Sober Awkward

This week’s Shame Shed is a more serious one. A parent writes in about the shame they carry from drinking while raising their kids, and the heavy weight of seeing it all clearly now they’re sober. If you’ve ever felt that knot in your stomach about the past, this one will hit home. The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking stories. It’s not...

This week on Sober Awkward , Vic chats with Social Media Educator and (National Association for Children of Addiction) NACOA Ambassador - Sarah Drage about the strange and sometimes complicated world of sobriety on the internet. When we stop drinking, many of us head straight online. Suddenly there are sober coaches, Instagram accounts, communities, podcasts, hashtags, and an entire digital world...

A work Christmas party that escalated quickly… involving a Christmas tree, a taxi ride that didn’t go to plan, and a very unfortunate encounter with a dog flap. This week’s Shame Shed is a reminder that some people don’t “just have a few”… they fully commit. The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking stories. It’s not about judgement, it’s ab...

Vic had to properly brace herself for this one… sitting down with Catherine Gray, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober . This is the book that completely changed the course of Vic’s sobriety. The one that, for the first time, made an alcohol-free life feel exciting rather than something to endure. So yes… she tried not to gush. No promises. As expected, Vic and Cath...

One man, one very confident walk home… and one slight issue with the fact he no longer lived there. The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking stories. It’s not about judgement, it’s about recognising how wild things could get when alcohol was in charge, and laughing about it now we’re on the other side. If you’ve got a story you’d like to ge...

Vic sits down with William Porter to unpack one of the biggest traps in drinking culture, how alcohol became so normal we stopped questioning it. From cracking a Red Stripe on a train at 7.30am in London to planning entire nights around that first drink, this episode explores the quiet, creeping ways alcohol becomes the main event without us even noticing. They dive into where cravings really come...

This week in the Share Shed there is a message from someone who feels properly stuck. It’s whisky, and it’s creeping earlier. What used to be evenings has slowly shifted… to afternoons… and now sometimes mornings. Just a quick swig out of the bottle to steady the nerves. They’ve been listening to the podcast, quietly questioning things, knowing deep down something isn’t right… but still lying to t...

This week… we’re going there. Dating sober. Regretful one-night stands. The murky truth about consent. Letting go of shame. First sober sexual encounters… and yes, even prison date nights. It’s all on the table. I’m joined by the brilliant Anna Wolfe, host of How To Get Wet When You’re Dry , who brings both lived experience and serious journalistic insight into what actually happens after we get s...

This week in the Share Shed there is a very common story about what happns when you have too many shots at a Hen Night. A big thank you to Clare who sent it in and another question from an anonymous listener - What do you say when your friends ask why you're not drinking? The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking stories. It’s not about judg...

This week on Sober Awkward , Vic chats with one of her favourite sober buddies, sobriety coach - Sarah Rusbatch about something many of us completely ignored while we were drinking… our nervous systems. For years we thought alcohol was helping us relax. Turns out it was often doing the exact opposite, keeping our bodies stuck in stress mode. Sarah breaks down what’s really going on in our nervous...

This week in the Share Shed there is a story that some people may relate to - involving bodily functions. Vic opens the inbox to a story that starts like many girls trips do - a night out in Greece, one too many, a nice younger man, a shag and then..... Well, Vic will let you find out the next bit! The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking s...

This week gets a little bit personal. We’re talking ADHD, alcohol, and that slightly unsettling moment when you realise… maybe it wasn’t just the drinking. After years of brushing it off, and being gently diagnosed by listeners in her DMs, Vic is thinking about getting assessed again. becuase last time she was tested for ADHD, it wasn’t the result she expected. But now, hormones are doing their th...

This week in the Share Shed there is an important question - How do I start again? Today Vic opens a voicemail from a Sober Awkward listener who is in her 20's and is drinking again after a period of abstinence - she's still young, so it seems like a really hard choice - what can she do to get back on track? The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable...

Vic is joined by Newspaper Editor, Journalist and Author, Carly Schwartz, to talk about her wild, honest new memoir I’ll Try Anything Twice . Carly shares stories from her years chasing adventure around the world, from chaotic parties to a mysterious sustainable town in the Panamanian jungle. Some of the experiences were exhilarating, others risky, and along the way she began to realise that alcoh...

This week in the Share Shed, Vic opens the inbox to a story that starts like many nights used to… a few drinks with friends that quietly turns into an entire weekend you can’t quite explain. Our anonymous listener describes being a full blown party animal in the late 90s, where alcohol often led to a cocktail of other substances and the kind of decisions that only make sense at the time. Let's jus...

Vic is joined by journalist and author Jenny Valentish for a warm, funny and honest conversation about introversion, overstimulation and knowing when it’s time to quietly exit stage left. Jenny is the author of An Introvert’s Guide to Leaving the House , a brilliant and reassuring book about navigating the world without pretending to be more extroverted than you are. It’s not about becoming louder...

This week in the Share Shed, Vic opens the inbox and shares one of those stories that perfectly sums up the chaos of drinking days. Listener James from Gloucester writes in with a tale from his travelling years that starts with a few innocent drinks on a river in Cambodia… and somehow ends with him accidentally buying more than he bargained for! It’s funny, slightly unbelievable, and a perfect rem...

Vic is eight years sober tomorrow… and something is quietly shifting.... She has realised this week that the anxiety she feels around certain social situations isn’t because she can’t cope. It’s because she no longer wants to. For years she believed being able to sit comfortably around drinking was a sober skill to master. She could handle it. She could manage the energy. She could leave early. Bu...

Awkward questions. Clumsy confessions. Zero judgement. Today, it's all about someone Vic knows very well.... Welcome to The Share Shed, the corner of Sober Awkward where we fling open the doors, air out the embarrassing bits, and finally stop carrying the stories that have been rattling around in our heads for years. These are your questions and confessions. The ones you’ve never said out loud. Th...

Is alcohol confidence, connection, and a doorway back to yourself, or is it a liquid barrier that keeps you further away? In this episode, Vic is joined by Australian broadcaster and former Triple J presenter Mel Bampton. Now 15 years sober, Mel has come full circle back to radio after spending years rebuilding her life around yoga, surfing and sobriety. Together, they explore one powerful questio...

Awkward questions. Clumsy confessions. Zero judgement. Today it's all about Darren, Darrens mum and a very dodgy night out! Say no more! Welcome to The Share Shed, the corner of Sober Awkward where we fling open the doors, air out the embarrassing bits, and finally stop carrying the stories that have been rattling around in our heads for years. These are your questions and confessions. The ones yo...

In this episode of Sober Awkward, Vic sits down with Recovery Jimmy from the After Hours podcast to ask a big question, does sobriety actually make you grow up? They swap stories of peak immaturity, from Vic’s 25 year blur of zero self preservation, to Jimmy’s wine fuelled, one way escape to Majorca after watching Into the Wild . What felt rebellious and “rock and roll” at the time now looks a lot...

Awkward questions. Clumsy confessions. Zero judgement. Welcome to The Share Shed, the corner of Sober Awkward where we fling open the doors, air out the embarrassing bits, and finally stop carrying the stories that have been rattling around in our heads for years. These are your questions and confessions. The ones you’ve never said out loud. The nights you still cringe about in the shower. The mom...

Giving up alcohol in her twenties felt impossible for VIc. Back then, drinking wasn’t just normal, it was the entire social structure. Nights out, friendships, dating, coping with stress, it all seemed to revolve around booze. So when someone decides to step away from it early, without a dramatic rock bottom or life implosion, it raises an interesting question..... Is something changing? In this e...

Awkward questions. Clumsy confessions. Zero judgement. Welcome to The Share Shed, the corner of Sober Awkward where we fling open the doors, air out the embarrassing bits, and finally stop carrying the stories that have been rattling around in our heads for years. These are your questions and confessions. The ones you’ve never said out loud. The nights you still cringe about in the shower. The mom...