From boozy besties to sober sisters (and defo my favourite article to date)
This time last year, I wasn’t sure I’d ever write about my own messy experience with alcohol addiction.
And now here I am with my second published piece!
Whenever I sit down to write about this stuff, I know I’m going to have to get uncomfortable. Dwell on periods of my life that felt bleak and crazy. But there’s a huge upside too, because I also get to reflect on how much life has changed for the better since I quit the booze.
This piece for the January 2026 edition of Woman & Home magazine is especially poignant, because it’s about one of the best things sobriety has given me - a friendship so great I genuinely don’t know how I’d function without it.
As with all good stories, there’s a twist. When Clare and I first met, our friendship revolved around booze. We were partners in wine, often drinking until one of us woke up in a bush or with a shoe missing.
When I got sober, I wondered how our friendship would change, or if it would survive at all.
But that’s the twist, because three years after I jacked in drinking, Clare did too. And our friendship didn’t just survive, it thrived as we went from propping each other up in bars to supporting one another through the highs and lows of recovery.
This article wouldn’t have existed at all without Clare in more ways than one. When I first told her I wanted to start writing about my alcoholism (but was shit scared to do so) she was my biggest cheerleader. Plus, it was watching Clare speak openly about her own recovery that inspired me to put my big girl pants on and do the same. Working in the employee wellbeing space, Clare often shares her own story and is all about smashing taboos around addiction and mental health (if you’re after an awesome wellbeing specialist by the way, I urge you to check her out).
You can read the full article here.
Oh, and if you’re planning a piece of work with an addiction or mental health theme, and want to work with a writer who has walked the walk, I’d love to hear from you! Drop me a line using the form below. 👇
My latest piece on alcohol addiction for Woman & Home magazine