honest reflections on five summers without alcohol

how i got through my first sober summer

Six years ago, mid-July 2019, I joined my cousin for a week long holiday in Split, Croatia. Seeing the devastation from a recent summer storm there on the news this past week brought me right back my time spent in this beautiful Croatian city. 2019 was the last summer I was still drinking. For anyone new around here, I took a 30 day break from alcohol in May of 2020 and never looked back. After years of struggling with my relationship with alcohol, I finally set myself free.

Not drinking is second nature to me now. My sobriety is the foundation of the life I’ve built since 2020. Since then, I’ve reached so many important milestones and celebrated some of the greatest moments in my life. I finished my Ph.D., got my dog Nimbus, survived the pandemic, moved down south, started a sober community, a podcast, this newsletter, travelled to new places, and as of recently, I got married.

But, there was a time when my drinking was all I thought about. From about 2016 until 2020, I was either drinking, thinking about drinking, or recovering from my drinking. My trip to Split, Croatia was no different. My cousin flew from England and I flew over from Dublin. Our flights were meant to arrive within an hour of each other that evening, but unfortunately her flight was delayed by over five hours. I got in on time, checked into our room, and waited for her arrival. Naturally, in order to pass the free time, I started drinking alone in our room. It was my holiday, after all.