Explore every episode of the podcast One for the Road: The Quit Drinking Podcast

For years, Adrian appeared to be holding his life together. He was progressing in his career, running marathons, maintaining relationships and taking on physical challenges. Behind closed doors, alcohol had become something he structured his life around.

Two bottles of wine a night became normal. He hid how much he was drinking, crashed his car after drinking and even called AA the following day to admit that he needed help. But he never went to a meeting.

Then came acute pancreatitis.

Adrian was hospitalized because of his drinking, discharged himself once he began feeling better, and eventually started drinking again. When pancreatitis put him back in the hospital a second time, even that wasn’t the immediate end of his relationship with alcohol.

In this deeply honest conversation with Sober Dave, Adrian looks back at the years he spent trying to change everything around him without addressing what was happening inside. At one point, he becomes emotional reflecting on the younger version of himself: “I want to give that guy a hug… that person was very, very lost.”

Adrian also opens up about later discovering ADHD and autism, the role he believes alcohol played in quieting his mind, the shame and secrecy surrounding his drinking, and why connection with other sober people ultimately became such an important part of his recovery.

Today, Adrian is more than five years sober.

This is a conversation about the warning signs we can ignore, how easy it is to appear functional while struggling privately, and why sometimes even serious consequences aren’t what finally creates change.

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

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Malin’s alcohol addiction progressed to the point where she was drinking more than 30 beers a day. She stopped eating, gained more than 90kg, vomited blood regularly, and eventually a doctor warned her that if she continued drinking, he didn’t expect to see her the following year.

Then her body shut down.

In early 2020, Malin was hospitalized with multi-organ failure and just 11% lung capacity. She was placed into a medically induced coma and wouldn’t fully wake up for nearly two months. When she did, surviving was only the beginning—she had to begin the long process of rebuilding her body and learning to walk again.

Today, Malin is 6 years sober and works with people struggling with addiction, using her experience to challenge the stigma surrounding alcohol addiction and recovery.

In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Malin shares the progression of her drinking, the warning signs she ignored, what happened when alcohol nearly took her life, and what she’s learned rebuilding her life in sobriety.

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For years, Kev’s life revolved around drinking, DJing and nightlife. Behind the parties and packed clubs, his relationship with alcohol was becoming harder to control, and the anxiety, shame and mental health struggles that followed were getting harder to ignore.

In this episode of One for the Road, Kev shares how drinking became wrapped up in his identity, why he repeatedly questioned whether he had a problem with alcohol, and what happened when he tried to moderate or take breaks from drinking.

He opens up about the night he broke down crying in the bath and realized, “I can’t keep living like this,” his repeated attempts at sobriety, and the frightening moment in Lisbon that became another wake-up call.

Kev eventually realized he didn’t have an off switch. He shares what finally helped him quit drinking, why this attempt at sobriety was different, and how life without alcohol has changed his mental health, relationships, confidence and sense of self.

Information on Coaching with Dave: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Connect with Kev: https://www.instagram.com/shiftwithswindells/

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

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Why can alcohol make you feel relaxed in the moment — but anxious, overwhelmed and full of regret the next day?

Millie Gooch, founder of Sober Girl Society and author of Hangxiety, joins Dave for a fascinating conversation about what alcohol actually does to the brain and why drinking can make many of the things we use it to escape even worse.

Millie shares her own journey from heavy binge drinking and blackouts to more than eight years alcohol-free, and explains the science behind the anxiety that can follow a night of drinking — often called “hangxiety.”

They explore how alcohol affects GABA and glutamate in the brain, why it can temporarily quiet a busy mind, and why anxiety can come roaring back as alcohol wears off.

Millie and Dave also discuss ADHD, autism and neurodivergence; blackouts and overthinking; genetics and addiction; shame and self-compassion; emotional sobriety; and why stopping drinking doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll immediately feel amazing.

They also explore an important question: What if the thing you’re using alcohol to fix is actually the thing alcohol is making worse?

Whether you’re sober, sober curious, questioning your drinking or simply interested in the relationship between alcohol and mental health, this conversation offers a science-backed look at why we drink, what alcohol does to the brain, and what can change when we remove it.

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Carmela grew up seeing firsthand what alcohol addiction could do to a family and was determined she would never follow the same path.

But what started as social drinking eventually became drinking at home, blackouts, anxiety and years of questioning whether she had a problem with alcohol.

There was no dramatic rock bottom. Carmela simply reached a point where she knew she was done.

Now more than six years sober, she joins Dave to share how she quit drinking, what finally made sobriety stick, and why removing alcohol was only the beginning of rebuilding her life.

If you’ve ever questioned your drinking, tried to moderate, or wondered whether you need to hit rock bottom to get sober, this episode is for you.

Carmela on IG: https://www.instagram.com/womanonasobermission/

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When does drinking cross the line from having fun to something you can no longer control?

Alex Clapp shares his journey from teenage drinking and blackouts to alcohol dependency, three trips to rehab, drinking three bottles of wine a night and eventually starting his mornings with vodka.

After years of using alcohol to numb fear and difficult emotions, a conversation with his 17-year-old son became a turning point.

Alex and Sober Dave talk honestly about alcohol addiction, rehab, getting sober, cravings, vulnerability and what it takes to build a life in recovery.

Alex on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clariteegroup

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever wondered whether your drinking is still “normal,” or whether alcohol is taking up more space in your life than you’d like to admit?

In this episode of One for the Road, Sober Dave is joined by bestselling author and grey area drinking expert Sarah Rusbatch for an honest conversation about women’s relationship with alcohol, mummy wine culture, moderation and the subtle ways drinking can become something we rely on.

Sarah shares how she appeared happy and successful on the outside while, internally, her anxiety was getting worse and alcohol was taking up more and more headspace. What began as a way to socialise and have fun gradually became wine at home, a reward at the end of the day and a way to switch off.

They explore why so many women don’t identify with traditional ideas of alcohol addiction, how one glass can quietly become two or three, the shame of repeatedly promising yourself you’ll drink less, and why grey area drinking can be so difficult to recognise.

Sarah also opens up about trying to moderate her drinking for years before eventually accepting two things that changed her life: she couldn’t moderate, and everything in her life was better when she didn’t drink.

Dave and Sarah also discuss mummy wine culture, alcohol marketing towards women, the 5 p.m. drinking trigger, alcohol and anxiety, sober friendships, relationships after quitting drinking, finding healthier ways to regulate stress, and learning to build a life where alcohol is no longer needed as the reward.

If you’ve ever thought, “I don’t have a drinking problem, but I know I want to drink less,” this episode is for you.

Sarah Rusbatch is the bestselling author of Beyond Booze and host of the Stronger, Bolder, Wiser podcast.

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

*Trigger warning-This show has discussions around suicide*

How do you know when drinking has crossed the line from “I drink a lot” to “I have a problem”?

In this episode of One For The Road, Sober Dave is joined by Emma Walsh, who shares how her relationship with alcohol slowly progressed from social drinking to drinking two, sometimes nearly three bottles of wine a night.

From the outside, Emma had built a successful life — a career, a marriage and two young children. But underneath it all, she was struggling with anxiety, depression, imposter syndrome and a deep sense of not knowing who she really was.

As drinking became her way of coping with difficult emotions, the consequences began to grow. Blackouts, risky decisions, overwhelming hangovers and constant negotiations with herself about how much she would drink became part of everyday life. Yet for a long time, Emma still didn’t believe she had a problem with alcohol.

Everything began to change when a friend told Emma she had stopped drinking and encouraged her to educate herself about alcohol. Emma started listening to recovery podcasts and, for the first time, began recognising herself in the stories she was hearing.

The realization finally hit her: “I just thought I was drinking a lot. But I never realized I had a problem.”

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever wondered why getting sober didn’t magically fix everything you thought it would?

After eight years of sobriety, Victoria Vanstone the host of Sober Awkward podcast found herself hitting an unexpected wall. She wasn’t craving alcohol or wanting to return to drinking. Instead, sobriety had started revealing something deeper: people pleasing, anxiety, identity, boundaries and years spent trying to prove she could still be the fun person in the room.

In this episode of the One For The Road Podcast, Sober Dave and Victoria have an open conversation about what happens after the initial excitement of quitting alcohol wears off and the deeper work begins.

Victoria shares why she spent years trying to fit in after getting sober, the reality of mummy wine culture, parenting without alcohol, social anxiety, shame and regret, and why sobriety is often the starting line rather than the finish line.

They also explore alcohol cravings, moderation, sober socialising, mental health, personal growth and what it really means to build a life you no longer need to escape from.

If you’ve quit drinking, are sober curious, questioning your relationship with alcohol, or wondering why life still feels difficult in sobriety, this conversation is for you.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who could benefit from hearing that sobriety isn't about perfection—it's about progress.

If you enjoy One For The Road, then click follow to be notified of the release of our next episode.

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk/

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

https://alcoholchange.org.uk/

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever promised yourself you wouldn’t drink, only to find yourself buying alcohol again hours later?

Peter’s drinking eventually reached the point where a litre of gin wasn’t a problem. He would wake up determined to stop, only to find himself back at the supermarket buying more by the afternoon.

In this episode of One For The Road with Sober Dave, Peter shares how growing up around alcoholism, heroin addiction and chaos shaped his life, how his own drinking became an escape, and what finally happened when he decided enough was enough.

This is a powerful conversation about alcohol addiction, childhood trauma, quitting drinking, recovery and rebuilding your life in sobriety.

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Thank you for listening to One For The Road.

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever wondered if your drinking is “bad enough” to quit? What if a bottle of wine at night has slowly become something you rely on just to switch off?

Harriet didn’t think she fit the stereotype of someone with an alcohol problem. But drinking gradually became her escape from anxiety, overwhelm, motherhood and an undiagnosed ADHD brain. At her lowest point, she was drinking around a bottle of wine at home, sometimes more, while telling herself other people drank far worse. 

In this episode of One For The Road with Sober Dave, Harriet shares how mummy wine culture and social drinking turned into relying on alcohol, the denial that kept her stuck, and why she finally decided to quit drinking.

Now six months sober, she also gets real about something that isn’t talked about enough: what happens when the excitement of early sobriety wears off and you have to learn who you are without alcohol. 

If you’re sober curious, trying to stop drinking, questioning your relationship with alcohol, or looking for real sobriety stories, this episode is for you.

Topics: quit drinking, sobriety, alcohol addiction, alcohol dependence, sober curious, mummy wine culture, ADHD and alcohol, sober living, recovery, anxiety and alcohol.

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on One For The Road, Dave is joined by Liberty X star Michelle Heaton for one of the rawest and most brutally honest conversations of the series.

From pop fame, red carpets and chart success to addiction, intervention, rehab and rock bottom — Michelle opens up about the reality behind the headlines. She speaks candidly about living with the BRCA gene, undergoing a double mastectomy and hysterectomy, the identity crisis that followed, and how alcohol and cocaine slowly took over her life.

Michelle shares the terrifying depths of addiction, drinking vodka at 7am, hiding bottles around the house, pushing away the people she loved most and reaching a point where she genuinely believed she was going to die.

Now sober and rebuilding her life one day at a time, Michelle talks about recovery, boundaries, motherhood, self-worth and finding hope after complete chaos.

This episode is fearless, heartbreaking, funny in places and deeply inspiring — a conversation about survival, sobriety and what happens when you finally decide you want to live.

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice, and links for Michelle.

https://www.instagram.com/wonderwomanshel/

https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk/

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

https://alcoholchange.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio

Instagram - @Daniellattanasio

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Millie Gooch is the founder of Sober Girl Society, author of The Sober Girl Society Handbook, and one of the loudest voices in the UK sober community for women in their twenties.

But four years ago she was a blackout drinker.

She didn't drink at all until 18, then went to uni, took three bar jobs, got paid in alcohol, and came out the other side a four-or-five-night-a-week binge drinker. PR and journalism after that. Free Bar Fridays. Ending up in Dover at 4am because she'd fallen asleep on the train. Three weeks in Thailand spent almost entirely drunk or hungover. A six-year relationship breakup at 24 that sent her head-first into another year of going out and getting hammered.

She read a Stylist magazine interview with Catherine Gray on the tube one hungover morning. Took a photo of the article. Did nothing about it. Then in February 2018, after a night she couldn't remember at all, she downloaded the audiobook and listened to it for eight straight hours on the worst hangover of her life.

That was her last drink.

In this episode she walks through how Sober Girl Society started by accident, the trap of becoming "the sober person" instead of just a person, and what changes between year one and year four.

If you enjoy One For The Road, then click follow to be notified of the release of our next episode.

You can also access further content and shows on my Patreon account by clicking the link below.

https://www.patreon.com/user?u=62824759&fan_landing=true

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice, and links for Millie.

Instagram.com/sobergirlsociety

Instagram.com/milliegooch

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sober-Girl-Society-Handbook-empowering/dp/1787634124/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1636881084&sr=8-1

https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk/

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

https://alcoholchange.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio

https://www.grownuphustle.com/

Instagram - @daniellattanasio

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ollie Ollerton was 10 years old when a 50-pound chimpanzee pinned him to the floor of a circus enclosure and tried to kill him. He fought it off. Nearly lost his arm to gangrene. Then spent the next thirty-something years chasing danger to feel something close to that adrenaline again.

Royal Marines. Special Forces. Iraq, where he drove drunk through Baghdad on his own with an AK-47 in the back of an armoured Mercedes. Steroids. Valium. A bottle most nights to muffle whatever was underneath. He was the life and soul of every party. He was also barely keeping it together.

Ollie is now sober, runs his company Breakpoint, hosts SAS Who Dares Wins, and uses his platform to talk honestly about what alcohol actually cost him.

You'll hear about: the chimp attack that shaped 30 years of his life; "personality rental" and why none of it was ever really him; the moment in Baghdad when he realised he was knocking on death's door; why he had to dip back into drinking to be sure; what it actually means to choose short-term discomfort for long-term gain.

If you've been telling yourself you've got it under control, this one's for you.

If you enjoy One For The Road, then click follow to be notified of the release of our next episode.

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice, and links for Ollie.

https://ollieollerton.com/

https://www.instagram.com/ollie.ollerton/

https://twitter.com/ollie_ollerton

https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk/

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

https://alcoholchange.org.uk/-Martinez

https://www.grownuphustle.com/

Instagram - @daniellattanasio

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucy Norfolk met Daniel backstage at a London theatre. He was funny, kind, the centre of every room. He was also, slowly, becoming an alcoholic.

This is the story rarely told. Not the person in recovery. The partner watching it unfold. Lucy takes us through years of loving Dan: the hiding, the vodka behind the chair while she bathed, the first fit at the park in front of their children, the shattered hip at 38, the osteoporosis, the broken back, the day he turned yellow.

Dan didn't make it out of the hospital. His heart, kidneys, and corneas saved three other lives.

Lucy is sharing this so partners don't feel alone. So families know where to find help before it's too late. So the word 'alcoholic' stops being whispered.

Connect with Lucy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucy_norfolk_/

If you have been affected by this podcast here are some links to support you.

https://www.cruse.org.uk/?s=alcohol

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

https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk/

https://www.actiononaddiction.org.uk/

Connect with Soberdave on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

And Vist my Website for more support: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle/

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it take to finally quit drinking when you feel like you can’t stop?

In this episode, we dive into a powerful sobriety journey that explores the reality of blackout drinking, alcohol addiction recovery, and mental health.

Jordan Hurt shares his story of growing up around alcohol, developing addictive patterns early, and using drinking as a way to cope with identity, pressure, and pain. What started as social drinking quickly turned into blackout drinking, hospital visits, and complete loss of control.

As his addiction progressed, his life became increasingly chaotic — from DUIs and broken relationships to isolation and severe mental health struggles that ultimately led to a stay in a psychiatric ward.

This conversation is an honest look at:

• What blackout drinking actually looks like
• Why some people cannot moderate alcohol
• The mental health impact of addiction
• The turning point that leads to real change
• What alcohol addiction recovery really requires
• Why quitting drinking is a process, not a single decision

If you’ve ever questioned your drinking, struggled to stop, or wondered what a real sobriety journey looks like — this episode will give you clarity and perspective.

https://www.instagram.com/jordvnhurt/

https://www.instagram.com/queerityapp/

https://queerityapp.com/

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of One for the Road, Sober Dave sits down with Allie Bailey, ultra runner, running coach, speaker and author, for an honest conversation about what really happens after you quit drinking.

This is emotional sobriety. The uncomfortable bits. The parts of recovery nobody warns you about.

Allie started drinking at 14, spent years as a functioning alcoholic in the music industry, hit rock bottom in her late thirties and quit without AA or formal support. She has been sober four and a half years.

They talk about losing your identity when you stop drinking, relationships and intimacy sober, attachment styles, core values and why the resilience built through years of drinking can actually serve you in sober life.

If you are thinking about quitting alcohol, in early sobriety, or well into your journey and wondering why it still feels hard, this episode is for you.

Allie's new book 31 Days is available on Amazon, Audible and at adventurebooks.com. Buy direct and get a free workbook included.

Follow Allie on IG: https://www.instagram.com/ab_runs/

Allie's Book: https://amzn.eu/d/03O7NRTz

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I sit down with Steve Smith to talk about a side of drinking that often gets overlooked.

Life can look good on the outside—work, responsibilities, everything in place—but underneath, something feels off.

Low energy. Poor sleep. Always needing something to take the edge off at the end of the day.

Not rock bottom. But not where you want to be either.

We talk about what it looks like to question your drinking, even if you wouldn’t call it a serious alcohol problem, and how that “grey area drinking” can quietly hold you back.

Some of the things we get into:

• The subtle signs alcohol is holding you back
• Feeling “fine” but not fully yourself
• Using alcohol to cope with stress and shut the day off
• What actually changes when you quit drinking

If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s time to stop drinking, or asked yourself, “Do I have a drinking problem?”—this one will probably hit.

Going alcohol-free didn’t change who Steve was — it changed what he believed was possible.

Instagram: @Steve Smith

Website :www.soberilliant.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-smith-5917519a/

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sue Tickle was a senior NHS manager, a mum of two, and secretly drinking two to three bottles of wine every single night. Nobody at work knew. Nobody stepped in. Then one morning after blacking out at her sister's hen party, her mum rang and said five words that changed her life. "You're turning into your dad."

Sue never touched another drink. That was over seven years ago. In this episode she and Sober Dave talk about what it really looks like to function on the outside while falling apart behind closed doors, the grief that sent her spiraling, self sabotage in sobriety, and why putting the glass down is only the beginning. Sue now runs women's wellness retreats in Bali and coaches others through sobriety using breathwork and sound healing.

To read more of my story over the 7 years – All Shiny and New – Sue Tickle

To join sober space Facebook Page – Sober Space | Facebook

Follow me on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/sober_space_

To subscribe to the daily coaching group for a small fee - Tickle Life Coaching

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when you're winning championships but blacking out every single night? Five-time champion jockey Oisin Murphy opens up about the moment he knew he had to quit drinking. He started drinking at home alone in 2017 to escape the pressure of racing, texting his driver to pick up bottles of vodka before he even left the track. He convinced himself alcohol was helping him perform.

By COVID he was drinking four or five bottles of rosé a day, and years of blackouts left him unable to remember where he had ridden the day before. After a drink-driving crash in April 2025 where his passenger was rushed to hospital, he finally accepted that moderation would never be possible for him.

Now sober through AA and taking it one day at a time, Oisin shares what recovery really looks like when the whole world is watching.

https://linktr.ee/oismurphy

https://www.instagram.com/oisindmurphy/?hl=en

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on Instagram @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kate Renninson spent decades as the one who would drink everyone under the table and wore it like a badge of honor. This is a sobriety story that so many women will recognize. Growing up with a difficult mother who never showed her warmth, Kate found that alcohol gave her the attention and acceptance she craved. She carried that into marriage, motherhood, and the whole mummy wine culture of Sunday roasts and bottomless brunches, blacking out almost every time she went out and waking up to dread and sticky weed on her dress. Everything changed when she picked up Clare Pooley's Sober Diaries off a stranger's wall in Wimbledon and read it on a trip to Dubrovnik. She got on the flight home knowing something was different and has not looked back since. Now over four years sober, Kate says she finally feels calm, content, and like she is actually seeing the world for the first time.

https://www.instagram.com/detoxikated/

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Liver cirrhosis nearly took everything from Dan Sheridan, and the moment doctors told him he might not survive the night changed his life forever. Dan grew up feeling like he never fitted in, lost his dad to cancer, and spent years drinking 18 cans of Stella a day just to stop the shaking. At 40 he was told he had cirrhosis of the liver and two years to live, but he walked straight to Sainsbury's and bought 36 tins. It took collapsing in hospital, flatlining, and waking up to machines and tubes before something finally shifted. A woman named Nula at his transplant assessment told him the hardest truth he ever heard: not drinking and being sober are not the same thing. Dan got his transplant, found love with his wife Clara through TikTok, and is now five and a half years sober and grateful for every single day. You can follow Dan's story on his social media where he shares openly about recovery and organ donation awareness.

https://www.instagram.com/danman147/

Tik Tok @mrssheridanshusband

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is for every mom who has ever rushed the bedtime story so she could get back to the wine. Caitlyn's story of finally choosing to quit drinking will stop you in your tracks. She grew up moving between 17 houses and nine schools, started drinking at 10, was smoking weed daily by 16, and fell into cocaine in a Kensington penthouse before she was 18. For years she hid her addiction behind the mommy wine culture, sneaking drinks at school pickup and wishing her kids would just go to bed so she could carry on. One day sitting in her garden, it hit her like a freight train: she was killing her children's mom. That moment sent her to a 12 step meeting where she heard people saying out loud the things she had only ever thought. Caitlyn is now over three years clean, sponsors other women in recovery, takes meetings into women's prisons, and is studying to become an addiction therapist. You can follow her on social media where she shares her story to help other women know they are not alone.

Insta https://www.instagram.com/soberasamotherfocused/

Tik Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@soberasamotherfocused?

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on Instagram @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dave was gone by one o'clock on Christmas Day. Carving the turkey half cut, nearly taking his fingers off, while the rest of the family clinked glasses around him. That was the old version of Christmas.

In this special Christmas episode, Dave sits down again with William Porter, author of Alcohol Explained, to talk honestly about why the festive season is so loaded for anyone questioning their drinking. They cover cultural conditioning, the science behind fading effect bias (where you only remember the 15 minutes of "fun" and forget the 23 hours of feeling awful), family triggers, loneliness, and the financial stress that keeps people reaching for the bottle from October through February.

You'll hear about: practical tips for your first sober Christmas; how to set boundaries when everyone around you is drinking; why moderation rarely works the way you plan it; and how to set yourself up for Dry January without white-knuckling it.

If Christmas feels heavy right now, this one's for you.

      William Porter (@alcoholexplained) • Instagram photos and videos instagram.com      

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ash Malimba was 12 when he had his first drink on a football tour. By 15, he was deep in London's rave scene doing pills, cocaine, and ketamine. By his early 20s, he was the frontman of a band touring the world, with promoters handing him whatever he wanted.

Three suicide attempts followed. So did years of failed sobriety attempts and an AA experience that didn't stick. Then he lost a friend to cancer, went on a two day bender, and sat on the end of his bed crying out to God for the first time.

You'll hear about: starting drugs and alcohol at 12; ADHD and the dopamine connection to addiction; turning down a Premier League football trial to keep partying; three suicide attempts and what intervened each time; the prayer that changed everything; and what 7 months sober looks like as a working musician.

If you're in your 20s or 30s and wondering whether you can actually quit, this one's for you.

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alexi Cruz grew up chasing chaos because it was the only thing that felt like home. In this episode of One for the Road, the Brighton hairdresser and creative opens up about a childhood split between two cultures, parents who couldn't stay together, and a pattern of drinking that started at 14 just to belong. From losing her first love Tom to cancer, surviving an attack abroad, and cycling through relationships with addicts, Alexi kept reaching for the bottle every time life got too loud or too quiet. Then one night she fell in her bathroom, woke up with two black eyes, and knew the next fall might be her last. She shares how an ADHD diagnosis, low sensory living, and finally asking for help changed everything. You'll hear about: masking with alcohol to fit in, the link between sensory sensitivity and addiction, grief that goes unprocessed for years, and building a sober life rooted in self-acceptance. Listen now and share with someone who needs to hear this.

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brad Garrett has been making people laugh for decades, but behind the comedy was a man who loved numbing more than anything. In this conversation Brad opens up about growing up with a mother addicted to sleeping pills and a bipolar father he adored, being bullied as a giant awkward kid, and turning to comedy just to survive. He was a high functioning alcoholic and daily weed smoker who could do a bottle of vodka and ask what's next. After wrapping the first season of Everybody Loves Raymond, he hit his bottom on a beach in Hawaii and decided he wanted to be alive and be a father more than he wanted to keep numbing. Brad shares how sobriety unlocked a creative fearlessness he never had while using, why surrender is not the same as giving up, and how his wife IsaBela was the first person who never held up a mirror but never judged him either. 28 years sober and happier than ever at 65, Brad reminds us that the window between wanting to quit and wanting to continue is painfully small, so if it opens, take it.

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on Instagram @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At 47, Alex lives in Athens, wakes up with energy, and doesn't hide bottles in her shopping anymore. That wasn't her life three years ago.

Her dad died when she was seven. By fourteen, she'd found the first thing that made the pain go quiet. By sixteen, she was an international model flying first class, doing lines at the agency on Friday nights, losing years of a dream career to blackouts she can't remember.

Then came motherhood, a property crash that wiped her out, and the slow respectable slide of wine mom culture. Two bottles a night. Different wine shops so no one noticed. A St Patrick's Day that ended on a kitchen floor at 10 a.m., shaking.

This is Alex's story of what finally broke, what finally stuck, and why she calls this version of herself Alex Lee 2.0.

Subscribe and share this with someone who needs it tonight

https://www.instagram.com/alex.leigh2.0/

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan was 27, 29 stone, and paralytic drunk at his dad's 50th when he hit the kitchen tiles the next morning. His lips went blue. He stopped breathing. His mum called an ambulance. Lying on the A&E stretcher, he made her a promise he'd heard people break a thousand times. He meant it.

Dan has epilepsy. He'd been told at 18 not to drink on his medication. He'd been skipping doses for years so the tablets wouldn't kill his nights out. The seizures were getting worse, the hospital trips more frequent, and still the party Dan persona kept him chasing the next round of pints with the darts lads.

In this conversation, Dan opens up about the Manchester United FA Cup final that ended on a hospital floor, the friends who ghosted him the minute he stopped drinking, dropping ten stone in eighteen months and realising he'd just traded one addiction for another, and the gambling addiction that quietly cost him fifty thousand pounds and nearly his relationship with his mum before she passed away last year.

Nine years alcohol free. Two years gamble free. Now hosting his own podcast Be the Best Version of Yourself and campaigning with Gamban to change how the UK talks about gambling harm.

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/share/168UqswvBw/?mibextid=wwXIfr 

X - https://x.com/bethebestvy?s=21 

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@dan_batemannn?_t=ZN-8zTXi8d4NGA&_r=1

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Justin T-Bone is 10 years sober after 25 years of drinking that started the week he walked away from being a top-three sprinter in the country. In this recovery story, he walks through how he quit drinking — from running bars, nightclubs and award-winning restaurants as a functioning alcoholic, to four months alone in a rented garage getting sober.

Justin opens up about Suffolk's 100m county record he's held since 1986, the daily scotch at 6am because his hands shook too badly to enter his PIN, the shoplifting moment that was his rock bottom, and the morning at the gym when he knew he would never drink again. Ten years on, four stone lighter, and still living one day at a time.

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Four children in every UK classroom are growing up in hygiene poverty. They share toothbrushes, wash their hair in soap, and skip PE because they have nothing to clean themselves with afterwards. Many of them carry that shame straight into addiction.

This is a special bonus episode of One for the Road. Sober Dave sits down with Mike Kidney, CEO of the charity In Kind Direct, and Darren Langdon, managing director of Mirius Hygiene. Darren grew up in inner-city Coventry, watched his parents work multiple jobs, and later became a quietly heavy drinker before quitting alcohol. Mike runs the charity that gets essential products to over 7,000 frontline community groups across the UK.

You'll hear about: how poverty and addiction feed off each other; the stigma both carry; how a working-class drinking culture passes down the generations; what hygiene poverty really looks like; and how anyone listening can help.

If you have ever felt judged for either, this one's for you.

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nina was on holiday with her family when her ten year old son put his arm around his little sister and said, "Don't worry, she'll just order five more bottles of rose and then she'll say yes."

That was the moment that broke.

She grew up in Hong Kong, watched her mum drink herself into hospital at 14, and learned young how to mask things with booze. By her twenties she was drinking alone in her London flat, two bottles a night, buying from different tills at Sainsbury's so no one clocked it. Then came marriage, babies, a miscarriage she drank through, and lockdown. Then perimenopause, anxiety she called "the gauntlet," and waking up at 2 a.m. not knowing who she was.

Eight months ago, she poured her last glass.

This is Nina's story of mommy wine culture, the quiet shame of drinking behind closed doors, and the holiday moment that finally stuck.

https://www.instagram.com/wonderfullysober/

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For years, Annie Knowles was sure her husband was the one with the drinking problem. He was in AA. She was just a normal wine mum, two-bottles-in-the-fridge kind of drinker. Three and a half years sober, she knows now that was never true.

Annie is the only adopted child in a family of seven, a working NHS sonographer, and one half of a marriage where both people eventually got sober through completely different routes. Her husband through AA and the twelve steps. Her through Annie Grace, William Porter, This Naked Mind, and the sober online community.

In this conversation she opens up about the abandonment wound underneath her drinking, gray area drinking that escalated through Covid lockdowns, the guilt of once telling her sober husband she wished he'd just drink again, their son's autism diagnosis, and the adoption trauma she only began to face once she stopped numbing it.

She's now an NHS alcohol champion and runs a free blue light recovery group for emergency services staff. This is a recovery story about two different paths to sobriety, inner child healing, and why the real question isn't how much you drink, it's consequences and control.

Subscribe and share it with someone who needs it tonight.

Instagram: @af_rainbowrider

Email: annie@soberrainbowrider.com

Reclaim Balance - Life Coaching with Annie Knowles

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When people quit drinking, they expect relief. Instead, many feel grief. That's what Dave sits down to explore with Julia Samuel MBE, psychotherapist of 30+ years and best-selling author of Grief Works.

This conversation goes places most sobriety podcasts don't. Why unresolved grief fuels addiction. Why 70% of mental health struggles trace back to grief we've never let ourselves feel. Why Gabor Maté's question, "why the pain" not "why the addiction," matters so much. And why so many people get sober only to realise they're grieving the loss of alcohol itself, their oldest coping mechanism.

Dave opens up about his mum dying in 2018, his 40 years of drinking, and the grief he had to sit with when he finally put the bottle down. Julia reframes addiction as a survival strategy, not a moral failing. She talks about living losses, complex grief, estrangement, and why it is never too late to grieve.

If you're quitting drinking, grieving a parent, or navigating a living loss, this one's for you.

 If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Niall Harbison nearly drank himself to death in Thailand at 41. Four days in ICU. A six-week bender of three bottles of wine, Valium, and whiskey, three times a day. He quit smoking, drinking, and pills in one go.

He grew up in Belgium, an only child. His mum left when he was 13. He watched her get beaten by the man she left for, and he froze in the hallway. The drinking started at 14. The escape never really stopped.

Now Niall is four years and four months sober. He feeds 1,200 stray dogs in Koh Samui every day. He runs a sanctuary and a hospital. His new book, Tina, is out next week.

He says the dogs are part of why he's still here.

This is a story about trauma, the pub culture that nearly killed him, and finding a reason to turn up.

His second book, Tina: The Dog Who Changed the World, became an instant Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller. 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearehappydoggo/

Niall's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niall.harbison/

Donate to Happy Doggo: https://www.happydoggo.com/donate 

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kate Annetts sounds like she's been drinking. She hasn't touched a drop in two years.

At 22, she started slurring, falling, spilling drinks. GPs told her some people are just a bit wobbly. Seven years later she got a diagnosis: Friedreich's ataxia, a rare progressive condition. No cure. No mental health support. Just a letter and a goodbye.

So she drank. A bottle of wine a night in bed in a Brighton shared house. Two if the day was "stressful." Buying from different shops so no one clocked it. Watching EastEnders, holding the glass like the women on telly did. Convincing herself she deserved it.

Then lockdown. Then a best friend died. Then one pride weekend in 2023, hungover in a park watching Steps, something cracked open.

This is Kate's story of being disbelieved, drinking through a diagnosis, the moderation trap, and the quiet epiphany that finally stuck.

https://www.instagram.com/yourwobblyfriend/

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this weeks episode of One For The Road I am joined by Sarah Chamberlain who is the founder of UnashamED, an organisation dedicated to tackling shame across education, personal development, and sober living. A former teacher, coach, and consultant, Sarah brings deep expertise in psychology and education to her mission of creating spaces where people feel seen, supported, and unashamed. While UnashamED began by supporting young people and educators, Sarah’s work has expanded to focus strongly on the alcohol-free community. As someone who lives alcohol-free herself, she specialises in helping individuals explore and untangle the often-hidden shame connected to drinking culture, sobriety, and identity. Through coaching and training, she opens up vital conversations that empower people to thrive without alcohol.Sarah holds an MSc in Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology, with research centred on the lack of shame-awareness in education systems. Her work is rooted in the belief that shame resilience is a foundational skill—not just for students and teachers, but for anyone navigating life, especially those choosing to live alcohol-free. Based in the UK, Sarah champions compassionate, shame-free education and transformation in schools, workplaces, and everyday lives.

https://www.instagram.com/unashamedcoach/

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dave is 18 months sober after nearly 40 years of social drinking, including a university run that hit 100 pints in a week. In this recovery story, the Showaddywaddy saxophonist walks through how he quit drinking — from his first pint with his dad at 15, to the solo holiday in Fuerteventura where he decided he didn't want to be that version of himself anymore.

Dave opens up about the drinking culture he landed in at the Royal Northern College of Music, losing his middle brother and his dad in the same week in 2008, a serendipitous phone call from Dave Bartram asking him to join Showaddywaddy, losing his youngest brother in July 2020, and the six-month internal battle in sobriety where his own head kept asking "when are you going to start again?"

He also talks about the loaded word "alcoholic," why moderation was never going to work for him, and how making it non-negotiable finally quietened the voice. Eighteen months alcohol free, three stone lighter, and still out on tour with the band.

Follow Dave on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/davegrahamsax/

Catch Dave on tour with Showaddywaddy 

www.showaddywaddy.net/gigs

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sophie Hutton-Mills was 20, on a train platform with her dad, when he had a heart attack and died in front of her. She couldn't say the sentence out loud for four years. So she did what she'd learned to do at home: she put it in a box, put a blanket of alcohol over the top, and got on with pretending.

Twenty-something years later she was a mum of two small girls, hiding bottles of wine in the cupboard, lying to her husband, and drinking in the mornings the summer everything fell apart. She finally said out loud: I'm not in control any more.

Then her sister died. A year later, almost to the day, her mum. Then her brother. Sophie stayed sober through every single one.

You'll hear about: the moment she knew she had a problem; the mummy wine culture that made it all look normal; why moderation never worked; how the sober community pulled her through the worst losses of her life; the signs she still gets from the people she has lost.

If you're a mum questioning your drinking, this one's for you.

https://www.instagram.com/sober_soph_/

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olivia Taylor is two years sober after a decade of alcohol addiction that started with morning drinking at 18 and ended with a litre of vodka a day, crack cocaine binges, and six months lying in the bed she's now recording this sobriety story from. In this recovery story, she walks through how she got sober, how many times rehab didn't work, and the phone call that finally did.

Olivia's earliest memories are of paranoia and OCD so severe she paced her bedroom at six years old. Her first drink at 12 silenced all of it. By 18 she was drinking from 8am. By 19 she'd woken up in her boss's hotel room — a man 30 years older who would become her daughter's dad, isolate her from her family, and make her pregnant at 20 against her will. She left that coercive relationship, got free, and her drinking got worse, not better.

In this conversation, Olivia opens up about being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder at 17 and having it used against her by every controlling man who followed, walking out of her first rehab at 23 and spending four nights on the street smoking crack with strangers, a partner who drove her off the road at 90mph trying to kill them both, writing suicide notes from this same bedroom, and the unknown phone call she felt compelled to answer that turned out to be her mum behind the scenes arranging a rehab bed that actually worked. Six months of intense therapy and dialectical behavioural therapy later, she came out a different person.

Two years alcohol free, raising her daughter Leila in the same house she nearly died in, and now helping other women in recovery through @sobercoastalife on Instagram. Olivia is living proof that however many times you've tried to quit drinking and failed, the next attempt can be the one.

 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sobercoasterlife 

Tiktok @sobercoasterlife

Co-host of @thesisterspat podcast alongside my sister, where we dive into the raw and unfiltered realities of addiction sharing both the addict’s and the family’s perspective with honesty, compassion, and a touch of humour. 

https://www.instagram.com/thesisterspatpodcast?igsh=cnoyNjhybmEzbHB4

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ak1FH2D72miiw7t8eRt8X?si=JcVt6C4WSrC5oK7N193p2g

Website: https://www.sobercoasterlife.com/

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gary Mez was 14 the first time he drank a can of beer. By 19 he was drinking Foster's at half eight in the morning at university. By 33 he was alone in Granada, Spain, with a broken flip flop, no money on his phone, and not a single friend left who would return his call. That was the morning everything cracked open.

Now eleven years sober, Gary tells Sober Dave the full story. The idyllic Cheshire upbringing. The prescription acne drug at 15 that changed him overnight. The 15 years of "no off switch." And the quiet decision he made on a Tuesday morning in Seville that he has never gone back on.

You'll hear about: the connection between ADHD and addiction; why moderation is "dumping your toxic ex and sleeping with them at the weekend"; getting sober alone in a foreign country; finding an English-speaking AA meeting on the street parallel to his flat; what 11 years sober actually feels like.

He is also the co-host of The Sober Stretch with his friend, Craig. https://www.instagram.com/sobernsound/ https://garys-newsletter-9e505a.beehiiv.com/subscribe 

https://open.spotify.com/show/42nfv5PNruzVeGdJU4DbLW?si=65aa303eb0fb4815 

https://www.youtube.com/chan

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julie Ravitsky was 21, sitting cross-legged on her parents' dining room floor at 10am, drinking vodka and smoking cigarettes. Within hours she was in a psychiatric hospital being restrained and sedated. She would end up there twice before her 22nd birthday.

The doctors called it drug-induced psychosis. Nobody asked what was actually happening in her life. Nobody asked about the London trading floor where she smoked at her desk, drank at her desk, and watched colleagues sneak off for cocaine. Nobody asked if she was okay.

Decades later, Julie is a business psychologist with five years sober. The road there was long: ten years on antipsychotics, a marriage, two kids, and the kind of nightly wine habit that looked completely normal from the outside.

You'll hear about: 90s trading floor drinking culture; what really sat underneath two psychiatric hospitalisations; grey area wine mom drinking; closing her business to change her environment and quit drinking; what 5 years sober actually feels like.

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A nurse found Oliver Mason in a hospital bed eating Gillette shaving foam. He'd read the label. He knew there was ethanol in it. The staff had taken his vodka away and his body was screaming for the drug.

That was the bottom. Before that came the panic attack on the Jubilee Line, sweating vodka through his pores, ducking into a corner shop phone booth to neck a bottle of Glen's. Before that came the one Soho whiskey that ended a full year of sobriety and kicked off three months of drinking around the clock. Before that came a Saturday morning kids' TV career that suddenly went quiet, a friend lost to a drink-driving accident, and 15 years of telling himself he was fine because he only drank at weekends.

Oliver is now ten years sober, married, working as an actor, running a podcast called School of Rockbottom, and helping others through the same rehab that saved him.

You'll hear about: the four layers of denial; what really happens in the year before someone relapses; the difference between heavy drinking and alcoholism; what 10 years sober looks like; why connection beats willpower every time.

Instagram - https://bit.ly/3IemHLY 

Facebook - http://bit.ly/3w8S1Gx

TikTok - https://bit.ly/3YGLsYm

LinkedIn - http://bit.ly/3kp4ymC

Threads - https://bit.ly/3svw7yL

X - http://bit.ly/3GQYj2l

Follow School of Rock Bottom -

https://podfollow.com/schoolofrockbottom

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Sober Dave sits down with model, TV personality, and author Millie Macintosh to talk about her raw and honest journey from her first drink at 12 years old to getting alcohol free on August 25, 2022.

Millie opens up about how bullying and unresolved trauma in her teens led to years of drinking to blackout, the shame spiral that came with it, and how her time on Made in Chelsea only made things worse. She talks about using alcohol and Xanax to cope with anxiety, the moment motherhood made her confront the real cost of her drinking, and the panic attack on holiday that finally made her say enough.

But getting sober was only the beginning. Millie shares how she hit a wall months in, experienced burnout and health anxiety, and had to go back to therapy and medication before she was truly ready to do the deep work and face the trauma she had been running from since she was a teenager.

She also talks about her book Bad Drunk, how writing it brought everything back to the surface, the medical insight from Dr. Ellie Cannon on what alcohol actually does to your brain and body, and why she now uses her platform to help other people feel less alone in their own drinking struggles.

If you have ever felt trapped in that cycle of drinking, shame, anxiety, and trying to quit but not quite getting there, this one is for you.

Bad Drunk by Millie Macintosh is available now:

https://www.instagram.com/milliemackintosh/

https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/millie-mackintosh/bad-drunk/9780349443812/

Let's Connect on Instagram: @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alison Calder is three years sober after a 15 year back and forth trying to moderate drinking that no other career made harder — she was a trained sommelier who went on to run her own wine company. In this recovery story, she walks through how she finally quit drinking after years of stopping and starting, champagne at breakfast for work, and daily wine drinking at home with two young children upstairs.

Alison's childhood was happy and nothing in it explained what happened when she picked up her first drink at 14. There was no off switch. By 24 she'd already been to an AA meeting and known something was wrong. By her late twenties she was working in a wine company where drinking through the day was the job — vineyard trips, breakfast champagne, tastings, events — and she was always the one who took it too far. She reached for help, she tried online groups with a fake Facebook profile so her clients wouldn't recognise her, she did dry months, she did everything except accept that moderation was never going to work for her.

www.instagram.com/alisoncalderalcoholcoach

www.facebook.com/alisoncaldercoaching

 www.alisoncalder.com

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lee Anderson grew up inside pubs. His mum was a barmaid who ran her own pubs, and by the time he was eight or nine he was already pouring himself spirits from the cabinet the way he'd seen adults do it. By 14 he was drinking on the bus to steady his nerves. By his twenties he was the life and soul, and nobody ever questioned it.

What nobody could see was everything underneath: the responsibility of being the oldest, the man of the house one minute and a child the next, the shame passed down from a teenage mum raising mixed-race kids alone in the seventies, and the thing Lee spent years terrified of naming — that he was gay. Alcohol was the uniform he put on before pushing open any pub door. It was, as he puts it, both a place to hide and a place to be seen.

In this conversation, Lee opens up about coming out at 22 and flipping a coin on a toilet roll to decide whether to say the word, a toxic eight-year relationship where the drink and drugs ramped up, a breakdown and two attempts on his life, moving to France and drinking three litres of wine a night, and the Saturday morning he finally sat on a step and said enough.

Four years sober, eight years clean, now a life coach and ambassador for the Lighthouse Construction Charity, standing in front of rooms of 500 builders talking about anxiety, addiction, and being gay. Lee's story is a reminder that the version of you underneath the drinking is still there — and it's worth meeting.

If anything in this episode resonates, please reach out to Samaritans on 116 123 (UK and Ireland), or your local crisis line.

https://www.instagram.com/leeandersoncoaching/

https://www.leeandersoncoaching.com/

https://open.spotify.com/show/13Hx2VN9L62ta3nMto5NmH?si=d809bf1d488f45f6&nd=1&dlsi=d2719481e12a4154

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abigail Burrows had her first sip of champagne at nine years old, at a concert at the Dorchester. She topped up her own glass when the teacher's back was turned. She has never, in her own words, been a healthy drinker.

By 19 she was drinking herself into psychosis at the Royal College of Music and dropped out. By her mid-twenties she'd hit a rock bottom serious enough to make her stop. She didn't drink for five and a half years. Then one glass of champagne to celebrate the milestone unleashed a decade of drinking that nearly cost her everything: her marriage, her career, her dad to alcoholism, and a job she'd dreamed of since childhood.

Abby is now over a year sober, back in the West End pit at Les Mis, and credits her recovery to the charity Music Support.

You'll hear about: the first drink at nine that lit her up; why moderation after years sober is a fantasy; what really happens when one glass of champagne breaks a five-year run; how the music industry hides addiction in plain sight; why getting back into Les Mis is the most beautiful chapter of her sober life.

If you've ever told yourself "I can have just one," this one's for you.

 https://www.instagram.com/abbieflutes

www.abigailburrows.com

Music Support is a registered charity that helps anyone who works in the UK music industry experiencing substance use, addiction and/or mental health challenges. Find out more about their work at www.musicsupport.org. The charity is hosting “Understanding Addiction and Embracing Recovery: The Classical Edition,” a webinar in partnership with the Royal Society of Musicians on Blue Monday, 20th January, from 6pm – 730pm. It will feature Abbie and Music Support Trustee and cellist, Rachael Lander (a previous guest on my podcast). This special session that will also include a workshop on the neuroscience of addiction and pathways to recovery is suitable for anyone who works in the UK music industry (and their family and friends). Find out more and register to join at https://www.rsmgb.org/whats-on/understanding-addiction-embracing-recovery

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beauty editor Donna Francis spent 30 years drinking white wine through her career, motherhood and perimenopause before quitting drinking last July. In this episode of One for the Road, she tells Sober Dave the story most mum-wine-culture women never say out loud.

Donna grew up in an Islington family where pub culture was love, where pouring someone a drink was how you showed up. She married young, built an award-winning beauty editor career, raised her son, moved to Florida, and slowly noticed the white wine was no longer optional. There was the night she threw a tuna steak at her husband. The 40th birthday she ended throwing up in the lobby of Claridge's. The pool lilo she fell asleep on at a family pub party at 47.

Donna talks perimenopause and alcohol, gray area drinking, hidden family trauma, and what quitting drinking actually feels like when wine has been your love language.

Sober journey, beauty industry, mum wine culture, perimenopause sobriety.

https://www.instagram.com/thebeautyed/?hl=en

https://www.tiktok.com/@thebeautyed?lang=en

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/smiling-gives-you-wrinkles/id1725957283

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christmas mornings used to start with a Bucks Fizz at 10am and a turkey carved with a few fingers missing from the bird. Not anymore. In this bonus Christmas special, Sober Dave is joined by William Porter, author of Alcohol Explained, for a proper survival guide to the festive season without booze.

They cover how to handle Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, how to say no to a drink without over-explaining yourself, why family arguments go better when you're the sober one in the room, what to do if you're spending Christmas Day alone, how to fill the dead zone between Boxing Day and New Year, and how to actually make Dry January stick instead of imploding on February 1st. If you're sober curious, on day one, or just nervous about the holidays, this is the episode to keep on your phone.

You can also look at Williams website here https://alcoholexplained.com/

Thanks for all your support throughout the year, and I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Dave 

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will Gordon was a teacher. He had a wife, a family that loved him, a job he was good at when he showed up. He also drank a 750ml bottle of vodka most days, hid it from his wife in water bottles around the apartment, and parked on a side street in the mornings pretending to drive Uber so he could drink alone in his car.

By 36 his skin was yellow, his stomach was full of seven litres of fluid, and a doctor sat his parents down and told them he had two weeks left. He needed an emergency liver transplant. The rule said he had to be six months sober. He wasn't even close.

What followed was an 18-hour surgery, a colon that ruptured days later, half a year on a stoma bag, dialysis, and finally a kidney transplant too. Will is now sober, back in the classroom, and using whatever time he's been given to talk openly about how it happened.

You'll hear about: drinking through a 125-day relapse window; what alcohol withdrawal in the morning really looks like; why willpower alone isn't enough; what life is like after a transplant; why a clear head matters more than a "fixed" body.

If you're questioning your drinking, this one's for you.

If you feel so inclined, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration, insights, and a reminder that you're never alone in this fight.

- YouTube: [The Willpower Podcast](https://www.youtube.com/@TheWillpowerPodcast)

- Instagram: [@thewillpowerpodcast](https://www.instagram.com/thewillpowerpodcast/)

Thank you @sobedave for letting me share my story. I am forever grateful.

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@soberdaveonefortheroad

More information about Sober Dave's 1:1 Coaching: https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.