The Sober Mom Life

Jessica recounts her journey from a high-achieving educator to a sober coach, revealing the emotional struggles of navigating alcohol in social settings. She reflects on the pressures of maintaining a public image while grappling with nighttime drinking habits. A pivotal Instagram video sparked her shift to sobriety, leading to profound family connections on New Year's Eve. The discussion emphasizes the power of community support in recovery and the transformative experiences that come from embracing a sober lifestyle.

Alcohol wasn’t present in Courtney’s childhood, so when she was offered champagne by friends at a holiday when she was fifteen, she had no knowledge of how it would affect her. She only knew that it was ‘forbidden’, and what 15 year old wouldn’t want to try a forbidden thing? The cozy sense of warmth that overcame her was so appealing. After that day, alcohol easily slipped into her life. Courtney experienced a series of red flags around her drinking through the years, but she ignored them. She clearly didn’t have a ‘problem’, so there was no reason to consider her relationship with alcohol too closely. Yet, as she became a mother, alcohol began to take up more and more space in her brain, and her relationship with it became more and more uncomfortable. An unexpected third pregnancy that resulted in a miscarriage served as a wakeup call. She was given an opportunity to truly feel her emotions around alcohol, and to create new habits that required sobriety to enjoy. It felt so good, and she became fiercely protective of these new life choices. At that point, she began moderating and paying close attention to how alcohol made her feel until one day at a brewery it became completely clear: Alcohol was not serving her. In fact, alcohol was taking joy from her life. She was done. Courtney has recently reached 100 days of sobriety! Are you looking for community in sobriety? Join us in the The Sober Mom Life Cafe! For $40/month, you’ll get access to 12 weekly peer support meetings, the exclusive Cafe social feed, our monthly book club and happy hour, the chance to share your story on The Real Sober Moms, and even a monthly Bravo chat! For a limited time, get one week free! We also have The Sober Mom Life Community for just $5.95/month - In the Community, you’ll receive access to the exclusive Community social feed, the exclusive community chat, our monthly book club, and one free weekly meeting. Click here to follow The Sober Mom Life on Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For women with a history of disordered eating, the first months of sobriety can often include an unwanted surge of challenging experiences around food. Registered Therapist and eating disorder specialist Liza Feilner joins Suzanne and Susan today to help us navigate this tricky issue. Liza has over two decades of experience supporting women with eating disorders, and she has also been sober since she was 23 years old! She’ll share why food challenges and disordered eating can arise in sobriety, the importance of giving yourself grace as you navigate major life changes, and how to seek help if you are struggling in this way. Learn more about Liza’s practice: https://www.claritygroup.org/liza-feilnerAre you looking for community in sobriety? Join us in the The Sober Mom Life Cafe! For $40/month, you’ll get access to 12 weekly peer support meetings, the exclusive Cafe social feed, our monthly book club and happy hour, the chance to share your story on The Real Sober Moms, and even a monthly Bravo chat! For a limited time, get one week free! The Sober Mom Life Community is also available, for just $5.95/month - In the Community, you’ll receive access to the exclusive Community social feed, the exclusive community chat, our monthly book club, and one free weekly meeting. Check out The Sober Mom Life on Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maria is back on the pod! When she was last here she was six months sober, and today she’ll tell us about the changes, challenges, and wins she’s had in her sobriety journey in the past year.You’ll hear why Maria no longer counts days, the normalcy she now feels regarding her sobriety, and the immense benefit that sober community has had in her life as she’s navigated through challenging times, such as an IVF transfer that didn’t pan out and a lapsed experience with cannabis. Check out Maria’s first episode on the podcast here! Are you looking for community in sobriety? Join us in the The Sober Mom Life Cafe! For $40/month, you’ll get access to 12 weekly peer support meetings, the exclusive Cafe social feed, our monthly book club and happy hour, the chance to share your story on The Real Sober Moms, and even a monthly Bravo chat! For a limited time, get one week free! We also have The Sober Mom Life Community for just $5.95/month - In the Community, you’ll receive access to the exclusive Community social feed, the exclusive community chat, our monthly book club, and one free weekly meeting. Click here to follow The Sober Mom Life on Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Katie is nearing the end of her maternity leave and she has caught up on SO much TV while in the newborn bubble. So, we’re back to dive into all of the great Bravo that’s been on in the last few months! Today, we’ll recap the great last season of Traitors, Southern Charm’s long awaited return, and how the new younger cast on Summer House has really changed the energy of the show. Plus - Suzanne and Katie's thoughts on the second seasons of Severance and White Lotus, and Jax’s interviews about rehab.  Are you looking for community in sobriety? Join us in the The Sober Mom Life Cafe! For $40/month, you’ll get access to 12 weekly peer support meetings, the exclusive Cafe social feed, our monthly book club and happy hour, the chance to share your story on The Real Sober Moms, and even a monthly Bravo chat! For a limited time, get one week free! We also have The Sober Mom Life Community for just $5.95/month - In the Community, you’ll receive access to the exclusive Community social feed, the exclusive community chat, our monthly book club, and one free weekly meeting. Click here to follow The Sober Mom Life on Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mom and I just got back from the latest Sober Mom Life retreat in Scottsdale, Arizona, and it was absolutely fantastic! This retreat was such a breath of fresh air and really solidified my feelings that we’re building an amazing community of caring, non-judgmental sober women. You’ll hear all about the event, from the meals to the sessions to the bonding and everything in between. Plus, you’ll get the inside scoop on how to sign up for the next Sober Mom Life retreat if you'd like to join us in the fall! Thank you to the wonderful companies that supported the retreat with their delightful gifts: In My Sundays pajamas: https://www.inmysundays.com/Adorn 512 Jewelry: https://www.adorn512.com/Take the personality test Susan mentioned: https://viacharacter.org/Are you looking for community in sobriety? Join us in the The Sober Mom Life Cafe! For $40/month, you’ll get access to 12 weekly peer support meetings, the exclusive Cafe social feed, our monthly book club and happy hour, the chance to share your story on The Real Sober Moms, and even a monthly Bravo chat! For a limited time, get one week free! We also have The Sober Mom Life Community for just $5.95/month - In the Community, you’ll receive access to the exclusive Community social feed, the exclusive community chat, our monthly book club, and one free weekly meeting.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah H., a mother of three, shares her enlightening journey of sobriety after realizing that alcohol, once seen as a fun addition to celebrations, had negative effects on her behavior and well-being. She recounts how her perception of drinking changed during motherhood, leading her to explore a sober lifestyle starting with Dry January. Sarah's powerful reflections on grief, empowerment, and the importance of shared stories highlight her evolution towards embracing sobriety, transforming her life and inspiring others along the way.

Real Sober Mom Kim is three months sober! Today, she’s giving us a peek into this extremely important phase of sobriety. Kim experienced postpartum anxiety with her second child. During her recovery, her therapist recommended that a glass of wine a night was no big deal if it helped her wind down, and Kim’s daily drinking began. Despite the fact that Kim was able to moderate, her life began to revolve around her nightly drink. The relief she found in the ritual eventually started to blot out other things in her life. As a therapist, Kim knew she was using drinking was a coping mechanism. Recently, though, it became too much. She found herself intoxicated on the floor of her living room during a night with friends and she asked herself - how would she feel if her kids came home and found her like this? She did not like the answer, and that night, she decided to quit. The next day she joined the first meeting she could find online and her sobriety journey began. The meeting wasn’t a perfect fit, but it was good enough to help support her and keep her going until she found the Cafe. She is so glad she went. At 3 months sober, Kim’s sobriety feels hard, but incredible! She shares about the unexpected anxiety she felt during her first sober month, how it dissipated, and the gorgeous glimmers that are now coming through in her sober life. If you’re struggling with early sobriety, Kim wants to encourage you to keep going! Are you looking for community in sobriety? Join us in the The Sober Mom Life Cafe! For $40/month, you’ll get access to 12 weekly peer support meetings, the exclusive Cafe social feed, our monthly book club and happy hour, the chance to share your story on The Real Sober Moms, and even a monthly Bravo chat! For a limited time, get one week free! We also have The Sober Mom Life Community for just $5.95/month - In the Community, you’ll receive access to the exclusive Community social feed, the exclusive community chat, our monthly book club, and one free weekly meeting. Click here to follow The Sober Mom Life on Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our resident scientist, Gill Tietz of SoberPowered, is back on the pod to help us understand the recent US Surgeon General’s report on the link between cancer and alcohol consumption. This link is something that we in the sobriety space have known for a long time, but it is the first time that the government has publicly announced the connection. We’ll talk about how this report might change people’s drinking habits, how alcohol and cancer are related, and even how your body heals as your years of sobriety progress. Plus, Gill and I will share how our five year sober-versaries have felt for each of us! To hear more from Gill, check out The SoberPowered Podcast!  Check out Gill’s past episodes on The Sober Mom Life: An Alcohol Reality Check Your Dry January Dream TeamThe Sober October RoundtableIt’s Not You, it’s the AlcoholAre you looking for community in sobriety? Join us in the The Sober Mom Life Cafe! For $40/month, you’ll get access to 12 weekly peer support meetings, the exclusive Cafe social feed, our monthly book club and happy hour, the chance to share your story on The Real Sober Moms, and even a monthly Bravo chat! For a limited time, get one week free! We also have The Sober Mom Life Community for just $5.95/month - In the Community, you’ll receive access to the exclusive Community social feed, the exclusive community chat, our monthly book club, and one free weekly meeting. Click here to follow The Sober Mom Life on Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a fitness professional, Hollie Nicholson always kept alcohol out of her weekdays, but those weekends of drinking still took their toll until, in 2019, she started asking questions. Despite embodying health in many aspects of her life, Hollie faced a personal challenge with alcohol—and one day, she decided she had enough.Every weekend, amidst living a life filled with healthy habits, alcohol was still a part. For the next six years, Hollie drank with the blinders off. She noticed how inconsistent moderation success could be, she learned about the true impacts that alcohol could have on her body and mind, and she felt how good she could feel through stints of sobriety. But still, a question remained: how could you live a full sober life? In May of 2024, shortly after she turned 40, Hollie woke up after a night of drinking with severe anxiety and she asked herself - what if she could live her next decade totally different than her last? At that moment, she had a lot of questions but she knew one thing - she was getting sober. Inspired by the Sober Mom Life community, she embraced the idea that it’s entirely okay to let go of alcohol—no dramatic reasons needed.The Cafe has given Hollie such a sense of support and community. She’s even experienced an incredible connection story with another member that she tells on the pod! Learn more about Hollie’s fitness program for women in mid-life on IG @hollienicholsonstrong or on her website. Are you looking for community in sobriety? Join us in the The Sober Mom Life Cafe!  For a limited time, get one week free! For $40/month, you’ll get access to 12 weekly peer support meetings, the exclusive Cafe social feed, our monthly book club and happy hour, the chance to share your story on The Real Sober Moms, and even a monthly Bravo chat! We also have The Sober Mom Life Community for just $5.95/month - In the Community, you’ll receive access to the exclusive Community social feed, the exclusive community chat, our monthly book club, and one free weekly meeting. Click here to follow The Sober Mom Life on Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices