FROM THE DESK OF THE FOUNDER
Confession: I read that Stephen King doesn't remember writing Cujo and felt seen on a cellular level. Not because I've written a novel blackout drunk. Because I've absolutely done other things blackout drunk and found out about them later like they happened to a stranger. Turns out even legends get the garbage bag intervention. This week we go inside that story.
We're also going streetwear. Soberminds isn't whispering "wellness" at you in a pastel bubble font. It's screaming it in a crown hoodie, built by a graffiti artist out of loss and grit, and I want it in my closet.
Then we get quiet for a second with a Celtic Midsummer ritual and a reminder that emotional sobriety counts even when nobody's clapping for it. We rewatch the 80s addiction classics to see what Hollywood actually got wrong. We talk about what happens at a Machine Gun Kelly show when you're the only sober one in the room (spoiler: you remember all of it). And Nashville's latest seasons prove what happens when emotional capacity finally runs out.
Pour yourself a strong iced coffee (or tea if that’s your vibe). Let's get into it. (Yes, a day late, because your girl over here forgot to schedule this to send at the normal time on Monday #progressnotperfection)
— Alysse Bryson (*AB That’s Me 💋) / Seattle, WA 🌃 05.01.2006
#ADDTOCART
Soberminds Brings Streetwear Energy to Sober Apparel
Some sober merch whispers. Soberminds screams, in the best way. Meet the graffiti artist and founder building a sober streetwear brand out of loss, grit, and a crown hoodie you’ll actually want to wear.
SOBER POP CULTURE
Stephen King Has Been Sober for Almost 40 Years, and He Barely Remembers Writing Cujo
Stephen King has been sober for almost 40 years, and he still doesn't remember writing an entire novel. Here's the garbage bag intervention that started it, the fear that got proven wrong, and the 40-plus books that came after.
MOVIE NIGHT
Hollywood’s ’80s Addiction Tropes: A Sober Review of The Morning After, Ironweed, Barfly, and Drugstore Cowboy
The '80s brought us more than just big hair; it gave us movies that dared to show addiction without the glam. But did they really get it right? Dive into a sober rewatch and discover what these films missed.
BACKSTAGE: Where Recovery Meets Real Life
WED JUL 15 | 6 PM Pacific / 9 PM Eastern
An Evening with Cara Benson — An Armsfull of Birds
Cara Benson did not come to love the easy way. She survived heroin addiction, an abusive relationship, and the slow, stubborn climb into sobriety. Then she built a new life in upstate New York, met Jon, the man who would become her great love, and later lost him to suicide.
This book is what came next.
An Armsfull of Birds: A Personal Field Guide to Love, Loss, and Commitment is unlike anything else in the recovery memoir space. Each chapter is named for a bird, and each bird carries part of Cara’s story — from early sobriety and the night she met Jon to the grief, nature, and birding that helped her keep going after his death.
It’s a recovery story. It’s a love story. It’s a climate memoir. It’s the kind of book that gets endorsed by Jenny Lawson AND Bill McKibben, which almost never happens.
Cara is joining BACKSTAGE for an intimate one-hour conversation about sobriety, love after addiction, surviving her partner’s suicide, birding as grief work, and what writing a memoir taught her about telling the truth.
Bring your questions. Bring your coffee. Bring tissue.
Not a member? You are missing both. BACKSTAGE is our private culture club. Live events, member essays, brand drops, and a community of people deep into the long game. Join BACKSTAGE → Only $19/mo or $199/year (*includes two months free)
ALSO THIS WEEK ON TSC 📰
👉 We Were Always This Lit: Celtic Midsummer, Emotional Sobriety, and the Light We Forget to Count Read more here→
👉 Machine Gun Kelly in Scranton: What One Concert Taught Me About Sober Community and Belonging Read more here→
👉 Nashville Seasons 3 and 4 Reveal What Happens When Emotional Capacity Begins to Collapse Read more here→
👉 Best Day Brewing Gives the Best Way to Enjoy a Pilsner Read more here→
👉This Is What It’s Like to Be a Sober Curator Read more here→
See you Wednesday, Sober Sippers!
