INTRO: to the blog

Welcome to When Life Hands You Sobriety

When I first conceptualized this blog back in 2022, my intention for the space was to celebrate the journey of sobriety, in all its different facets. I wanted to share stories of those within our community and highlight the different paths we have all taken to achieve this freedom from alcohol. However, over the last 12 months, I have felt the urge to make adjustment to the direction of this blog.

After three years of sobriety, I am now confident with my relationship towards alcohol and sobriety no longer feels like the focal point of my journey. It no longer defines me like it has in the past, sobriety is just part of who I am. I think of myself as a non-drinker, I choose not to drink. And with this shift in my perspective, the initial version of this blog didn’t feel as pertinent. I was beginning to feel as if I were forcing posts to be about sobriety versus letting the stories have their own significance. Therefore, I am pivoting. At its core, I still want to honor the original purpose of the blog because I know sobriety is the foundation for the life I have created. But I also want to acknowledge that I’m in a new phase of my recovery and want to reflect this shift in my stories.

I will never take for granted the magnitude of what I have accomplished, and I will be forever grateful for my continued journey with sobriety. I will still celebrate milestones and incorporate the significance of sobriety in my “becoming.” However, I now want to create a space where I can write about more poignant topics, ones that I uncovered during my sobriety journey – the culprits that lead to my addiction. I want to showcase the vulnerable stories that have surfaced (and continue to rise up) now that I don’t numb out. The hard, emotional decisions I’ve had to make, the uncomfortable realities I’ve had to face. Learning to be honest with myself (and others), leaning into that discomfort and trusting my gut. I want to bring you into that world because it’s both terrifying and exciting. And I know on some level we can all relate to this dichotomy – I know I have to make hard decisions, but I can’t wait to see where it takes me, how I will grow and what’s in store for me. There is a vibrant energy to being vulnerable and sharing that with each other.

I realize sobriety is strongly intertwined with this new direction, hence why I want to maintain a level of connection with the original intent of this blog – there will always be an appreciation throughout my stories. But my overall hope for this blog will be to create connection through sharing personal stories. That I will give you glimpses into my life as I maneuver through the unexpected twists, the disappointments, uncovering spirituality, the shifting relationships and learning how to surrender to the process. My hope is to support this community by being authentically myself which in turn will give you permission to acknowledge your own fragility. We can grow together by releasing the shame that surrounds these insecurities.

Like many of you, I’ve spent my entire life struggling to believe in myself, to fit in and to discover my voice, to find the strength to share my story. I fear rejection and failure but these past three years of sobriety have gifted me a renewed confidence and paved the way for this opportunity, and I am so grateful you are all here.

Committing to sobriety, doing the healing work, setting boundaries, and bettering ourselves is a scary endeavor — there are so many unknowns and trying to manage life, is a lot. But I invite you into this blog with the hope that you will be able to find little reflections of yourself in each of my stories, my struggles, my victories – to show up where you are in your journey and pick and choose what you take away. I want to create a place where we can release the shame around our “imperfections” and find commonality within the chaos of our lives, to be vulnerable. This not going to be the perfect blog because life is not perfect, I’m not perfect, but we can embrace the imperfections together.

And with that, I welcome you back in.