Sober Awkward

The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - My Sober Story - By Emma G

Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you.

Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest, funny, heartbreaking, hopeful, awkward and beautifully human, these stories come from people all over the world who have experienced the ups and downs of changing their relationship with alcohol.

Whether you’re sober curious, newly alcohol-free, years into recovery, or simply wondering if life might feel better without booze, we hope these stories remind you that you’re not alone.

Writing has a powerful way of helping us make sense of our lives. It can shine a light on things we’ve hidden away, help us process difficult experiences, and remind us just how resilient we really are. Plus, it’s considerably cheaper than therapy and doesn’t require you to wear pants.

So grab a cuppa, get comfortable, and join us for this week’s Share Shed as Vic tells another story from our amazing community.

💛 Resources & Links

📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
👉 Buy the book here or head to the website to find out more about writing mentorships with Vic.
👉 www.soberawkward.com

🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
👉 www.cuppa.community

📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
👉 The Sober Awkward Guide

📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women

📞 SUPPORT & RESOURCES
If anything in today’s episode felt familiar, or you’re worried about your drinking, there is support available. You don’t have to do this alone.
🇦🇺 Australia
National Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline
📞 1800 250 015 (24/7)
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/alcohol-and-drug-information-service
Lifeline
📞 13 11 14 (24/7)
https://www.lifeline.org.au
Hello Sunday Morning / Daybreak
https://hellosundaymorning.org
https://daybreakapp.com.au
Clean Slate Clinic
https://www.cleanslateclinic.com
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Drinkline
📞 0300 123 1110
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/alcohol-support/
Alcohol Change UK
https://alcoholchange.org.uk
We Are With You
https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk
🌍 International
Alcoholics Anonymous
https://www.aa.org
SMART Recovery
https://www.smartrecovery.org

💬 A Gentle Reminder
If you’re drinking in the morning to cope, especially with anxiety or withdrawal symptoms, it’s important to speak to a doctor or medical professional. Stopping alcohol suddenly can be unsafe for some people, and getting support can make a huge difference.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vic is flying solo today, with no guest and a letter she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about.

You’ll hear from Allison, a woman who started drinking to hide her shyness. She has relied on alcohol for so long that she no longer knows who she is without it.
Loads of women have been sharing similar stories in the Sober Awkward Facebook group. They drink before parties, dates and dinners because socialising is fucking hard. Perhaps that’s one of the biggest reasons any of us start drinking. A few glasses quieten the voice telling us we’re boring, awkward or about to say something ridiculous.

Unfortunately, that temporary confidence can become the only version of ourselves we trust.
Vic looks at social anxiety, identity and the strange business of meeting your sober personality after years of hiding her. There’s some science, plenty of honesty, a penis-shaped teabag holder and a deeply questionable vag spoon.

You might never become brilliant at parties. Who cares? Stay for an hour, talk to one nice person, eat the crisps and go home.

📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
👉 https://amzn.asia/d/0aZ69GpK

Vic's book 'Mumming - A year of Trying (and Failing) to be a better parent - https://amzn.asia/d/0bUJTS2W

🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes
👉 www.soberawkward.com

🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
👉 www.cuppa.community

📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
👉 The Sober Awkward Guide

📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - 500 Sunrises By Courtney K

Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you.

Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest, funny, heartbreaking, hopeful, awkward and beautifully human, these stories come from people all over the world who have experienced the ups and downs of changing their relationship with alcohol.

Whether you’re sober curious, newly alcohol-free, years into recovery, or simply wondering if life might feel better without booze, we hope these stories remind you that you’re not alone.

Writing has a powerful way of helping us make sense of our lives. It can shine a light on things we’ve hidden away, help us process difficult experiences, and remind us just how resilient we really are. Plus, it’s considerably cheaper than therapy and doesn’t require you to wear pants.

So grab a cuppa, get comfortable, and join us for this week’s Share Shed as Vic tells another story from our amazing community.

💛 Resources & Links

📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
👉 Buy the book here or head to the website to find out more about writing mentorships with Vic.
👉 www.soberawkward.com

🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
👉 www.cuppa.community

📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
👉 The Sober Awkward Guide

📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women

📞 SUPPORT & RESOURCES
If anything in today’s episode felt familiar, or you’re worried about your drinking, there is support available. You don’t have to do this alone.
🇦🇺 Australia
National Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline
📞 1800 250 015 (24/7)
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/alcohol-and-drug-information-service
Lifeline
📞 13 11 14 (24/7)
https://www.lifeline.org.au
Hello Sunday Morning / Daybreak
https://hellosundaymorning.org
https://daybreakapp.com.au
Clean Slate Clinic
https://www.cleanslateclinic.com
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Drinkline
📞 0300 123 1110
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/alcohol-support/
Alcohol Change UK
https://alcoholchange.org.uk
We Are With You
https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk
🌍 International
Alcoholics Anonymous
https://www.aa.org
SMART Recovery
https://www.smartrecovery.org

💬 A Gentle Reminder
If you’re drinking in the morning to cope, especially with anxiety or withdrawal symptoms, it’s important to speak to a doctor or medical professional. Stopping alcohol suddenly can be unsafe for some people, and getting support can make a huge difference.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does your sobriety change with the seasons? Do sunny days suddenly make you think about beer gardens and cold wine, while dark winter evenings have you craving a bottle of red and a blanket?

This week, Vic is joined by two guests to explore seasonal living, what it actually means, why humans have always lived according to the rhythms of the year and whether paying a little more attention to the seasons could actually be good for us.

First, Vic chats to holistic counsellor Amy Doyle for a broader look at seasonal living. Amy explains why we’re not really designed to operate like machines, doing and feeling exactly the same things all year round, and how noticing changes in our energy, moods, routines and needs can help us feel more connected to ourselves and the world around us.

Then Vic chats to Kate Baily, founder of Love Sober, to bring it all back to booze. Kate explores the idea of seasonal sobriety, why different times of year can bring different triggers and drinking associations, and how understanding those patterns might help us prepare for them rather than being completely sideswiped by a sudden urge for a rosé the second the sun comes out.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to start foraging or hugging trees. Sometimes seasonal living is simply about paying attention, slowing down when you need to and accepting that perhaps we’re not supposed to feel exactly the same every bloody day of the year.

Expect sobriety, sunshine, winter blues, ancient humans and Vic getting unnecessarily excited about a shiny plum.

💛 Resources & Links

Follow and find out more about Kat and Love Sober - head to https://www.lovesober.com
@lovesober.midlife Read Kats Substack -https://katebaily.substack.com
Books
Love Your Sober Year - https://amzn.asia/d/04HRItBV
Love Yourself Sober - https://amzn.asia/d/0iclbsZL

Amy Doyle - Books
The way of the five seasons, by John Kirkwood
Braiding of sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Blogs
https://amydoyle.com.au/2026/07/05/why-winter-makes-you-want-to-disappear/
https://amydoyle.com.au/2023/05/29/living-in-tune-with-the-seasons-hello-winter/
https://amydoyle.com.au/2023/07/17/winter-rituals-seasonal-living-2/

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

Bio snippet (photos attached - choose either one)
Amy Doyle is a Holistic Counsellor who supports women to understand themselves more deeply and lead themselves through the realities of everyday life. Her work brings together self-awareness, emotional wellbeing and practical self-leadership, helping women understand their feelings, needs and patterns and create lives that reflect what actually matters to them. Amy is also exploring seasonal living as a way of deepening our connection with ourselves, our lives and the natural world, and learning to work with our changing rhythms rather than expecting ourselves to be the same every day.

📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
👉 https://amzn.asia/d/0aZ69GpK

Vic's book 'Mumming - A year of Trying (and Failing) to be a better parent - https://amzn.asia/d/0bUJTS2W

🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes
👉 www.soberawkward.com

🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
👉 www.cuppa.community

📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
👉 The Sober Awkward Guide

📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - What is Moderation By April J

Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you.

Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest, funny, heartbreaking, hopeful, awkward and beautifully human, these stories come from people all over the world who have experienced the ups and downs of changing their relationship with alcohol.

Whether you’re sober curious, newly alcohol-free, years into recovery, or simply wondering if life might feel better without booze, we hope these stories remind you that you’re not alone.

Writing has a powerful way of helping us make sense of our lives. It can shine a light on things we’ve hidden away, help us process difficult experiences, and remind us just how resilient we really are. Plus, it’s considerably cheaper than therapy and doesn’t require you to wear pants.

So grab a cuppa, get comfortable, and join us for this week’s Share Shed as Vic tells another story from our amazing community.

💛 Resources & Links

📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
👉 Buy the book here or head to the website to find out more about writing mentorships with Vic.
👉 www.soberawkward.com

🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
👉 www.cuppa.community

📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
👉 The Sober Awkward Guide

📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women

📞 SUPPORT & RESOURCES
If anything in today’s episode felt familiar, or you’re worried about your drinking, there is support available. You don’t have to do this alone.
🇦🇺 Australia
National Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline
📞 1800 250 015 (24/7)
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/alcohol-and-drug-information-service
Lifeline
📞 13 11 14 (24/7)
https://www.lifeline.org.au
Hello Sunday Morning / Daybreak
https://hellosundaymorning.org
https://daybreakapp.com.au
Clean Slate Clinic
https://www.cleanslateclinic.com
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Drinkline
📞 0300 123 1110
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/alcohol-support/
Alcohol Change UK
https://alcoholchange.org.uk
We Are With You
https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk
🌍 International
Alcoholics Anonymous
https://www.aa.org
SMART Recovery
https://www.smartrecovery.org

💬 A Gentle Reminder
If you’re drinking in the morning to cope, especially with anxiety or withdrawal symptoms, it’s important to speak to a doctor or medical professional. Stopping alcohol suddenly can be unsafe for some people, and getting support can make a huge difference.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.