Blogs have been an integral part of many peoples sobriety – those dark days of self hatred that had us googling ‘am I an Alcoholic?’ would lead to far corners of the internet, where other people struggling in the same way wrote about their experience, and it gave us hope. Similarly, many bloggers have reported that having the outlet to write and connect with other people around the world has helped them stay sober.
With an ever growing number of inspiring and honest blogs out there, we wanted to invite writers to share their story with us here at The Sober Library, where we will hear about their road to recovery and a little bit about what their writing means to them.
Am I an Alcoholic? By Patrick Ruddy
June 2024
Author Patrick Ruddy lives in Scotland with his wife and children. With excepts from his new book 99 Percent Sober, he talks about that ‘big’ (and much googled!) question.
I finally flipped the question on its head. I stopped tying myself up in knots trying to answer if I was an alcoholic. I reframed the question. I asked myself instead: “Would my life be better with less alcohol in it?”
read more
What is High Functioning Alcoholism?
September 2023
A high-functioning alcoholic is a person who holds onto their job and their family while being psychologically dependent on alcohol. Sometimes the pressure and success of the outwardly perfect appearance of their lives drives them to drink more, pushing their body and their relationships to the brink.
read more
Barrie Ainsley from The Happy Daddy
February 2023
From the North East of England, blogger and Mental Health/Addiction speaker Barrie Ainsley talks about his drinking days and how he found a solution in Rational Recovery.
“By Winter 2020 I was in a dark place mentally and my drinking was now just a part of my day to day. I didn’t enjoy alcohol anymore; it was a medicine to me. Unfortunately, the medicine wasn’t doing the job it used to do so I needed more. “
read more
Emily Tisshaw from The Sober Book Club
January 2023
Founder of the online community Sober Book Club, Emily Tisshaw shares her honest recovery story from drugs and alcohol and how she found solace in the sea in Cornwall, UK.
“In the space of 6 months I went from feeling like dried up bones in a sandstorm dessert to a sturdy ship on the cleanest saturating water, but I wasn’t just aimlessly floating, I was setting sail into a brighter future and it felt great. “
read more
Sober Adventures with The Sober Grandma
November 2022
Originally from Florida, Lynn King shares her adventures as a ‘citizen of the world’, as well as the tools and resources she has used to move forward from Alcohol Use Disorder.
“We don’t have to wait until we hit rock bottom to change. We don’t have to destroy everything that is dear to us before we wake up. We don’t have to let alcohol rob us of our self-worth, our self-esteem and our dignity. We can change any time that we decide that alcohol is no longer serving us.”
read more
The Grateful Nuts: Better Together
October 2022
Our first guest writers are Nina and Stan, AKA The Grateful Nuts, who share their story of navigating the world – and the rooms of AA – as a sober couple in South Georgia, The USA
“Ironically enough, our age difference isn’t even the most eye-brow-raising thing about us, but not many people will ever actually get to know that. We have a secret. Well, it’s not so much a secret as it is privileged information. What you can’t tell by looking at us, though, is that we’re both (gasp) alcoholics.”