HAPPY EVERY HOUR

Beckett’s ‘27: Something to Sip On 

I’m always looking for an aperitif or cordial to enjoy the ritual of sipping. Sipping before dinner or sipping with dessert. I have to admit, I miss a good tawny port. The aroma, the flavor. Just a little sumpin’. Honestly, amaretto and coffee liqueurs have never been my thing, but I tried these two flavors from Beckett’s with an open mind. 

MUSIC - PLAY IT AGAIN!

The Sober Politics of Big Dick Energy

The first time I hit play on Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” I felt it in my body before I had words for it. It was the pulse of someone taking up space. It felt like lipstick and brass knuckles, politics and perfume. After several albums that felt like reading the open pages of her diary, this one walks the hallway in heels, head high and unbothered. But when I got to “Father Figure,” I knew what was coming. 

SOBER ENTERTAINMENT

🎉 The Sober Curator’s Top 25 Most-Read Articles of 2025

Another year, another wave of sober curiosity, recovery conversations and culture-shifting content. From deep dives into pop culture to product reviews that spark curiosity (and sometimes controversy), The Sober Curator community continues to show up, click in, and stay inspired. 

THIRSTY FOR WONDER

Memento Mori: Autumn’s Brutal Reminder in Recovery

Autumn doesn’t whisper. It warns. 

The season strips down every tree and lays bare what’s been hiding in the branches. The harvest is gathered, but the fields are left hollowed. What was once lush and green begins to rot back into the earth. The air sharpens, the light grows short and the message is clear: everything ends. 

This is the season of memento mori — remember your death. 

SOBER CURATOR PODCAST

From Barstools to Boundaries: America’s Social Worker Kelley Kitley Gets Real About Sobriety  

Kitley’s story is disarmingly ordinary, which is exactly why it’s brave. The cultural script for “problem drinking” still clings to extremes — job lost, life burning, bridges ash. Gray-area drinkers rarely look like that. They look like successful graduates who “partied and blacked out” and then aced a class the next morning. They look like moms taking the edge off with nightly wine because parenting is relentless and the world keeps suggesting a glass might help. Qualifiers — I wasn’t homeless, I didn’t lose my job — become the comforting lullaby that keeps the questions at bay.   

SOBER EVENTS & CURATED CRAFTS

Build, Sip & Chill: LEGO Nights at Sober AF Bottle Shop

Looking for a night out that’s playful, creative and completely alcohol-free? Mark your calendars, because Sober AF Bottle Shop in Tacoma, WA, is hosting its Build, Sip & Chill LEGO® Event Series this fall — and it’s guaranteed to bring out your inner kid while keeping things fresh, fun and sober.

#WEDORECOVER

Sober Celeb of the Week: Sir Andrew Barron Murray

Andy Murray has often made it clear that his primary commitment was to his sport — his drive and discipline came from a desire to maximize his performance and leave nothing to chance. As he once said, “I always wanted to see how far I could go in the sport. I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that.” That mindset means his relationship with alcohol isn’t framed around strict abstinence, but rather around prioritizing his goals and making choices consistent with his ambition. He has acknowledged letting loose after major victories — for instance, in July 2024, he admitted that following his 2016 Wimbledon win, he “had a few drinks and … unfortunately vomited in the cab” during the celebrations.

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

SOBRIETY IN THE CITY - EVENTS

We Are Not a Glum Lot | The Retreat’s Imagine Gala

The Retreat, a nonprofit organization founded in 1991 and based in Wayzata, Minnesota, held its annual Imagine Gala on October 16, 2025, and presented a lively program rooted in story, celebration and comic relief. The evening drew its theme from that page in the Big Book, "We are not a glum lot," and more than words recited in the rooms of AA, they came to life in the fullness of 400 people in one celebratory space. 

RELATIONSHIPS

Happy Anniversary to a Lover Lost

“One of the most intimate things you can do is to never speak to someone again that you love. If you really love someone, and it didn’t work out. The most intimate thing ever is to never speak to them again.” - Said some bullshit gym bro influencer on my IG feed 

It’s 4 a.m. Today would’ve been the 11-year anniversary with my ex. We broke up six months ago on Easter Monday. It’s a day that is seared into my memory. And yet, since my memory is utter shit, it’s in fractured, hollow pieces now. 

ADDICTION FICTION

Addiction Fiction Book Review: “Requiem for a Dream” by Hubert Selby Jr. 

Hubert Selby Jr.’s “Requiem for a Dream” is one of those novels that stays with you long after you close the book. It’s not an easy read; it’s raw, painful and brutally honest — but that’s what makes it powerful. Selby doesn’t just tell a story about addiction. He pulls you into the minds of people who are slowly being consumed by it. 

HAPPY EVERY HOUR

Go Brewing’s Jab Jab Grapefruit IPA Brings a Knockout Combo of Citrus and Hops

Go Brewing out of Naperville, Illinois, is quickly proving that they aren’t afraid to take risks in the nonalcoholic space. Their lineup has covered IPAs, lagers and even a few curveball creations, but one constant with Go Brewing is their willingness to play with flavor in ways that keep you curious and thirsty. It feels fitting that a brewery with such a playful name keeps trying to land punches in the crowded NA ring. 

SOBER SPEAKER SERIES

Sobriety Is the New Epic – Why Sobriety Is the Greatest Adventure of My Life

There’s something I wish someone had told me early in my sobriety journey:
Letting go of alcohol is only step one.
Learning how to live again is the real transformation.

It wasn’t the alcohol I missed — it was feeling alive. The spontaneous fun. The deep belly laughs. The sense of connection and adventure. For a while, I wondered if that part of life was gone for good. I didn’t want to just exist in sobriety; I wanted to come alive in it.

But here’s the thing no one really teaches you — how to build a life that feels exciting, purposeful, and full without alcohol. That’s where Sobriety Is the New Epic comes in.

THIRSTY FOR WONDER

Scream Queens of Sobriety

There’s a moment in every horror movie. The camera pans in, the shadows lengthen, the music tightens its grip. And then comes the scream.

Think of Janet Leigh in Psycho, her cry slicing through the shower’s steam before the knife falls. Or Drew Barrymore in Scream, gasping into the phone before the masked killer steps through the glass. These screams have become iconic not because of what happens after, but because of what they announce. The scream tells us: something is ending.

In horror, the scream doesn’t prevent death. It marks its arrival. It names what is already unfolding.

SOBERSCOPES

SoberScopes: The Horoscope for Sober Souls | November 1-15 Overview

This month brings an unprecedented amount of planetary movement—10 planetary sign changes in 30 days. When the planets have this much change afoot, expect your life to have it as well. As above, so below.