Vol 2.5
Can we truly "OUTLIVE" if we drink alcohol? Plus something spicy, something for sleep and a chance to write your heart out.
The Sober Glow Studio is a weekly newsletter providing stories, recommendations, and resources on the art of living an alcohol-free lifestyle, navigating midlife, and anything that simply feels good.
Ghia Sumac & Chili: It’s described as “For those who like it Hot. Our signature bitter aperitivo spritzed with tangy and satisfyingly sour sumac, a passionate pairing to the classic heat of chili. Sharp and fiery like a night at the Cha Cha.” I refer to it as my favorite new mocktail. Damn, the choices for us non-drinkers just keep getting better and better. I not only love this brand, but I also have a girl crush on the owner, Melanie. I want to support her products and any other female business owner busting their ass to make the teetotaling world a better place.
Marpac Dohm: Circling back to last week’s newsletter, I put up a poll on my IG stories with the prompt Sleep Divorce (1) OMG yes please (2) Kiss of death (3) Totally curious. I was a little surprised with the results, considering so many women reached out to me to communicate they were in full support of this and that they either were already doing it or now had permission to start doing it.
(And I want to invite you all again to engage with me here in the Substacks comment section. While getting many direct emails/DMs from women is lovely, having everyone engage together is my hope for this space. But as always, do what feels comfortable. I will continue answering you one by one :)
Anyway, so over on the gram, the results were (1) 54%, (2) 18%, (3) 28%. Now, I am so damn curious as to why women feel sleeping apart from their partners could be the “kiss of death.” I’m intrigued, to say the least. So this old-school beauty of a sound machine is for all the women standing (laying) by their man partner. I have had my Macpac longer than I have had my husband. It stands the test of time. And it’s pretty great at drowning out the soft snores. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do a damn thing for restless legs or dogs that simulate running (on your back) while dreaming. And if anyone wants to jump in and give some reasons behind the 18% kiss-of-death rating. I would love to hear it. Because for me, the kiss of death is when I’m expected to be a wonderful human on less than 5 hours of sleep, and I am cranky, moody, and anything but lovely to be around.
Fall Online Writing Program at Kripalu: I have a massive amount of love for Kripalu. When I lived in NYC, I would willingly and happily take the 4+ hour Peter Pan bus ride up to Lenox, MA, for the best R&R on the East Coast. I have spent time there every season of the year, and each time I go, it’s better than the last. It’s also where I went when I needed to run away from my life. I had just decided to quit drinking and potentially separate from my husband. I needed a time-out in a major way before I made any major irreversible decisions. This easy and inexpensive getaway is, hands down, what I miss most about living in NYC. Selfishly, I will never go there with anyone else nor sign up for a retreat that I know many of my peers would attend. The beauty for me is to go completely alone and spend my time in a place where I can unapologetically turn inward and reflect on my life. As I said, it’s a great place to solidify some big life decisions (aka sobriety).
Visiting it in person is not always possible, so one of the great things that came out of the pandemic is that Kripalu now offers some amazing online classes/workshops. On Oct 3rd, they are offering the Fall Online Writing Workshop, starting with Julie Cameron. You can register À la carte or for the whole thing with one of the many instructors that will be teaching through Oct 26th. Maybe now is the time to dip back into your morning pages practice you know you have been wanting to do again. Or maybe that sober memoir that has been itching your creative bones?
A NOTE ON THE JULY MVMNT CHALLENGE:
As promised on day one, for anyone starting and completing this MVMNT challenge, I am gifting two months of the paid subscription portion of this newsletter. If you are already a paid subscriber, you can gift a friend with the two free months (Please make sure they want it first, that's very important!).
PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL WITH THE SUBJECT LINE: “GIFT ME HERE!”
To: mia@thesoberglow.com
Please Include:
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What did you like most about the MVMNT challenge?
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Thank you so much for giving yourself the opportunity of this challenge. We will do it again in December.
Scroll on to read some thoughts I have on Dr. Peter Attia’s book Outlive and what he says about alcohol. Plus, more resources and recommendations for navigating this teetotaling midlife adventure. And if you are loving this space, share it with a friend.