For a long time I didn’t want to quit drinking completely. The idea of total sobriety felt very restrictive to me. I was certain that if I could just find a way to control my drinking and “moderate properly”, I’d be happy. Back then, what I didn’t...

This summer feels like it’s going to be the first ‘normal’ one in ages. Travel is back and holidays are on. Whether you’re going away for a weekend or a few weeks, it can bring up the same question: “How do I do this… sober?!” You might...

Quick question for you… Why do you want to quit drinking or take a break from booze? What’s motivating you to do this – or consider it? You can probably give me a couple of reasons off the top of your head. But I wonder if there are some other...

One of the things that drove me to quit drinking was all the pretending I had to do. You know – the acting. Acting as if I didn’t have a hangover. Pretending I didn’t mind whether we opened another bottle. Acting as if I could take it or leave it....

When I was drinking, I would often manage to “be good” during the week. Staying sober from Monday to Thursday was pretty doable (most of the time). But not drinking at the weekend? That seemed impossible. The thought of being sober on a Friday...

I get a lot of emails from people who want to know if they’re drinking too much. They’re counting units and adding up glasses… They’re worried but also confused (doesn’t everyone drink more than you should?) So exactly how much is too much? Well,...

“I’m so happy Mum quit drinking.” Is there someone in your life who’d benefit from you ditching alcohol? It’s a question I often ask the women I work with. For many, their answer is: “My kids.” So I thought it was about time we heard...

“I’m so lonely, I end up drinking wine whilst I watch TV in the evenings.” I spotted this comment on one of my blog posts recently. It resonated with me because there was a time in my life when I was doing the same thing. There’s a stigma...

Before I quit drinking, I didn’t really know any other sober women. Back then, I had a lot of misguided beliefs about alcohol-free living. I thought people who didn’t drink were probably a bit too serious and boring. If someone had shown me just...