The Sober Mom Life

Kathryn has been a lifelong overachiever, but that didn’t stop her from being a heavy drinker. It did, however, mask her view of what alcohol was doing to her life. In 2019, Kathryn received her first hint of a wakeup call when she fell down a flight of stairs after a night of drinking. This injury resulted in an emergency surgery months later and has left her with permanent nerve damage.  Ka...

Gill Tietz of Sober Powered is here to help me kick off Dry July with an Alcohol 101 lesson. From her perspective as a former biochemist, Gill drops some major bombs about alcohol’s effects that will forever change how you look at the substance.  We’ll dive into what alcohol is, how it affects our bodies and brains, how alcohol consumption affects women's bodies differently, and alcohol withd...

Today my brother Jay is joining me for a conversation that he and I both know a lot about - grief and sobriety. Our society encourages us to be quiet about the complicated and overwhelming feelings of grief, but it needs to be talked about, so today we’re doing just that.  Jay lost his best friend one month ago in a tragic accident, and today he’s here to share with us how he has been process...

Best selling author Emily (Belden) Bond joins me today for an eye opening conversation about her breast cancer journey and how it has changed her relationship with alcohol.  Emily shares the unbelievable story of how she was diagnosed, how her treatment has unfolded over the past year, what she experienced when she shared her diagnosis publicly, and how cancer has forever altered her relation...

One of the biggest worries that often comes up in our groups is: How do I travel without drinking? Whether it be a trip to Europe or an all inclusive vacation, it can be hard to envision what travel can look like when you take the focus off of alcohol.  My mom, who’s almost 2 years sober, just got back from a trip to Paris! Today she’s here to share everything she experienced on her sober tri...

Growing up on the road following the Grateful Dead tour, Elan didn’t experience much in the way of boundaries. This loose childhood caused Elan to feel uncared for and unsafe. Alcohol wiped that feeling away, and she quickly began to rely on the substance. As Elan got further into childhood, her father remarried, and his new wife installed strict boundaries. Elan rebelled intensely, and landed in...

Katie and I are here for another installment of SobieTEA, where we spill the tea about our favorite escape: Bravo TV!  This week we’re talking about the Vanderpump Rules 3-part reunion, the latest developments on The Valley, Carl and Lindsay’s breakup from a sober perspective, and the status of the Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion.  Plus - The Traitors Season 3 cast announcement, ce...

Julia Dzafic is back on the show to share a story that is so relatable and important. If you are new to sobriety and summer is feeling like a challenge, then this is a must listen!  Julia’s first appearance on the podcast highlighted her first experience with sobriety, but as summer rolled around that year, she felt like she had a grip on alcohol. Maybe it was finally possible for her to drin...

Karen grew up in a home without alcohol, but that didn’t stop it from finding her in high school. Binge drinking quickly became a part of her life, and she chose not to go to college because she knew she would party it away. After making her way through beauty school, Karen became a mom, and drinking ended up slipping pretty easily into the backseat of her life. She was able to moderate her drinki...

Summer has arrived! The days are long, the weather is gorgeous, and the pool party invites are starting to arrive. If the idea of not drinking this summer is causing you anxiety, this episode is for you.  Today we’re going to prepare you for your first sober summer, so you can experience the magic that can be found in these long, beautiful, alcohol-free days. We’ll talk about making the decis...

Katie and I are here for another installment of SobrieTEA, where we spill the tea about our favorite escape: Bravo TV! This week we’re talking about the season finale of Vanderpump Rules, Brittany’s frustration at Jax’s drinking, the problematic drinking culture on Summer House, and Carl and Lindsay’s fight.  Plus - PK and Dorit, Why budgets are being slashed in reality TV, and the bizarre be...

Today, Kristen Beckett of @mocktailsandmarathons joins me for a great conversation about the false promise of moderation, the challenges of navigating drinking and sobriety with a partner, and the beauty of the online sober community.  A fellow Wisconsite, Kristen grew up in a home where drinking was seen as a normal part of everyday life. After the traumatic birth of her daughter, however, s...

As a younger child in her family, Kelsi always looked forward to having her first drink. Her older siblings made alcohol seem like the centerpiece of belonging, connection and fun. This perspective stayed with Kelsi throughout high school and college, and since she was still able to stay on top of life while rocking a hangover, she never saw it as a problem.  As Kelsi moved into adulthood, fi...

Today’s real sober mom, Sara, is back on the pod after first appearing in November of 2022! If you haven’t listened to her first episode, be sure to check it out here . Today, Sara catches us up on how she’s been doing now that she is almost 2 ½ years sober - with sobriety, her family, and her personal life.  We’ll talk about how dabbling in moderation back in the day has helped Sara stay sob...

Madeline Campbell from Happiest Sober is on the pod today to share her unique sobriety journey. You guys, Madeline quit drinking in her 20s. Can you imagine?! One of the biggest reasons why Madeline began to question her drinking so early in life is because she had a great role model growing up: a sober mom.  Today, we talk about Madeline’s childhood experience with a sober mom, how her drink...

Like so many small town girls, Abby’s first drink was a wine cooler in the middle of a field. Though she hated the taste, she learned that alcohol could be a tool to rely on: for an escape from her painful home life, as a way to fit in, and to help her ignore the nagging feeling that she didn’t belong. Throughout college and young adulthood, she leaned on it, throwing herself into a heavy drinking...

This is such a pinch me moment! The incredible Annie Grace is on the podcast. Annie’s first book, This Naked Mind , changed my life. And I’m not alone! So many women in the Sober Mom Life Cafe have had the same experience. In addition to being the bestselling author of multiple books, Annie Grace is the founder of This Naked Mind , where millions of people have found freedom from alcohol through h...

Katie and I are back for the second installment of SobieTEA where we spill the tea about our favorite escape: Bravo TV! This week we’ll deep dive into The Valley, and Katie will explain why the pool party gave her ‘the ick’. Then, we’ll share our thoughts on Carl and Lindsay’s impending breakup on Summer House.  Plus, Lala’s insemination party, the power of Craig and Shep’s friendship, and Ka...

Society has done such an effective job of teaching us to restrict our emotions that it can feel hard to believe that emotions are a completely natural human experience. So many of us learned to reach for a drink when we started to feel an uncomfortable emotion, and we lost touch with how to feel anything at all.  Learning how to feel your emotions is often one of the biggest parts of a sobrie...

Today’s real sober mom, Ashlee, made a pledge to herself when she was young: she would never drink. Ashlee had experienced first hand the damage caused by a parent who drank, and she never wanted to be that mom. Yet, when she turned 21 and had her first drink, things got complicated. For her, it was ‘love at first sip’.  Today, Ashlee tells the story of how the ‘attention seeking party girl l...

It’s an exciting day on the pod - The incredible Emily Ley is finally here, and she is telling her sobriety story publicly for the very first time!  In today’s episode, Emily will share about how she began to self medicate with alcohol to manage undiagnosed ADD, her silent sober curious journey, the doctor that completely invalidated her urge to quit drinking, how she feels like she discovere...

In this flashback from May 2023, I’ll share my approach to sobriety, and how I found myself at the place I am now with alcohol.  When I began my sober journey, I only knew what I didn’t want: I didn’t want alcohol to take one more day away from me. Now I know what I do want: a full, expansive and beautiful sober life.  Your sober journey gets to look the way YOU want it to. It doesn’t ha...

Today, Audrey and I are tackling a big topic: Why we believe pregnancy is different and doesn't completely count as a sober experience. We know that might sound harsh, but stick with us! Because our goal in today’s episode is to empower you to see all that sobriety has to offer you that you didn’t experience during pregnancy. We lay out how sobriety differs from pregnancy, the ways in which pregna...

Kelly is a mid-40’s mom of three, on again/off again stay at home mom who is working on figuring how to navigate a new ADHD diagnosis and sobriety. She began her drinking career in high school like many of us. It wasn’t her favorite, due to the lack of control she felt when drunk. Between joining the military at 20 and then being a mom not wanting to find a new pot dealer in her 30’s, she shifted...

If anyone can make sobriety look glamorous, it’s Morgan Matkovic. Morgan is a lifestyle blogger, special needs advocate, mother, and author . On top of all that, she is almost three months sober! Morgan and I have been blogging buddies for nine years, and I am so happy that our paths have crossed in this wonderful way!  Today Morgan talks about the role alcohol played on her social feed when...