Sober Strong -

 Sober Strong

“Sobriety is when your children look at you and trust what they see.” – Josh Brolin

For a long time, I didn’t question alcohol. It was everywhere—celebrated, accepted, and even expected. I knew it wasn't great for me, but I didn’t see it as a problem either. After all, I wasn’t drinking in dark alleys—I was laughing with friends, celebrating life… wasn't I?

What I didn’t know is that alcohol doesn’t just postpone anxiety—it stores it up and hands it back with interest..

Wine O'Clock keeps you weak.

Sober Strong Mom

Navigating motherhood, healing, and empowerment through sobriety.

Sober Strong Single Mom is where I share my ongoing transformation—from your typical Irish Saturday night binge drinker to sobriety, from self-loathing to self-confidence, from toxic co-dependency to true independence, and from rigidity to a gentler way of being. Over the past few years, I’ve read thousands of books, and here I’ll distill the best insights and practical advice that have truly helped me heal and grow. Life as a single mum isn’t easy, but I’ve built a toolkit that’s made all the difference—and I’m here to share it with you.

Sober Strong Journey

For years, I thought alcohol was just part of who I was—something harmless that gave a little sparkle to my weekends. I wasn’t someone with a “problem.” I was a social drinker, a happy drinker. But I now realise I had slipped into a pattern and mistaken it for my identity.

I'm no longer willing to allow alcohol be part of my identity.

Find Your Strength

You don’t have to be anonymous to be sober. You can be seen, supported, and strong.

If you’ve found your way here, you might be questioning your relationship with alcohol—or maybe you’ve already decided to leave it behind and are looking for connection and support along the way.

This space was born out of a simple idea: what if there was a place for people on a sober journey who didn’t quite feel at home in traditional recovery models like AA?

AA absolutely has its success stories, and I fully respect the support it’s given so many. But if I’m honest, it wasn’t the right fit for me. I never felt “powerless” against alcohol—I just knew I wanted more from life. I didn’t want to label myself as broken or in need of saving. I wanted to feel strong. I wanted to build a sober life that felt empowering, connected, and sustainable.

How I Became Sober: An Inevitable Step or a Stroke of Luck?

Alcohol affects your mental health in ways we often don’t want to admit. It’s a depressant that can linger in your system for up to 8 days. And yet, despite the damage, very few of us dare to point the finger at this glorified vice — because doing so might mean we have to consider quitting.

For me, sobriety started almost by accident. Or maybe it was inevitable.

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The Book That Changed Everything

Allen Carr’s Easy Way for Women to Stop Drinking sat untouched in my Audible library for over a year. I’d bought it on a whim during a sale after listening to one of his other books — not because I was ready to stop drinking. In fact, I had no intention of quitting.

Every now and then I’d mention it to a close friend, and they’d warn me not to listen. They knew me well enough to know that once an idea takes root in my mind, it doesn’t let go.

Then, one Monday morning, after a weekend that looked “good on paper” but left me unsatisfied, I pressed play. And my life has not been the same since.

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The Weekend Before

The Friday night before, I was at my cousin’s wedding. I drank plenty but managed to avoid disaster. No missing phones, no shameful slips, no awful hangover. The next evening, I went out with friends for a low-key dinner and drinks. Again, it was fine. Nothing dramatic, nothing disastrous.

But that was the problem — it was always the same. The same pubs, the same conversations, the same mornings-after. Each time, I felt a little more tired, a little less strong, a little poorer, and with nothing to show for the precious little free time I had.

There had to be more to life than this.

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Planting the Seed

Around this time, I started noticing people who didn’t drink — and they weren’t miserable, boring, or missing out. In fact, they seemed happier. At first, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Then, slowly, I started to admire them. I wanted some of what they had.

Up until then, I had never considered sobriety as a valid choice. In my mind, you only quit drinking if your health demanded it. I believed alcohol made life better. I thought it was a treat, a reward, even a part of my personality.

But deep down, I knew better. I never drank when I needed to be at my best — and that alone told me I knew alcohol was holding me back.

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The Turning Point

So that Monday, on the walk back from dropping my kids to school, I pressed play. By Thursday morning, I knew I was finished drinking forever.

The “fear of success” had kept me from starting the book earlier. I worried about weddings, birthdays, holidays — all the places I thought I’d “need” a drink. But once I started, I couldn’t unlearn what I heard.

That weekend, we celebrated my grandad’s 80th in Kerry. I thought it would be my “last hurrah.” Instead, it was one of the best weekends of my life.

I remembered every moment. I woke up each morning fresh. I ate breakfast with an appetite. I looked in the mirror at night and didn’t see a tired, haggard version of myself. I came home with no regrets, no anxiety, no shame.

I was free.

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Life Without Alcohol

Since that week, my life has changed in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I no longer plan my time around drinking. I don’t feel deprived when I say no. I don’t look at people with envy when they drink — I look with gratitude that I no longer need it.

I’ve realised alcohol wasn’t enhancing my life. It was numbing it.

Sobriety has given me:

• Confidence that I am not just a good mum, but a great one.
• The freedom to enjoy health, exercise, and nutrition without undoing it every weekend.
• The ability to enjoy parties, weddings, and nights out — and actually remember them.
• A stronger sense of identity, no longer tied to “a few drinks” being part of who I was.

As I once read:
“I slipped into a pattern, and mistook it for my identity. Now I step outside of it.”

That’s exactly what happened.

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The Hard Truth

Since then, I’ve read The Accidental Soberista by Kate Gunn. Her brutally honest stories made me laugh, cringe, and reflect on my own drunken escapades. She reminded me of something I used to believe: that non-drinkers were boring, awkward, people I wanted to avoid. Now I see how wrong I was.

The truth is, drinking doesn’t make you fun. It doesn’t make you confident. It doesn’t make you interesting.

Hard truth: drinking makes you look and feel like shit. Not sorry.

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Final Thoughts

I can’t say “never” — life is unpredictable. But I don’t see myself drinking again. There’s nothing in it for me. Sobriety isn’t deprivation; it’s freedom.

If you’re sober-curious, I can only recommend this: read the book. Don’t put pressure on yourself to quit immediately. Just listen, learn, and see how your perspective shifts.

Knowledge is power. And once you know better, you can do better.

Hey, I’m so glad you’re here.

If you’ve landed on this page, maybe you’re curious about sobriety, maybe you're newly sober, or maybe you’ve been alcohol-free for years and are just looking for a place that feels like home.

That’s exactly what I was searching for, too.

I didn’t feel like I belonged in traditional spaces like AA. While I completely respect the journey and the success stories that come from there, I personally didn’t relate to the idea of being powerless over alcohol. I didn’t feel broken—I just felt ready for something better. I didn’t want to hide. I wanted to show up for life feeling proud, not ashamed. I didn’t want to survive sobriety—I wanted to thrive in it.

That’s how Sober Strong was born.

This page—and the private Facebook group that goes with it—is a place for honest connection, without shame or hierarchy. A space where we don’t pretend that alcohol is some kind of reward at the end of a hard day. A space where sobriety is seen for what it truly can be:
✨ a conscious, strong, life-giving choice.

Here, you can ask questions, share wins, vent your frustrations, or simply read along until you're ready to speak. There’s no judgment, no pressure, and definitely no labels required. Whether you’re a single mom like me, navigating motherhood, relationships, healing, burnout, or just the general overwhelm of life—I hope this can be a nicer place to land.

You don’t have to be anonymous to be sober.
You can be seen. You can be supported.
And you can be strong.

Welcome to Sober Strong 💛