New on Recovery Podcastland: F*cking Sober Podcast is the unflinching first person narrative of Anita Drake’s first 90 days of getting sober in NYC. (See what they did there? Say her name slowly…Anita Drake … I-need-a-drink LOL!) And that’s just the beginning of the cleverness this podcast is about to serve up.
Twenty-eight-year-old Anita counts from 1 to 90 days immersing herself into the awkward world of sobriety and what it means to grow up. This 8 episode series features music by artists in recovery. As I’m writing this post only three episodes have been released so far. And I have listened to all three of them all the way through…twice.
Let’s talk about binging content
Do you remember the first time you binged something? Ok, let me rephrase. I’m not talking about a booze binge, drug bender, or a food binge. If you’re on this website, we know you’ve got those practices down pat. I’m talking about that first time you started binging on Netflix. You know, way back when before it become the new norm for TV consumption. That moment you realized this was how you wanted to consume content forever and always.
Or perhaps, the first time you binged some amazing true crime podcast. I was slow to enter the podcast game, but once I did, oh baby did I catch up. In case you’re wondering what my first two true crime podcasts binges were, I highly recommend To Live and Die in LA by Tenderfoot TV & Candence 13 and Detective Trapp by Los Angeles Times.
Back to the podcast at hand
This first time binge high is exactly what I got listening to F*cking Sober Podcast: The first 90 days. I was blown away by how the narrative played out, as if I was inside the mind of Anita. The sound effects put into this podcast are so well executed and brilliantly enhance the listening experience.
Plus, they are short, under 30 minutes each. Exactly the time it takes me to walk my two overly active Boston Terriers, Roxie and Bella, who I fondly refer to as “my bitches”, around the neighbor admiring all of the holiday lights and decorations. Let me just say, when I discovered this podcast, my dogs got three 30 minute walks in the same day. They were living their best life that day and so was I.
Sometimes I go off topic…
(Totally off topic side note: Speaking of walking my neighborhood in a suburb of Seattle…When the hell did inflatable Dragons w/ Santa hats become a holiday thing? By throwing a Santa on anything does that make literally anything holiday? Thank goodness I don’t do psychedelics’ anymore)
Back to Anita Drake
Her story is similar in many ways to my own. The opening scene has her waking up in a high-rise apartment with floor to ceiling windows and a view of the swanky neighborhood in NYC. Predictably, she has no memory of how she got there nor who she was with. She seems to be alone in the apartment, left with only her hangover and her freshly charged iPhone, which is curious.
Now I’m not one to spoil the ending. Hell, we aren’t even close to the ending yet anyway. But I’m not going to spoil the beginning for you either. There are going to be eight total episodes in this podcast, with plans to release a new one every Wednesday.
Special shout-out to the makers of this amazeballs podcast: Katie, Tawny, Rebecca & gang, if you’re reading this, I’m just going to toss this out there as as a supporters opinion – if you gave me an option to purchase the entire podcast in advance so I can binge it to my hearts content, I would say “Take my money!!!!!” That’s how good this storyline and plot is. ANITA-MORE! ANITA-MORE RIGHT NOW! #seewhatididthere
As Anita’s reckless adventures continue through episodes two and three, it’s so easy to start cheering for her on the sidelines from the comfort of your headphones. 12 Step rooms (aka church basements) enter the plot in a very unique and clever foreshadow. The production value of this podcast is incredible and makes it so easy to visualize the scenes like a movie in your head. It immediately put me back to my first 12 step meetings in a church basement in Ballard, a hipster suburb of Seattle, with it’s orange colored walls and cold metal chairs.
Wait, you’re still reading this?
I only have one question for you. Why are you still reading this? You need to race your fingers over to Apple Podcasts and start listening pronto! Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Here’s a little bit more info about the creators
But before you go (or maybe welcome back if you followed my advice a’hem), let me share a little bit about what I know about the three awesome women that created this masterpiece.
Tawny Lara
Tawny is the story developer and editor. I first came across Tawny’s work in her podcast Recovery Rocks with Lisa Smith, author of Girls Walks Out of a Bar. Yes, I’ve covered this podcast as well and you can read about it here. In fact, Recovery Rocks podcast just started back up again and if it’s not already on your playlist, go ahead and add this one too. Listening to these two banter is a hoot! I’ve also covered Girls Walks Out of a Bar with Lisa Smith and you can peep that out here. Bonus! Tawny also has her own blog called SobreiTea Party.
Katie Mack
Katie Mack is the writer, producer, and sound design for this project. She is a NYC artist who is living proof that telling stories can change lives. (Katie, my trucker hat is off to you!) Her list of special skills is long and includes music, dance, and WWE training (so don’t F*&$ with her!) She also is known for her stand up comedy and emceeing events. Fun fact: She can fall asleep anywhere. I trait I also have and I like to consider it a super power of sorts.
Rebecca Seidel
Rebecca Seidel managed the sound development and editing. Podcast production is her jam. Nerd alert! Speaking of super powers, guess what Marvel fans? Rebecca is an audio producer at Marvel and she works on podcasts at all stages of production. Check out her website and see some of her latest work.
Just livin’ my best Covid-19 lockdown life, one podcast episode at a time…
While I can’t tell you how this story ends, I can tell you by the time this post is published I will have already devoured episode 4 (probably twice) and my dogs will have their 10,000 paw-steps in for the day, no probs. From my own personal experience, the first 90 days of sobriety can be rough. I sometimes hear urban legends of people that give up booze without much effort and move straight into the” pink cloud” phase. Ok unicorns, whoever you are, I salute you. (with my middle fingers raised)
That was not my experience. There were no “felt cute, might delete later” posts in my first 90 days. Hell, when I got sober MySpace was the place to be, so thankfully I wasn’t posting anything anywhere. (Side note: sometimes I wonder what happened to Tom)
As for Anita Drake, well I just can’t wait to see how her story continues to unfold. Will there be a relapse? Will she sleep with someone she meets in a church basement and immediately regret it? Does she become a coffee maker? Does she attempt 90 in 90? (that’s 12 step speak for 90 meetings in 90 days) Does she struggle with the “god stuff” that makes many a newcomer groan? What happens to the shrine of objects she steals from her blackout 2am rendezvous?
I don’t know where her adventures are going to take us, but I am here for it. (and you should be too!) Patiently waiting each week for a new episode to drop. All things considered, it is nice to have something to look forward to as the 2020 dumpster fire year starts to come to a close. ANITA-this-year-to-be-over-already!
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