I can’t remember exactly when I realized my drinking had stopped become an occasional social event and when it became the main event. I know that like many of you, the slide was gradual. What was once a way to have fun had become my primary coping mechanism, a substitute for feeling sadness and joy. Though my kindle shows that I have been looking at “sober lit” for close to 10 years, it wasn’t until 4 years ago, just before my 40th birthday, that I consciously tried to stop, not just moderate my drinking.

So what happens when you stop drinking alcohol? You get sober. Sober has a lot of baggage, both the word and the condition.

I hate the word sober. It’s too close to somber, serious, stone cold. I prefer to think of myself as awakening, renewing, rediscovering. It’s about what you are gaining, not about what you are stopping. Notice I didn’t say losing, because avoiding feeling like shit is not losing.