The Sober New Yorker

Chloe was just 9 years old when she first started drinking alcohol. What followed was a decades-long struggle with addiction, homelessness, cocaine, heroin, and 23 trips to rehab before she finally found lasting sobriety. Growing up in Copenhagen, Denmark, Chloe experienced a difficult childhood marked by foster homes, instability, and the search for belonging. As her addiction progressed, she fou...

What are the warning signs that your drinking is becoming a problem? Sometimes the people around us notice the red flags long before we’re ready to acknowledge them ourselves. In this episode of The Sober New Yorker , alcohol-free coach Melissa McGovern shares three major red flags she experienced in the six months leading up to her decision to quit drinking in August 2023. From refusing to eat at...

Jim McKinley was a successful military veteran, husband, and father of four. But behind closed doors, he was struggling with alcohol addiction, drinking alone during the day and hiding bottles of vodka in the woods surrounding his home. What began as a way to cope with the challenges of becoming a stay-at-home dad gradually turned into a secret drinking problem that was damaging his marriage and p...

For years, Rebecca believed drinking wine was just a normal part of life. But by her 50s, she was drinking at least a bottle of wine every night, sometimes opening a second, and beginning to hide how much she was consuming. In this episode of the Sober New Yorker Podcast, Melissa sits down with Rebecca, an artist, certified life coach, and host of the Curious on Life podcast, to discuss what final...

How do you recognize a drinking problem when you’re doing everything right on the outside? Brianna, creator of More Fun Without It, was earning a 4.0 GPA in graduate school, studying addiction and building a career in mental health. But behind the scenes, her drinking and drug use were becoming increasingly difficult to control. Despite studying addiction, she struggled to recognize what was happe...

Madeline Forrest grew up knowing firsthand what alcohol could do. Her mom got sober at 21, and her dad struggled with alcohol addiction throughout much of Madeline’s childhood. So when Madeline eventually began questioning her own relationship with alcohol, she knew the warning signs — but her drinking didn’t look the way she thought a problem with alcohol was supposed to look. She considered hers...

What happens when you know alcohol is destroying your body, but you still can’t stop? Will Gordon’s drinking had already landed him in the hospital when doctors diagnosed him with alcoholic hepatitis and warned him that he needed to stop. He stayed sober for 125 days before relapsing—and from there, his addiction progressed quickly. Will began hiding vodka around his home and eventually reached th...

Jason spent years believing he was a functional drinker. He had a good job, made good money and took care of his kids—but behind the scenes, alcohol had progressed to waking up in the middle of the night and taking swigs of whiskey just to get back to sleep. In 2019, Jason quit drinking and remained alcohol-free for two and a half years. But while he had stopped drinking, his cocaine use increased...

After losing her father to alcohol-related complications, Megan was faced with a difficult question: would alcohol continue to be part of her family’s story, or would the cycle stop with her? She chose to quit drinking. In the first-ever in-studio episode of The Sober New Yorker, Melissa sits down with Megan in Manhattan as she approaches one year of sobriety. A labor and delivery nurse, wife, and...

Tawny Lara has been sober for more than 10 years and was one of the early voices in the sober curious movement. But after building a career and personal brand online, she began questioning another complicated relationship in her life: social media. Tawny became known as the “sober sexpert,” writing openly about sobriety, sober dating, sex, and relationships while growing an audience on Instagram....

Shaz knew his drinking was putting his marriage at risk. But instead of quitting alcohol, he found himself planning for what would happen when his marriage eventually fell apart. Growing up in Chicago as the son of Pakistani immigrants, alcohol became normalized early when his family went from running a tobacco shop to owning liquor stores. What began as social drinking eventually followed Shaz in...

Chris Marshall got his first DUI at 16, on only his second time drinking. By 23, he was drinking a handle of vodka a day, had failed out of college, and didn’t believe he would live to see 25. Today, Chris is 19 years sober. In this episode of The Sober New Yorker, Chris shares how his need to belong fueled his alcohol addiction, why multiple trips to treatment didn’t initially work, and what fina...

Rachel Soto’s drinking had progressed to blackouts, a DUI, morning drinking, and a life that was becoming increasingly difficult to hold together. Alongside alcohol addiction, she was also struggling with Xanax and other prescription medication. Eventually, her husband was ready to leave, her relationships with her family were breaking down, and Rachel knew something had to change. In this episode...

Marissa Cherepanov knew for nearly a decade that she wanted to quit drinking. She took 30-day breaks, promised herself she would eventually stop, and kept waiting for the right time. As a working mom of four with a demanding career, her drinking became increasingly difficult to ignore. After COVID, the loss of her grandmother, growing responsibilities, and stress at home, Marissa reached a point w...

Wendy Behar was 35 years old when she blacked out at a wedding in front of her two children. The next morning, her husband cried, and Wendy knew something had to change. She went to her first AA meeting and has been sober since 1998. In this episode of The Sober New Yorker, Wendy shares how drinking progressed from weekends to a daily habit as the stress of motherhood and problems in her marriage...

Jessica Guerrieri was drinking as much as three bottles of wine a night or a handle of vodka every other day when her husband told her he wasn’t comfortable having children with her while she was drinking that way. Jessica had always dreamed of becoming a mom, but her first thought was that maybe she would give up that dream so she could keep drinking. That realization changed something. In this e...

Anne Skriba was a college athlete, basketball coach, and high achiever who always found a way to show up. For years, that made it easy to believe her drinking wasn’t really a problem. But alcohol slowly became part of everything. Anne went from drinking socially to drinking alone and every day. Eventually, she was taking tequila shots at 7 a.m. just to open her computer and start work. In this epi...

Keri Anderson knew her drinking was getting worse. She was blacking out, experiencing panic attacks, going to work hungover, and drinking one to two bottles of wine a night. Still, she couldn’t stop. Then her 16-year-old daughter showed up at her house while Keri was drunk and gave her an ultimatum: quit drinking or lose their relationship. Two days later, Keri entered detox. In this episode of Th...

Lauren Welch never had the dramatic rock bottom she thought someone needed in order to quit drinking. She still had her career, her family, and a successful life. But for years, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something about her relationship with alcohol wasn’t right. Then came a family wedding. After drinking to calm her anxiety, Lauren lost control on the dance floor, yelled at people she l...

What happens when one alcohol-fueled decision changes the course of your life forever? In this powerful conversation, speaker, author, and advocate Martin Lockett shares his journey from rock bottom to redemption. We talk about accountability, forgiveness, sobriety, and what it takes to rebuild a life after unimaginable consequences. While Martin's story is extraordinary, the heart of this epi...

Nine years ago, Allie Clark walked into rehab wearing a tennis skirt, unaware that one decision would completely change her life. In this episode, Allie shares how healing childhood trauma—including the effects of growing up with a narcissistic mother—became the foundation of lasting sobriety. Today, she's an alcohol-free and trauma coach helping others find the same freedom she did. We talk a...

What if the key to freedom isn't admitting you're powerless—but discovering just how powerful you really are? In this episode, Melissa sits down with Lauren Fay—author of Blurred Lines , alcohol-free empowerment coach, Reiki Master Teacher, former collegiate athlete, and eight years sober —to challenge traditional recovery narratives and explore a different way of thinking about alcohol. T...

Lisa Smith is the author of the acclaimed memoir Girl Walks Out of a Bar , a candid and powerful account of her journey from addiction to recovery. A former high-powered New York City attorney, Lisa struggled with a high-functioning alcohol and cocaine addiction before finding lasting sobriety. Now 22 years alcohol- and drug-free, Lisa is a leading voice in the recovery community. She is the award...

This week, I'm joined by Jon Gustin—better known as The Tired Dad and author of the new book The Tired Dad: 100 Reflections on Showing Up for What Matters Most . Jon opens up about his journey from numbing with alcohol to living with intention, honesty, and presence. We talk shame, sobriety, mental health, fatherhood, and what it really takes to stop escaping and start feeling your life again....

Adriana is a liver failure survivor who was given a second chance at life after alcohol nearly took everything from her. Now alcohol-free, she uses her social media platform to break the stigma around recovery, inspire others to step out of the shadows, and share why sobriety has been the best gift she's ever given herself and her family. A proud New Yorker, Adriana brings grit, honesty, and p...