“You’ve got to believe in yourself and stick with it. I’m proof that it’s never too late to change.”
Fee had been drinking since the 1960s, when she worked in a Mad Men-style advertising job in London, where boozy lunches, wine bars and after-work drinks were all part of the culture.
Fast forward to 2024 and Fee was retired and living on the other side of the world, but alcohol was still part of her nightly routine… until she stumbled across The Sober School at the age of 75.
“I worked in advertising in London in the late ’60s, ’70s and into the ’80s – and honestly, Mad Men was exactly what it was like. You worked hard and you played hard.”
“When I got married and moved to Australia, I didn’t drink as much, but it was every night. And then people died, there was grief, life happened… and I just drank my way through everything, really.”
“I’d been trying for a couple of years beforehand to give up. I spent a fortune on herbal pills from the States and all sorts of things, but they didn’t work and my mind wasn’t in the right space.”
“The course gave me continuity. Every single day you had to do something – write something down, tune into the lesson – and that kept me going from one day to the next.”
“People ask, ‘How long’s this going to go on for?’ and I say, ‘None of your business. It’s going on as long as I want it to go on for.’ I don’t really care what people say anymore.”
“You’ve got to believe in yourself and stick with it. I’m proof that an old dog can learn new tricks.”
“I’ve lost 3.5 stone since I quit drinking, because I’m no longer sabotaging my weight loss with alcohol.”
“I finally saw alcohol as the addictive, pernicious substance it is – not as a personal failing.”
“I wanted to be a grandma who could be trusted and relied upon to look after the baby.”
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