If you’ve ever drafted a list of moderation rules — no drinks on Tuesdays, only wine, never tequila — you know the quiet contortion act that props up a relationship with alcohol. In our conversation with creator and author Suzanne Warye, those rules get exposed for what they are: a workaround keeping the real question at bay. Not “How can I drink right?” but “What if alcohol isn’t a privilege at all?”
Suzanne’s story resists the old script. She didn’t wake up inside a classic bottom. She woke up inside a life she valued — new baby, career, marriage — and realized she could protect it now. That choice reframes sobriety as agency, not exile. It also unlocks the slow repair of self-trust. As she puts it, the outside can look fine for years, but the inside ledger tells the truth.
There’s a cultural script to unlearn, too. We swim in alcohol. Baby showers with champagne toasts. First birthdays with hard seltzers in coolers. Rosé at water parks. When “take-it-or-leave-it” drinking is held up as normal, everyone else ends up chasing a unicorn. Suzanne calls this out plainly — and with humor.
Gen X women will recognize another motif in this episode: the boundary revolution of midlife. As hormones shift and patience thins, many of us start saying the quiet part out loud. We leave early. We Irish-goodbye. We give fewer explanations and fewer F’s. It’s not meanness, it’s clarity; a nervous system calibrated by experience and, for some, by sobriety.
Suzanne’s clarity didn’t arrive in a vacuum. It grew in community. She describes sober spaces where moms can name the daily frictions — partners who still drink, the spike of perimenopausal heat, the inevitable shame spirals — and be met with nods instead of raised eyebrows. “We’re only as sick as our secrets,” Tamar reminds us. Connection is medicine.
This is the deeper promise of an alcohol-free life. Not perfect feelings (perimenopause laughs in perfect), but the capacity to feel without numbing — and then to metabolize those feelings in conversation with people who get it. Community doesn’t just help you not drink; it helps you stay awake to your actual life.
Along the way, we dismantle the moderation myth. Rules and swaps may work for a weekend, but they keep alcohol on the pedestal and you in the blame seat. Suzanne’s reframing flips the casting: remove the halo from the substance and put the agency back in your hands. That’s not punishment — it’s freedom with receipts.
And because this is The Sober Curator, there’s pop culture joy, too: a “Goonies” Little People set makes a star turn in Tchotchke of the Week, because sobriety is not a vibe killer; it’s a vibe curator.
If you’re a sober-curious mom, here are three invitations from the episode:
- Choose before you have to. You don’t need a dramatic loss to justify a better life.
- Find your room. Whether it’s a Zoom circle or a local meetup, pick a community where your honesty lands softly.
- Retire the rules. The more energy spent controlling alcohol, the less energy available for what you actually love.
Sober doesn’t mean smaller. It means more time, more trust, more you. If that sounds like relief, start with this episode — and stay for the people who will remind you you’re not alone.
Getting sober matters. Staying sober matters more. That’s the whole premise.
The Sober Curator Podcast brings sober lifestyle, pop culture and recovery to the mic with personality, perspective and a glitter bomb of honesty. Founder and host Alysse Bryson (sober since May 1, 2006, and self-described Kevin Bacon of Recovery) is joined by co-host and show producer Tamar Routly of Podcast Impact Studio, plus a rotating bench of global Sober Curator contributors who pull up a chair as co-hosts.
What we cover, episode to episode:
Happy Every Hour: zero-proof drinks, NA beer, spirits and cocktails, reviewed by people who actually drink them.
Health and Wellness: mental health, physical health and what recovery looks like on a Tuesday.
Lifestyle: dating, parenting, shopping, style and the everyday logistics of alcohol-free living.
Entertainment: quit lit, movies, TV, music, sports and celebrity sobriety, rated with our proprietary Sobees.
Spiritual Gangster: Jesus to astrology, stoicism to the Celtic calendar.
Travel: sober events, sober retreats, Sobriety in the City and global travel without a drink in hand.
We also review other sober podcasts on Recovery Podcastland, dig into sponsored product spotlights, and go deep with contributors on how they got sober and what keeps them there. New episodes drop as video on YouTube and audio everywhere you listen.
Want more? BACKSTAGE with The Sober Curator is our membership community with Media Nights, Studio Nights, Edutainment Nights and The Sober Curator Mixtape, a monthly mini-zine delivered in a cassette case. Details at https://thesobercurator.com/backstage-with-the-sober-curator/
Whether you’re sober curious or decades in, we’ve got you. We’re not here to help you get sober. We’re here to help you live sober and love it.
Rate, review and subscribe. It takes 60 seconds and we will love you forever.
Contact: thesobercurator@gmail.com
Every October, half the internet finds out what it’s like to be the one holding a club soda at a party. Some of us have been doing Sober October for years, and the drinks have gotten a lot better since the O’Doul’s days.
This week, Alysse and Tamar sit down with the two people who know exactly what to pour: Kim Parsley and Justin Lamb, who hold down The Sober Curator’s Happy Every Hour section. Kim covers NA spirits and cocktails. Justin is roughly 150 NA beer reviews in and still can’t find a non-alcoholic single malt scotch.
In this episode:
– Sober October, Dry January, and “the always forgotten Dry July”: eye roll, gateway drug, or marketing?
– Justin’s fall NA beer list from 2024 still pops off, and some of the breweries on it are gone
– Why celebrity NA beer brands might not want sober customers (and why there should be room at the table)
– The “drink as prescribed” rule for trying NA spirits for the first time
– Kim builds Justin an NA Negroni and Alysse a pink Barbie Cosmo on the spot
– The one drink each of us is pouring for the rest of fall, plus what we’re eating with it
CHAPTERS
00:00 Club soda at the party
02:01 The Sober Curator Mixtape
04:16 Sober October: eye roll or gateway drug?
09:44 From craft beer to NA beer
13:36 Kim’s piano bar and Tanqueray 0.0
17:55 The 2024 fall beer list, two years later
20:22 “The War on Alcohol” and the SNL sketch
23:37 “They don’t want recovered addicts”
25:23 TOMONOTOMO: drink as prescribed
29:30 What drink are you?
30:57 Which NA spirits can you sip neat?
33:41 “I drink Diet Coke”
37:48 One drink for the rest of fall
TSC Articles mentioned in this episode:
– Justin’s Top 10 Non-Alcoholic Beers for Fall
– Kim’s TOMONOTOMO Tobalá review
– SNL’s “Non-Non Alcoholic Beer” sketch, pro or con
– “It’s Always Sunny,” NA Beer and the Joke That Didn’t Land for Me
– The Sober Curator Mixtape (Sober Snail Mail)
– Backstage with The Sober Curator
Getting sober matters. Staying sober matters more.
SEASON 2 MERCH: https://shopthesobercurator.com/
SC RESOURCES:
– Alcohol + Substance Use Disorder Guide
– Recovery Nonprofit Resource Guide
– LGBTQ+ Recovery Resource Guide
CONNECT: www.thesobercurator.com | The Sober Sip newsletter: https://www.thesobercuratornewsletter.com/ | @thesobercurator on Instagram, X, TikTok, YouTube + Pinterest
Love the show? Rate, review + follow. It takes 60 seconds and helps more people find us. Feedback + guest ideas: thesobercurator@gmail.com
Hosted by Alysse Bryson with co-host + producer Tamar Routly. For informational and entertainment purposes only; not a substitute for professional advice.
Music: TSC S2 theme “Sober Shots” created by Alysse Bryson using Suno AI, under Suno’s commercial license.
Follow Suzanne Wayre in all of the digital places and social spaces:
- thesobermomlife.com
- The Sober Mom Life Cafe
- @thesobermomlife on IG and @suzannawayre on IG
- The Sober Mom Life on Facebook
RECOVERY PODCASTLAND & NETWORK at The Sober Curator is your audio haven for all things sobriety and recovery. We’re your bee-zy sober podcast enthusiasts, curating the best shows that educate, inspire, and entertain in the alcohol-free space.
Our archives are neatly organized so you can easily explore Recovery Podcastland—featuring our favorite recovery-based podcasts from across the globe—and the TSC Podcast Network, where we share our own original shows on sober lifestyle, pop culture, travel, entertainment, and more.
Whether you’re seeking practical recovery tips, personal stories, or uplifting inspiration, this is your go-to listening guide. 🎧 Submit a Podcast for Review: Recovery Podcastland coverage and reviews. Shows that earn their place in our audience’s queue. Submit your podcast →
SOBER POP CULTURE at The Sober Curator is where mainstream trends meet the vibrant world of sobriety. We serve up a mix of movie, podcast, fashion, and book recommendations alongside alcohol-free cocktails, celebrity features, and pop culture buzz—all with a sober twist.
We’re here to shatter the “sobriety is boring” myth with a mash-up of 80s neon, 90s hip-hop edge, early 2000s bling, and today’s hottest trends. From celebrity shoutouts to red-carpet style inspo, this is where sober is as chic as it is fun. To the celebs using their platform for good—our Sober Pop Trucker hats are off to you!
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.
