HAPPY EVERY HOUR
Figlia Fiore: A Must-Have for Your NA Bar | Happy Every Hour

Let’s start with the name. Figlia is an Italian word that translates to “daughter” in English. The brand’s founder, Lily Geiger, has a deeply personal reason for creating this zero-proof beverage. At the age of 20, Lily lost her father to alcoholism. She also used that time to re-evaluate her drinking habits and became aware of the acceleration of those drinking alcohol around her. The non-alcoholic options she had access to seemed juvenile and demeaning. So she decided to create something in the same caliber as what everyone else was drinking, just without alcohol.

#QUITLIT
“From Junkie to Judge: One Woman’s Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction” by Mary Beth O’Connor 

After reading the memoir “From Junkie to Judge, One Woman’s Triumph over Trauma and Addiction” by Mary Beth O’Connor, I was overwhelmed and wonderstruck by the resilience demonstrated throughout this book. In my 30 years of being a psychologist working in the field of addiction, I have never read an account of such profound and relentless trauma experienced by one woman. Her unmeasured determination to find sobriety and create a better and brighter future was a reminder of the courage that permeates the human spirit. 

ENTERTAINMENT
Discovering “Healthy” by Harrison Boe

It is rare for a song to feel like it is speaking explicitly to me, but a few days after my partner of the last ten and a half years decided to split up with me because he “don’t want to look at the next fifty years of [his] life and have them be defined by mental health,” I turned to Spotify for my cry session. That was where I discovered “Healthy” by Harrison Boe.

RECOVERY PODCASTLAND
Sober Housewives & Reality TV: Why Sobriety Isn’t a Bummer

If you’re a pop culture aficionado with a penchant for a solid mocktail, you probably caught wind of the Bravo bombshell on Page Six—producers aren’t exactly fans when one of their Real Housewives decides to live alcohol-free. The most recent episode of The Sober Curator podcast, “The Real Sober Housewives Part 2,” dove headfirst into this controversy with the wisdom, humor, and spunk that only this powerhouse panel could deliver.

#WEDORECOVER
From Chaos to Clarity: Laurie Woolever Opens Up About Sobriety, Survival, and Starting Over

Laurie Woolever’s sobriety is hard-earned and deeply rooted in self-awareness, humor, and an unflinching willingness to confront the chaos of her past. After years navigating the high-octane, alcohol-soaked world of celebrity chefs and media, Woolever hit a breaking point during a booze-fueled conference that ended with shaky hands, a belligerent bar expulsion, and a missed flight home. The next day, she walked into her first Twelve Step meeting. What followed was a slow unraveling of old habits and the construction of a new life built on clarity, service, and the humbling art of stillness. Now over six years sober from both alcohol and marijuana, she lives in Queens, gives blood, and proudly navigates traffic — mundane miracles that sobriety made possible. 

In “Care and Feeding,” Woolever writes candidly about her descent into addiction — punctuated by blackout nights, emotional numbness, and chasing validation through sex and substances — and her eventual recovery, which was less about dramatic rock bottoms and more about recognizing that life didn’t have to be lived in pain. She describes sobriety as a simplification of life in the best sense: fewer regrets, less noise, and a new capacity for boundaries, honesty, and patience. Far from glamorizing recovery, Woolever presents it as a daily, deliberate choice — one that’s transformed not just how she works or writes, but how she lives, parents, and shows up for herself and others.

For anyone struggling, know that help is available: 📞 1-800-662-HELP (SAMHSA Helpline).

SOBER EVENTS
Happy Every Hour: Mocktails + Murals with The Sober Curator

Tired of the same old “happy hour” that’s all buzz and no substance? Enter Happy Every Hour: Mocktails + Murals, a vibrant new limited-run event series hosted by The Sober Curator (that’s me, Alysse Bryson!) in collaboration with the Henry Mural Tours and booze-free bevy badassery from NOPE. This is not your average city tour. This is your new favorite Thursday night.

SPIRITUAL GANGSTER
Classy Problems: A Space for Clarity

When proximity is intentional, place becomes a space for clarity. What we call splaces. Splaces are environments where we pull in the constraints of space. They focus and align meaningful interaction, making us near, no matter the place. What constraints have you pulled in to be near?

HEALTH & WELLNESS
The Power of Spending Time in Nature

I was made redundant in January — because the world’s financial markets are a mess and seemingly not getting better any time soon — and the job hunt is absolutely brutal. I’ve lost count of the impersonal rejection emails I’ve received. (Actually, I could count them because I have them all logged on a depressing spreadsheet, but it sounds far more compelling to exaggerate the situation, and I really don’t want to count them for the aforementioned reason that it’s depressing.)

SPIRITUAL GANGSTER
Sober Tarot Card Readings for the Week of May 19

Are you curious about the week ahead? In less than a minute, Daniel G Garza, aka The Card Divo, will tell you what’s in store for the week ahead, according to your Zodiac sign. 

TRAVEL
Sober Travel: Visiting San Antonio, Texas but Make it Sober

My number one goal for San Antonio was to visit all its missions on a nonmotorized pilgrimage. I’d heard you could kayak between them, but the logistics were too complicated for me. Instead, I went by bike. 

#QUITLIT
“How Do You Live?” by Genzaburo Yoshino

In the canon of classic children’s literature, few books merge the philosophical with the personal quite as gracefully as Genzaburo Yoshino’s “How Do You Live?”. The novel was first published in 1937 and has held a profound place in Japanese literary history, mainly for portraying a young boy’s journey toward self-awareness. In 2021, the book was translated into English, giving this once-obscure work a new life. How Do You Live? has been cited by Hayao Miyazaki in many interviews as his favorite childhood book and a source of inspiration for many of his films. With his latest film, “The Boy and the Heron,” which was initially titled “How Do You Live?” for international and Japanese markets, Yoshino’s novel inspired yet again, with the film exploring the same themes as the book. And while The Boy and the Heron wasn’t a direct adaptation, the book provides the vital cultural and intellectual backdrop for the Oscar-winning animated film.