Sarah -  Is it a mid-life crisis or a mid-life awakening? 

“I’m 41 and clearly having a mid-life crisis. Sobriety has given me a clearer picture on my values and what I want in this life. When I was drinking, I knew it wasn’t working but I didn't have the strength to do anything.” Sarah found herself living for the weekend until the hangxiety of late boozy nights was debilitating and she knew in the depths of her soul she deserved better. On the morning after Easter in 2022 she knew she had to do something different. What followed was the mix of sadness and joy all leading to her midlife awakening as she gained the clarity to know what’s important and the courage to act.  Here’s what you can expect to hear.  Sobriety as a Life Transition  We talk about how sobriety is similar to other life transitions in that at first it does feel scary and daunting and you feel like you don’t know what you are doing (because you don’t!) but not to make that mean too much. Community as the antidote to Grief How the beginning of her sobriety was full of grief and depression and that the one thing that could have helped was having a community and learning to live life sober. Once she stepped out of the shame and shared her story, she began to see she wasn’t alone. She took this and created AF Social + Life with her friend Laura. Drunk “Vulnerability”  We talk about how you can  truly never be vulnerable when you are drinking. And in fact when you are, or someone else is, while inebriated there's a sense of invasiveness and manipulation. Are you taking advantage of them? Is it true vulnerability if it takes 3 glasses of wine to share?  Grieving while drinking vs. Grieving Sober We discuss processing grief with the loss of parents and she shares the difference in the grief process for her mother and father, one she was sober and the other not, and I share how my sober•ish life provided so much healing during my dad’s death.  It would mean the world to me if you subscribe, leave a review, and share this podcast with your friends, co-workers, and families. This will help the trajectory of this podcast and allow others who are seeking freedom from alcohol to find this podcast. About Sarah After 23 years of weekend binge drinking, Sarah said goodbye to blackouts and living for weekend cocktails.  She CRAVED connection with other women who felt the same way and needed to learn how to have FUN without alcohol!  After a phone call with her friend Laura, The AF Social was born. She brings her experience as a certified health coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, as well as my extensive event planning and community building background. She LOVES seeing women connect and create meaningful friendships through The AF Social + Life. About Sober•ish Uprising  At Sober•ish Uprising we find freedom from alcohol on our own terms. Founded by Holly Krivokapich, a former heavy drinker who started a sober•ish uprising of her own and everything changed, we know it's not about saying no to the drink but saying yes to you. Holly works with 40ish, personal development junkies who are ready to put their sober curiosity into action, making it their next power move, and doing so with all the fun and none of the dread. Through our podcast, 1:1 coaching and her signature program The Sober•ish Experiment, we support those to create and live their own sober•ish journey.  www.soberishuprising.com