Happiest Hour with Paula Devine

This week I'm joined by Kristen Beckett, the woman behind the viral Mocktailsandmarathons Instagram reels. We talk about the slippery slope of gray-area drinking in motherhood—how "normal" drinking slowly turned into blackouts, hiding alcohol, and constantly justifying it because nothing "bad" had happened... yet. Kristen shares her experience with postpartum depression, th...

This week on  The Happiest Hour , I’m joined by author Mary Alice Stephens for a conversation that felt like sitting across from a friend who just gets it. We talk about her incredible book, the stories behind it, and the moments that made us both stop and question what had become so normal. We get into: • Mommy wine culture and the messages women absorb about alcohol • The “witching hour” and usi...

Had a great conversation with Whitney Cowell from LifeWithWhit on TikTok. We discussed how two things cane be true at once. We can still hold on to old memories that were fun yet also recognize the bad moments. Yet, if we hold onto one, we must acknowledge the other. We talk about having a sober wedding, faith, and combining our life with friends inside and outside our world of recovery. What an a...

My friend Shannon and I have been walking this journey together for years, and this conversation is one of the most honest we’ve had. We talk about motherhood, friendship, and the subtle ways alcohol had us performing instead of truly connecting—showing up physically while missing pieces of ourselves emotionally. This episode is about what changed, what surprised us, and how choosing differently g...

This week I got to sit down with a very special soul and friend, Brenda. We met through Lighthouse Sobriety Academy. From the moment you meet her, you feel her energy, joy, and deep sense of peace—but her journey wasn’t always that way. We talk about her complicated relationship with alcohol, unhealthy relationships, and how drinking looked different during different seasons of her life. Because a...

This week on The Happiest Hour, I sat down with Ashley , mom of two, fitness coach, UGC creator, and someone whose story felt surprisingly familiar. We talked about what happens when alcohol doesn’t necessarily create a dramatic rock bottom… it just quietly stops working. The overthinking. The exhaustion. The feeling of doing all the things but not fully feeling like yourself. Ashley shares how sh...

We talk a lot about triggers like parties, stress, and celebrations—but what about the quiet moments? The nights home alone. The hotel room. The empty house. The moments when nobody’s watching and that little voice says… who’s gonna know? In this episode, we talk about one of the hardest and least discussed parts of changing your relationship with alcohol: drinking in private, negotiating with you...

This week I sat down with Juliet Warner for an honest conversation about sobriety, relapse, faith, motherhood, and what recovery actually looks like behind the scenes. We talk about relapse and finding our way back. AA, God, and the magic of the 12 Steps Parenting teens and becoming a more present mom. What recovery gave us that alcohol never could This isn’t a conversation about perfection. It’s...

In this episode of The Happiest Hour with Paula Devine , Paula sits down with Dana Bowman for an honest conversation about motherhood, nightly wine habits, menopause, sugar addiction, perfectionism, and the complicated relationship so many women have with alcohol. They also talk openly about relapse — not as failure, but as part of Dana’s story and a turning point that became intentional, honest,...

This week Ashley & I get honest about the thoughts, fears, and mental gymnastics that came with drinking. Waiting for a reason to stop, hoping something external would make the decision for us, the anxiety after the nights out, and the realization that so much of what we called fun was actually exhausting us. If you've ever wondered why you kept going back even when you knew something felt...

In this Friday series episode, Ashley and I are sharing 3 things that really stuck with us in early sobriety and beyond. The fears, the shifts, the small moments that actually matter and what it looks like when everything feels new and a little uncomfortable. Not the polished version...the real version. If you've ever wondered : "Could I actually do this?" or "What does it reall...

Sobriety was just the beginning. In this episode with Ali Clark, founder of the Sober Dream Team, we talk about how alcohol, narcissistic relationship dynamics, and a dysregulated nervous system can all feed off each other—and what it actually takes to start feeling safe, clear, and grounded again. www.soberdreamteam.com

Wendi and I go there. From “How did I get here?” to actually doing something about it. If you’ve ever looked at your life and thought, “This isn’t how I thought it would be…” — this episode is for you. Wendi shares her journey through divorce, motherhood, and working as a first responder—all while navigating her relationship with alcohol. We talk about sober dating, identity shifts, and what it re...

In this episode, I sit down with Jaime Andersen—founder of Amazingly Alcohol-Free, podcast host, retreat leader, and sober mom. We talk honestly about what our drinking days looked like behind the scenes while raising kids, and how much heavier life felt than we wanted to admit. Jaime shares her experience navigating motherhood, including raising a child on the autism spectrum, walking through mis...

Paula sits down with Ashley to talk about the quiet moments that lead us to question our relationship with alcohol. Ashley shares a deeply emotional look at what it was like to be in the grips of her drinking while navigating motherhood. It's an honest conversation about the pain, the awareness, and courage it takes to begin choosing something different. It's a story of resilience, overcom...

Hi and I'm Paula, Founder of the Happiest Hour Concierge Sobriety. A this very short introduction to the new podcast and what I look forward to sharing. Thanks for listening!

This is one of the most honest conversations I've ever had. I sat down with my son Mikey, and asked him the questions most moms avoid... We'll talk about: How he really felt and what he sees now in me as an alcohol-free mom. It's about awareness, healing, and showing what's possible on the other side. Is you've ever wondered how your drinking might be impacting your kids...this...