Amy Liz Harrison is the bestselling author of “Eternally Expecting: A Mom of Eight Gets Sober and Gives Birth to a Whole New Life…Her Own”. She is also the author of “Eternally Awkward: A Future Mom of Eight Reflects on Mysteries of Anxiety, ADHD, and Coming of Age in the 80’s” and co-authored an anthology, “The Epiphanies Project.”
Harrison is the founder and CEO of her publishing company, A-Team Press, LLC. She’s also a 12-step coach, a recovery/mental health advocate, and the host of the “Eternally Amy” podcast. Her books and material are generally geared towards Gen X’ers, or at least those who have played Frogger on an actual Atari.
Launching in April 2022, is Amy’s next book “Eternally Awkward”. Before she was the quirky mom of eight, Amy Liz Harrison was a California kid, growing up in the 1980s, obsessed with Madonna and Moonlighting.
Each chapter reveals “clues” in the form of embarrassing, ridiculous, and ultimately very relatable stories of growing up in the 1980s. But there’s also another story at work: Woven through the pages is the aftermath of a panic attack triggered by a rubber doll smelling of alcohol. Was it a curious foreshadowing of Harrison’s drunken days to come? Choose your character, will it be Colonel Mustard or Miss Peacock? We’ve got a case to solve. Instead of a suspect, weapon, and room, we see Harrison’s trifecta of mental health challenges come to completion. Anxiety+Depression=ADHD. Grab a can of Tab and come help us place the last piece in the puzzle.
Sober Spotlight Q&A with Amy Liz Harrison
What’s your Sobriety Date?
April 23, 2011
Favorite Non-Alcoholic Beverage of Choice?
LaCroix and Pellegrino with Lime
What’s your favorite #QUITLIT Book?
Between Breathes by Elizabeth Vargas – I was newly sober when I read it and I thought she was so brave to share her story so openly. This book inspired me that I could share my story openly too.
What advice do you have for someone new to recovery?
Feelings are not facts and they are going to change. In early sobriety, I was pretty convinced otherwise. I had a really hard time shifting perspective. An example was how much I struggled with my sleeping patterns in the first 30 days. I thought it was the end of the world. That I was never going to sleep again. But upon reflection, I realized if that was the worst of it, compared to when I was drinking, it wasn’t really that bad. And eventually, my sleep straightened out.
It’s going to get different. Not always different in the ways I wanted. But as long as I didn’t pick up, things would work out.
How has recovery impacted your family life?
Basically, recovery has changed everything in my life. After getting out of rehab, I knew I needed to change everything. Where we lived, where my kids went to school. It was like a saging-period in our lives. I become willing to do everything differently. I was kicking and screaming the entire time. But it really has changed all of my relationships, from my marriage to even the clerk at the grocery store. I knew I was a nice person (ish), but I really wasn’t aware of how my ego was impacting everything. Really, I was just full of fear. Using the 12-step program that I am still involved in today, I got to take a look at my motives and change what wasn’t working.
Now I have tools that allow me to show up as the best version of myself.
Let’s talk selfie-care. What do you do to take time for yourself?
I practice a daily practice in the morning, which includes a morning meditation and a morning meeting. I love getting a massage. I know it’s a little cliche to talk about putting on your oxygen mask before you can help someone else (like we hear every time a plane is about to take off), but it’s so true. I can’t give away something that I don’t have.
If I’m like this juice box that’s totally twisted up, trying desperately to suck the last few drops out of it, there’s nothing left of me to give. I have the support of my family because they don’t like it (PS) when I show up and I’m a jerk to them.
I’m an outgoing introvert. The first time I realized I was beginning to have a little “self-love”, I was on a plane going back to where I went to treatment to visit my temporary sponsor. I thought to myself, “I could totally have a drink right now and no one would know.” Faced with this dilemma, immediately I thought “Yeah, but I would know.” And that was a turning point for me because I cared. I cared that I would be betraying myself. Self-love began to develop from there.
Going public with your recovery can be intimidating. What tips or benefits do you have to share?
I think I might have tried to recover out loud before I was ready. I had a very public DUI. A bunch of people from my church was asking me about my experience. Which was fine, except you can’t transmit something you don’t have. And that’s basically what I was trying to do. I was still really vulnerable, broken, and raw. In hindsight, I really should have waited until I’d finished the steps and/or get more time. That said, my past did become my greatest asset, and sharing my story can really be a powerful thing that helps others, but also helps me in the process.
If you could go backward and give your newly sober self some advice, what would it be?
I don’t know if I would have believed myself…I just had no idea how good my life was going to get in recovery. It’s just been this upwards trajectory of growth and learning and curiosity. I thought never drinking again was like a death sentence. I would future trip on not being able to drink champagne at my kid’s weddings. I don’t know why I was fixated on those types of things. If I had only known then how amazing I was going to feel in a matter of just a few years. I became a different person completely. We all get to where we are because of the path we are on. That’s what I would share with myself “Pssst! Hey, get on board! This is going to be good!” Just surrender.
Is there a nonprofit you support?
Pretty much primarily I give to my kids’ school right now. But I’ve also donated to Mary’s Place and Recovery Cafe, Residence XII when it was still operating.
SOBER POP Culture Lightning Round!
Coke or Pepsi?
Pepsi – I know! I know. But I’m also impartial, I’ll really take either.
What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
Eating junk food. We’re talking bowls of cereal, Lucky Charms, and Honeycomb cereal. At night I was eating Mike & Ike’s. I also bought myself a shaved ice machine.
Favorite Sober Celeb or Sober Musician?
I love Macklemore. It’s not just because he’s local to Seattle. He hasn’t been afraid to share his relapses. And that’s a super important part of recovery. It helps educate people on how powerful the disease of alcohol use disorder is. I really admire him.
Jamie Lee Curtis and the way she’s been true to herself and true to share with others about her journey. It’s a big, big deal.
Favorite Pop Culture Moment?
The time that I bumped into Eric Estrada at the San Francisco Planet Hollywood. He was on a show called “Chips”. That was a moment! Another moment was the OJ Simpson trial. I was living in LA at the time and it was everything and all that people talked about.
What’s on your podcast playlist right now?
I love Rob Bell and his podcast The Robcast. It helped me with my deconstruction and reconstruction of faith.
What I love about Jen Hatmaker is how she had a marriage fall apart and she recovered out loud through that process. I think it was really brave of her to share her story on her platform.
Favorite music?
I always have the 80s and 90s hip hop on repeat.
Favorite Movie or TV Series that has addiction as part of the storyline?
I’m obsessed with Dopesick. I thought it was so well done. It was such a powerful series. I like some of the old-school movies too, like Clean & Sober or 28 Days. I even had my own “When a Man Loves a Woman” experience falling in my shower and breaking my nose when I was drinking.
THE MINDFUL BINGE: Dopesick TV Series Hulu Review Opioid Addiction Crisis in the USA (thesobercurator.com)
Ok, let’s get spiritual. What’s your practice?
The biggest deal for me was being willing to let my faith from over the years go and let it show up as something else. I really admire Father Richard Rore’s book “Breathing Under Water”. In Breathing Under Water, Richard Rohr shows how the gospel principles in the Twelve Steps can free anyone from any addiction—from an obvious dependence on alcohol or drugs to the more common but less visible addiction that we all have to sin.
Do you have a favorite place to travel or vacation sober?
I love just traveling sober. I love that I can remember what I’m doing. I don’t have to rely on pictures to remind me what I’ve done. Waking up not hungover. Hawaii is probably my top favorite place to go.
Eternally Awkward
Keep an eye out for Amy’s new column right here at The Sober Curator, as she explores being eternally awkward in sobriety. In addition to sharing her own personal embarrassing stories, as well as asks our readers to share some of theirs.
PLUS! Watch out for Amy’s newest book, Eternally Awkward, coming April 19th, 2022.
Before she was the quirky mom of eight, Amy Liz Harrison was a California kid, growing up in the 1980s, obsessed with Madonna and Moonlighting.
In Eternally Awkward, we find another culprit at work. Depression had an accomplice—one that was difficult to catch. This hilarious mystery of self-discovery tracks the author’s childhood, delivering mounting clues that lead to the missing piece of her mental health picture—ADHD.
Each chapter reveals “clues” in the form of embarrassing, ridiculous, and ultimately very relatable stories of growing up in the 1980s. But there’s also another story at work: Woven through the pages is the aftermath of a panic attack triggered by a rubber doll smelling of alcohol. Was it a curious foreshadowing of Harrison’s drunken days to come?
Choose your character, will it be Colonel Mustard or Miss Peacock? We’ve got a case to solve. Instead of a suspect, weapon, and room, we see Harrison’s trifecta of mental health challenges come to completion. Anxiety + Depression = ADHD. Grab a can of Tab and come help us place the last piece in the puzzle.
Resources Are Available
If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.
1 Comment
Absolutely loved this article and the short Q and A. Amy is a fabulous person and so is Alysse. Both are women I look up to in the recovery world!!