Sober Stories from Everyday People

This week I am talking with Catriona in Kilkenny, Ireland. Catriona is 10 months sober at the time of this recording. She lives with her husband and two young children and is a small business owner. Catriona talks candidly about the destructive impact alcohol had on her life and how she managed to get sober. Catriona talks about life changes, getting stronger everyday and how the prescribed drug Antabuse helped her begin the journe...

In the first episode of 2025 I chat with Hana in New York City who is 2 years sober at the time of the recording. Hana's journey is littered with stories of going too far and having no off switch. Hana drank for over 2 decades before deciding enough was enough and quitting for good in the festive season.

Hana is brave, inspiring and open with her story. I hope you find it comforting.

You can connect with Hana on Instagram at @hanaz...

Welcome to this special episode to mark 100 episodes of the Sober Stories from Everyday people podcast. During this episode I explore reflections from my own life and from the lives of the many people I have worked with. Sobriety is a challenging, beautiful and scary process, especially during holiday seasons. I offer insight, wisdom and reassurance for all things early sobriety and hope that you take at least one positive thing fr...

In this episode I am talking to Nancy from Essex who is sober 10 months at the time of this recording. Nancy is married with 2 children. Nancy talks about growing up in a sociable household and trying alcohol-pops for the first time. The transition from carefree childfree days to mortgage, kids and work pressures, Nancys drinking followed a similar path to many other guests on this show. Once Nancy decided to quit she threw herself...

In this week's episode of Sober Stories from Everyday people podcast I am chatting with Anastasia in Essex who is 228 days sober at the time of this recording.

Anastasia is a 37 year old mum of twins who is currently studying psychology and counselling via distance learning. She talks openly about her life with alcohol and how it became something she became fed up with, especially after having her twins.

You can find Anastasia on T...

In this week's episode of Sober Stories from Everyday People I am talking to Gareth in Hollyport, Berkshire. Gareth is 129 days sober at the time of this recording. He is 38 years old and lives with his partner and two dogs, Otis and Isla.

Gareth talks about drinking and smoking for most of his adult life to a point where it became toxic and dark. Gareth has also very recently been diagnosed ADHD after listening to this podcast and...

In this episode of Sober Stories from Everyday People we explore the story of Hannah in Australia. Originally from Leicester, UK, Hannah runs 3 businesses and lives with her 4 children and Husband.

Hannah is 268 days sober at the time of this recording. Hannah talks about starting her family young and receiving an early cancer diagnosis. Hannahs relationship with alcohol slowly crept up over the years eventually resulting in blacko...

In this episode of Sober Stories from Everyday People Podcast, I am chatting to Lucy from Chichester in West Sussex.

Lucy is 7.5 months sober at the time of this recording and is a mum of five children. Lucy is also a DDPYoga fitness instructor after getting into it alongside her partner.

Lucy and I talk ADHD, over drinking, moving around a lot, relationships and all the chaos that comes with undiagnosed ADHD and alcohol!

Lucy managed...

This week's episode of Sober Stories from Everyday People podcast is with Carrie from St. Neots in Cambridgeshire. Carrie, a medical secretary and mum of 3 boys, is 126 days sober at the time of this recording.

Carries talks openly about alcohol and its impact on her health and wellness. Her drinking was weekend driven always resulting in hangovers, until enough became enough.

So many people will relate to Carries story and journey w...

This week on Sober Stories from Everyday People podcast I'm talking with Steph from London who's been sober for 4 years and 2 months at the time of this recording. Steph, who is enjoying midlife, loves fashion and works in advertising. Steph is also ADHD and we talk about the links to alcohol and neurodivergence, how hard quitting was, finding the joy in sobriety and trusting the process. Steph is a delight to listen to and full of...

In this week's episode of Sober Stories from Everyday People I am talking with Donna in Thirroul, New South Wales, Australia. At the time of recording, Donna is 4 years, 3 months and 10 days sober.

Donna is originally from Melbourne and has been married for 25 years. Donna discusses having a relatively normal farm up bringing with relatively normal drinking habits until she sadly lost her mother and first husband. During and after t...

This week's Sober Stories from Everyday People Podcast is with NHS worker; Vinay who lives in Hale, Cheshire. Vinay is 319 days sober at the time of this recording and assigns a lot of the motivation to get sober to getting healthy for his young family. An avid long distance runner, he talks about life before running and life before quitting drinking. A life that was very different and often destructive, with some regrets. Vinay is...

This week on the Sober Stories from Everyday People Podcast I am chatting with Grace from London who now lives in Stoke-on-Trent. Grace is 1 year sober at the time of this recording. Grace had been a member of the THRIVE Sober online community for virtually all of her sobriety and has found peace, confidence and guidance in being connected with a sober community. She talks about work, relationships, sobriety wobbles and mindset cha...

In this week's episode of Sober Stories from Everyday People I am discussing all things sobriety with Penny in Kingston-Upon-Thames. Penny is an opiate recovery worker in Camden and has masters in public health. Penny is 130 days sober at the time of this recording.

Penny describes a typical drinking life with minimal consequences until it started to affect the things she really cared about. She talks about hearing a voice inside wh...

This week's Sober Stories from Everyday People podcast episode is with Marie Shaw from @unfunk_your_soul and @unfunk_your_soul_podcast. Marie lives in Staffordshire and is 576 days sober at the time of this recording.

Following redundancy, Marie changed her career and moved into the wellness space, training as an Exhale meditation instructor and offering clients healing, growth and relaxation through music, movement and meditation.

M...

This week's Sober Stories from Everyday People podcast episode is with Hannah C from Surrey, UK. Hannah, a self employed gardener, is one year and one month sober at the time of this recording. We discuss how being a young parent, a parent of a child with extra needs, and being a single parent for a period of time, can impact your reliance on alcohol to cope. We also talk about alcohol and ADHD following my recent diagnosis and Han...

TRIGGER WARNING - family member suicide

This week's episode is with Owen from Halesowen, near Birmingham. Owen is 13 months sober at the time of this recording. Owen, who lives with his wife and young daughter, talks about trying alcohol relatively late, at 16 (on the last day of school).

After starting, Owen got into a drinking crowd and drank as part of the 'sesh' with mates most weeks. After unexpectedly losing his father, Owen re...

This week's episode is with the face behind instagrams @scottishandsober, Jade. Jade is almost 3.5 years sober and lives in Aberdeen, North East Scotland. Jade speaks openly about her life with alcohol, how it slowly crept into weekly life and was normalised for most occasions. Following a difficult relationship and some mental health challenges, Jade decided to stop drinking and is now helping others by supporting people via her h...

In this week's episode of Sober Stories from Everyday People I am chatting to Vanessa in the Ribble Valley in Lancashire. Vanessa, who is113 days sober at the time of this recording, shares her life with alcohol and why she stopped drinking at New Year. Vanessa is warm, open, and direct about her life growing up, her drinking experiences and how she is currently navigating her new alcohol free life. I hope you enjoy the episode. Yo...