my home was raided and…
I walked into rehab carrying more than a bag of clothes. I carried the silence of generations. The kind of…
“I am a harm reduction advocate who uses marijuana, not a marijuana advocate who uses harm reduction.” Andrew Littlefield That distinction…
I am bipolar, but my Recovery is not. Deep down I knew addiction was only a symptom for me, the…
Recently I celebrated my sixth year of sobriety. Am I an expert on the topic? God no. But something that…
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — When the Silver Bridge collapsed on Dec. 15, 1967, 46 motorists lost their lives in an…
