Today, three weeks into lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, we talk all things sober with Julia Carson, author of Sober Positive and a good friend of ours. Julia discusses her journey to sobriety following an early serious head injury, trauma, grief and sexual assault. This amazing lady explains how sobriety and positivity are achievable and how she is grateful everyday for her sobriety.

Julia Carson quit drinking alcohol in February 2017 and hasn't shut up about it since. She started documenting her sobriety journey on www.soberistas.com where the popularity of her blogs and her growing love of writing led her to start her personal blog www.soberpositive.com and her Instagram account @soberpositive. She also has a Facebook page: www.facebook.com/soberpositive. Her writing has also been featured on www.recovery.wrx.

When not writing or awkwardly describing herself in the third person she can be found revelling in her new life in many ways including sober dancing with her brilliant friends on rare nights out, travelling all over the UK to meet her awesome sober sisters, choir singing, Netflix binging, nearly killing herself on long runs and in Bikram yoga, eating lots of ice cream and getting overexcited about anything with the slightest air of hippie about it.

She lives in Manchester, England, with her two daughters and two cats, all of whom much prefer her sober.

Sober Positive is her first book and she is currently working on her second, a day by day guide to taking a 100 day break from alcohol.

Click on the following link to find out more of what we are up to, you can sign up to our newsletter, join our Facebook group and subscribe to our YouTube channel - linktr.ee/soberexperiment

Julia’s book Sober Positive is available on Amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sober-Positive-drinking-unlimited-possibilities/dp/1687785619/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=sober+positive&qid=1588412447&sr=8-1

Alex and Lisa talk to George Wilkerson, an award-winning writer, artist and poet currently incarcerated on North Carolina’s Death Row. In 2018 he won a PEN award for his essay Limp Grey Fur, was a finalist for the Cathy Smith Bowers Chapbook Contest, and won a Gold Award in the “Capitalizing on Justice” Art Competition. In addition to being editor for Compassion, a newsletter for people on Death Row, his work has appeared in multiple philanthropic platforms and exhibitions, including Hidden Voices, The Upper Room, The Marshall Project, Windows on Death Row, the Corrections Accountability Project, and LifeLines Collective. In 2019 he was a finalist for an Ellie award.

We would like to thank Tessie Castillo for introducing us to George and for making the recording of this podcast episode possible.

Tessie Castillo is an author from Durham, North Carolina. She co-wrote her first book, Crimson Letters: Voices from Death Row, with four men on Death Row, whom she met while volunteering in North Carolina’s Central Prison in 2014. As an international journalist, Castillo also writes articles from around the world that explore criminal justice, drug policy, and racial equity. She previously worked as a harm reduction advocate in North Carolina and played a central role in legalizing syringe exchange programs and expanding access to overdose prevention medication in the state.

Find out more about Tessie and George on Tessie’s website www.tessiecastillo.com

You can buy the book here: https://www.blackrosewriting.com/biographymemoir/crimsonletters

or on Amazon (US): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1684334446 and Amazon(UK): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crimson-Letters-Voices-Death-Row-ebook/dp/B085TPSK3S/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=crimson+letters&qid=1587677364&sr=8-1

Click on the following link to find out more of what we are up to, you can sign up to our newsletter, join our Facebook group and subscribe to our YouTube channel - linktr.ee/soberexperiment

As the UK is locked down in the midst of the Corona Virus pandemic, we chat to the lovely Lucy Spraggan. At 8 months sober, Lucy talks openly and honestly about her journey to sobriety.

Following the success of her fifth top 40 album ‘Today was a Good Day’ Lucy Spraggan is back in the studio recording her ‘most important record yet’. With influences from month -long tours in the USA and some drastic life changes, this album will be something ‘very different’.

Lucy’s April Australian tour was postponed due to CV19, but there’s a very exciting end of the year coming up when she returns to Europe, North America, Canada and the U.K. with her new music.

Her new clothing line, in collaboration with Ratchet Clothing’s Dhillan Bhadwaj, is attracting custom from all over the world.

Click on the following link to find out more of what we are up to, you can sign up to our newsletter, join our Facebook group and subscribe to our YouTube channel - linktr.ee/soberexperiment

Lotta Dann drank alcohol steadily and heavily from the age of 15 to the age of 39. She got sober in 2011 with the help of an anonymous blog called 'Mrs. D Is Going Without' and her memoir of the same name was published three years later. Her second memoir, 'Mrs D Is Going Within', came next and she's soon to publish book number three entitled, 'The Wine O'Clock Myth: The truth you need to know about women and alcohol'. She writes about alcohol, addiction and recovery from her home in Wellington, New Zealand, where she also manages the community website Living Sober (www.livingsober.org.nz)

Click on the following link to find out more of what we are up to, you can sign up to our newsletter, join our Facebook group and subscribe to our YouTube channel - linktr.ee/soberexperiment

Alex and Lisa talk to Clare Pooley Author of The Sober Diaries and New Novel, The Authenticity Project. Clare is a Cambridge graduate and was a Managing Partner at one of the world's biggest advertising agencies,

Clare quit drinking and started a blog called Mummy Was a Secret Drinker.

Her book is the story of a year in Clare's life. A year that started with her quitting booze having been drinking more than a bottle of wine every day. It sees her starting a hugely successful blog, then getting and beating breast cancer. By the end of the year she is booze free and cancer free, two stone lighter and with a life that is so much richer, healthier and more rewarding than ever before. Sober Diaries is one of our favourite quit lit books it is upbeat, funny and positive Clare shows how to live life to the full.

Interwoven within Clare's own very personal and frank story is research and advice, and answers to questions like: How do I know if I'm drinking too much? How will I cope at parties? What do I say to friends and family? How do I cope with cravings? Will I lose weight? What if my partner still drinks? And many more.

We are so grateful that Clare took the time to talk to us and hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

Click on the following link to find out more of what we are up to, you can sign up to our newsletter, join our Facebook group and subscribe to our YouTube channel - linktr.ee/soberexperiment

Join us and our panel of guests on this special live edition of our podcast. We chat to Mandy Manners, co-founder of Love Sober, Simon Chapple founder of Be Sober and author of The Sober Survival Guide, Sober Dave and William Porter, author of Alcohol Explained and Alcohol Explained 2 about coping strategies during the Covid-19 pandemic. We discuss cravings, sleep, anxiety, parenting and alcohol free drinks together and with questions from the audience.

Links to our panel:

https://www.lovesober.com/

https://besober.co.uk/

https://soberdave.co.uk/

https://soberdave.co.uk/

You can also find all of us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Simon and Williams' books can be found on Amazon and Audible.

Click on the following link to find out more of what we are up to, you can sign up to our newsletter, join our Facebook group and subscribe to our YouTube channel - linktr.ee/soberexperiment

Alex and Lisa talk to Christy Smith in Ohio. She talks about her recovery journey from alcohol, heroin and cocaine, to soon becoming an addiction therapist. Christy is open and honest about her journey in this moving and emotional episode. Christy can be reached at facebook.com/the addictsfamily44 or @theaddictsfamily44

This episode could be triggering for some as we touch upon some serious topics for example, sexual abuse, childhood abuse, prostitution, heroin use and drug addiction.

For additional support you can contact:

https://www.nacoa.org.uk/

https://www.al-anonuk.org.uk/

https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/

https://ukna.org/

Click on the following link to find out more of what we are up to, you can sign up to our newsletter, join our Facebook group and subscribe to our YouTube channel - linktr.ee/soberexperiment

Alex and Lisa talk about parenting in sobriety. They discuss their own children and Alex’s childhood and the impact of alcohol on children. They discuss feelings of guilt and shame attached to parents’ drinking and how uncomfortable feelings can emerge in sobriety.

Please note, this was a difficult Podcast to record and could trigger emotions especially if you are a child of an alcoholic, in a toxic relationship or a parent in recovery. Please visit https://www.nacoa.org.uk/ if you are affected by any of the topics we discuss.

Click on the following link to find out more of what we are up to, you can sign up to our newsletter, join our Facebook group and subscribe to our YouTube channel - linktr.ee/soberexperiment

Janey Lee Grace is an Amazon No 1 Best-selling author, commentator, and co-presenter on the UK’s biggest radio show, BBC Radio 2’s Steve Wright in the Afternoon. Previously she was a backing singer with George Michael and Wham!, Kim Wilde, Boy George and had her own Number 8 chart hit with 7 Ways to Love as Cola Boy. www.imperfectlynatural.com Janey has written five books on Holistic living including the number One Amazon best seller Imperfectly Natural Woman and currently writes columns for many magazines, and offers PR and media training. She hosts the annual Janey Loves Platinum Awards to recognise the best in natural and organic products and services. After ditching the booze in January 2018 Janey has launched a podcast ‘Alcohol Free Life’ and runs The Sober Club focusing on sober self-care. www.thesoberclub.com

In today’s bonus episode we talk about how to remain calm and resilient in the panic and techniques to use to maintain and protect your sobriety.

A few useful tools mentioned in the podcast:

Janey’s TEDx Talk Sobriety Rocks – Who Knew! https://youtu.be/NktRXVUmQC8

Janey’s free meditation, it’s super short and simple https://www.thesoberclub.com/change-the-frequency-meditation/

A useful blog post too

https://www.thesoberclub.com/create-your-corona-virus-toolkit/

For extra support and to find out more about Janey’s work, visit www.thesoberclub.com and check out Janey’s group for additional support!

Click on the following link to find out more of what we are up to, you can sign up to our newsletter, join our Facebook group and subscribe to our YouTube channel - linktr.ee/soberexperiment