A Conversation With Author Michelle Tea
Michelle Tea is a queer author, poet, and literary organizer who has been sober for close to two decades. I am also queer and sober, and a big fan of Tea’s work, so talking to her was an honor. We spoke about addiction, recovery, and how being sober impacts her writing and creative life. What […]
Sober Stories: Julia
What led you to get sober? I stopped drinking in January 2020. I don’t identify as an alcoholic, but I wasn’t comfortable with how I was drinking. There’s alcoholism in my family, so I know there’s some predisposition. I struggle with anxiety and depression, and I noticed that drinking would exacerbate them. Then in December […]
Sober Stories: Jamie-Lee
What made you decide to get sober? I didn’t like who I was when I was drinking. I became a belligerent, bad attitude type of person. I found that I was fighting with my partner only when we drank. I also hated losing memories. I hated waking up the next day and being like, “What […]
Sober Stories: Carly*
What led you to the decision to get sober? I got kicked out of my house—and I think I didn’t like drugs anymore. I don’t remember getting high or feeling good. I had nothing else to do with my life, so that was at least a start. I don’t think I was ever actually an […]
Sober Stories: Liz
What led you to the decision to get sober? There were times over the years where I thought about it—where I would take breaks from drinking. Then there was a period before I stopped drinking when I was moderating it. No matter how infrequently I drank, it became evident to me that it was a […]
Sober Stories: Erica
What led you to get sober? A lot of my first experiences drinking, and then a lot of the drinking I did in California [in recent years], were alone. Some were social, but then I’d realize, “It’s 4 or 5 in the morning and everybody else is going home and I’m here to keep drinking.” […]
Sober Stories: Molly
What led you to get sober? I knew I had a problem for a while, and I would sort of try to get sober. When I finally did, I went on a first date with someone who was sober—so she didn’t drink at all—and I drank so much. Then she left and I kept drinking. […]
Sober Stories: Lindsey
What led you to get sober? Almost two years ago, after a really heated argument with my boyfriend, I woke up the next morning and had this epiphany. I thought, “Lindsey, if you keep repeating these same negative patterns, you’re always going to end up where you are right now. It’s never going to go […]
Sober Stories: Sam*
What led you to the decision to get sober? The first time I ever drank, I was 12. My cousin and I probably had 10 shots each. It’s maybe telling that in the context of my family, that struck me as normal. But in any other context, it was apparent that the way I drank […]
Sober Stories: Angie
Can you tell me about your path to sobriety? What led you to the decision? In the summer of 2013, I was coming out of hands-down the most destructive relationship I had ever been in. I had been drinking a lot for a long time, but this summer was different. I was blacking out when […]