Remember when every celebrity with a publicist and a good story was launching a tequila brand? George Clooney did it (Casamigos). Ryan Reynolds did it (Aviation Gin). Dwayne Johnson did it (Teremana). The celeb tequila era was its own whole chapter in the pop culture history books.

Well, the plot has officially thickened.

The newest celebrity beverage flex is going in the opposite direction. A growing roster of A-listers, rock legends, and household names who are sober, in long-term recovery, or simply done with alcohol are launching non-alcoholic drink brands. And not as a quiet side project. As a full identity statement.

The Terrence McNally Recovery Commissions award two annual $10,000 new play commissions—one to an emerging playwright and one to an established playwright—each identifying as being in recovery from a substance use condition. Reflecting the spirit of sponsorship, the commissioned artists serve as resources for one another throughout a yearlong process that includes a writing retreat with Provincetown Theater and Recovery Arts Project; a Works & Process residency at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut; made possible by The Ziegfeld Club’s 2026 Needlepoint Bob Grant; all culminating in a Works & Process showing, where audiences are invited to experience selected scenes from both new plays by Jake Brasch and Craig Lucas and a moderated discussion with the playwrights exploring their artistic processes, recovery journeys, and the role of storytelling in healing.

In the mid-1990s, drinking was still marketed as a personality trait, and I was at the top of my game. Modeling, drinking at Jones, or Merix's Tex Mex or Bottomless Brunch at La Boheme. I had definitely arrived, rubbing elbows with Herb Ritts, Sharon Stone, Hudson Leick, and so many more… Life was intoxicating.

Alcohol was sophistication. Social glue. Stress management. Networking tool. Weekend hobby. It was how adults relaxed after work, how we celebrated success, and how we softened disappointment.

Opting out was noticeable.

Kevin Kaufmann’s "Rigorous Honesty" looks at Alcoholics Anonymous in a different way. Instead of treating AA only as a recovery program, the book explores it as a product of its time. Kaufmann shows how AA grew out of American culture and, in turn, helped change how people think about addiction, responsibility, and community.

This is not a self-help book. It is a history book that asks big questions about why AA took the shape it did and why its ideas mattered so much to the people who found it.

“Quit lit” — short for quit literature — includes books about addiction, sobriety, recovery, and personal transformation. These stories range from raw addiction memoirs to investigative journalism, spiritual reflections, and guides to living alcohol-free.

At The Sober Curator, our contributors review books that explore addiction, recovery, mental health, and sober living. Some stories are deeply personal memoirs. Others investigate the culture of addiction or explore recovery through spirituality and self-discovery.

Before Devil Wears Prada 2 turned the entire internet into a mood board, Anne Hathaway had already quietly made news in sober circles with something much simpler than a fashion moment.

She said she’s not drinking while her son is growing up.

No dramatic backstory. No breakdown montage. No tearful confessional on a late night couch. Just a woman, a decision, and a boundary she drew for herself and her family. That’s it. That’s the whole thing.

And it hit.

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

In a culture that celebrates dramatic breakthroughs, the idea of improving 1% sounds almost insignificant. It does not trend. It does not go viral. It does not feel heroic. Yet this mindset has become foundational for many people building a sober lifestyle and pursuing long-term recovery.

But it works.

The truth is, I’ve never felt more clear-minded, more powerful, or more myself. Strength, for me now, has nothing to do with pushing harder—it’s about choosing presence, sovereignty, and depth over speed.

Longevity, I’ve learned, isn’t only about adding years to your life—it’s about becoming more alive inside the years you already have. And the ultimate investment? Time. How I spend it, where I place it, and who gets access to it. Because time is the only currency that compounds in wisdom when it’s spent consciously.

In a culture that celebrates dramatic breakthroughs, the idea of improving 1% sounds almost insignificant. It does not trend. It does not go viral. It does not feel heroic. Yet this mindset has become foundational for many people building a sober lifestyle and pursuing long-term recovery.

But it works.

A Celtic offering for welcoming the returning light

Twice a year the earth pauses in a moment of near balance. Day and night stand almost equal, light and dark sharing the sky for a brief stretch before the season tips forward again. We are nearing the spring equinox, the quiet hinge between winter and the growing season.