The Good Fight Katie Herzog on Drinking Your Way Sober
32 snips
Sep 27, 2025 
In this insightful discussion, Katie Herzog, an author and journalist, shares her journey through alcoholism and the limitations of traditional recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous. She reveals how her solitary drinking escalated into dependence and the societal pressures that enabled her behavior. Herzog explores the Sinclair Method and the use of medication-assisted treatment, detailing her experience with naltrexone. She emphasizes the importance of redefining one’s relationship with alcohol and the challenges faced in recovery without total abstinence.
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Early Drinking Built The Problem
- Katie began drinking very young and hit multiple risk factors: early start, family history, and heavy consumption.
- She recounts loving solitary drinking with The New Yorker and how it became central to her life.
Breakup Prompted First Realization
- Katie's first major wake-up came after a painful breakup where her drinking caused real harm to someone she loved.
- A psychiatrist misdiagnosed her bipolar, but she recognizes the behaviors were driven by alcohol.
Vacillating Denial Explains Continued Use
- Katie describes "vacillating denial" where shame and resolve alternate with daily drinking urges.
- That cognitive dissonance let her continue drinking despite knowing it harmed her.
