About Me

My name is Maddie, and I'm a recovering alcoholic. I'd like to share my journey with you.

I realize how trendy it is to get sober and start a blog, and while I acknowledge that it may be corny, I think that you could find some of what I have to say to be helpful if you're dealing with alcoholism. When I first decided to get sober, I wanted to do it "right." I got sober when the pandemic began and joined online Zoom meetings immediately. I took down phone numbers, made connections, shared my story and my feelings, and asked all kinds of questions to all kinds of alcoholics to ensure that I was going to be "successful" in my recovery. Success, to me at the time, meant getting the most out of every moment in recovery and following some kind of system that would keep me sober.

After attending different types of meetings and having my questions answered by more seasoned recovering alcoholics, I decided that a twelve-step program was right for me. This meant finding a sponsor who was non-religious but spiritual, experienced, and willing to work with me meticulously through the twelve steps. 

Today, success in my recovery looks different, and it's constantly changing. Sometimes, it means going to therapy or stopping into a meeting; sometimes, it means writing about how I feel, but most of the time, recovering from alcoholism doesn't involve thinking about my recovery at all. I've been successful– so far. The chance of relapse is always there, of course, but the absolute most important part of recovery has become something different than I expected: just being better. Being better than I was yesterday, being better than I think I can be, being better to other people. Whether you're in recovery or not, I think this is a pretty good standard by which to live. 

None of what I do has to be right for you. I have no agenda to push. I don't even care if you're smoking crack while you're reading this. All I care about is that, perhaps, some of the things I have to say might make you go, "Hmm," or even, "Haha, I do that!" I care that I might be able to make you feel less lonely or hopeless or like less of a fuck-up, if that's how you feel. At the end of the day, I'd like to help, and this is how I hope to do it.