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FROM THE DESK OF THE FOUNDER
I got sober in 2006, thirty years after a room full of famous Americans first said “I’m in recovery” out loud. Do you know who to thank for that?
Her name was Marty Mann, and her Operation Understanding turns 50 this year. I like to think of Marty Mann as the first lady of Alcoholics Anonymous.
To mark it, Elton John, Jamie Lee Curtis and Keith Urban are headlining a free virtual day of recovery on Dec. 9. I’m blocking off the whole day. Calendar Tetris, cancelled.
Tom Hardy is 23 years in and spends his weekends in jiu-jitsu tournaments for a charity that helps people with PTSD. On Veterans Day, that one lands a little harder.
For our first BACKSTAGE livestream, my sober crew watched The One About Matthew Perry and told the truth about it. Three years later, I’m still not over that night in the theater.
And then there’s Darren Hobbs. In 2010 he was eating bologna sandwiches in a jail cell. Today he knocks on doors for A&E’s Intervention. On his first knock, the family braced him for a fight. The door opened, and a little kid said:
“Daddy, what took you so long?”
Bring tissues.
Now let’s get to it…
—Alysse Bryson, *AB That’s ME 💋/ Founder / Seattle, WA 🌃05.01.2006
P.S. Holiday gift idea that comes with zero hangover: a BACKSTAGE membership with the Mixtape Zine print subscription for the person in your life who quit drinking and kept the good taste. Yourself counts.
SOBER EVENTS
Operation Understanding 2026: Elton John, Jamie Lee Curtis and a Free Day of Recovery on Dec. 9
Fifty years after Marty Mann's Operation Understanding brought recovery into public view, Elton John, Jamie Lee Curtis and Keith Urban headline a free virtual celebration on Dec. 9. Here's the history, the lineup and why I'm blocking off the whole day.
SOBER POP CULTURE
Is Tom Hardy Sober? Yes, Since 2003
Tom Hardy once said he would have sold his mother for a rock of crack. He collapsed on a London street in 2003 at 25 years old. His options, by his own account, were institution, death, prison, or insanity. He chose none of them. Twenty-three years later he is back on Paramount+ in “MobLand” and competing in jiu-jitsu tournaments on weekends for a charity that helps people with PTSD. The full story is worth your time.
SOBER CURATOR PODCAST - BONUS🎧
“The One About Matthew Perry”, as Told by the People Who Get It
🎧 Three years ago, I watched the news of Matthew Perry’s death scroll across a screen in a New York theater and thought it was part of the show. So for our first BACKSTAGE livestream, my sober crew watched Netflix’s The One About Matthew Perry and told the truth about it.
SOBER CURATOR PODCAST🎧
Darren Hobbs: From a Jail Cell to A&E’s Intervention, and the Knock That Changed Everything
🎧 Darren Hobbs is a board-certified interventionist on A&E’s Intervention. In 2010, he was in jail, eating bologna sandwiches and waiting on a sentence. He did his fifth step at a prison picnic table over honey buns cut with his ID card.
Then he told us about his first knock. The family prepared him for a fight. The first thing he heard when the door opened was “Daddy, what took you so long?”
Autumn flights are here
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SOBER EVENTS
Featured November events across the USA
11/12 VIRTUAL: BACKSTAGE with Megan A. Schikora, Author of A Woman in Pink LEARN MORE HERE
11/12 NYC (NY): BigVision Annual Benefit 2026 honoring Jason Biggs LEARN MORE HERE
11/15 VIRTUAL: SOBER SWAP BACKSTAGE! Bring one thing. Leave with everybody else’s good taste. LEARN MORE HERE
11/17 SEATTLE (WA): Zero-Proof Beverage Crafting for Fall Gatherings LEARN MORE HERE
11/20 BOULDER (C0): Mude 303 Karaoke Night Pop-Up LEARN MORE HERE
11/20 ST. PAUL (MN): Art of Recovery at Restore Recovery LEARN MORE HERE
👉🏼NOT A BACKSTAGE WITH THE SOBER CURATOR MEMBER YET? JOIN HERE
See you Friday
