What Are Your Favorite Sober Resources?

Open thread, share your thoughts! 💬

What groups, programs, books, newsletters, podcasts, apps, or other resources have supported your decision to get sober and live alcohol-free?

I recently asked this question on Substack Notes, and you’ll find the responses below, along with links to each writer’s profile and publication if you’d like to explore more sober writing and connect with kindred community.

We’d love to hear from you too! Please share your favorite recommendations in the comments to help us build a supportive, inclusive community resource.

“Lisa Smith’s memoir Girl Walks Out of a Bar was so ahead of its time! Also Paulina Pinsky’s newsletter is a helpful resource for sobriety + ED recovery 💜” — Tawny Lara, Beyond Liquid Courage

“You know what I’m going to say Dana! This Naked Mind by Annie Grace. As well as reading the book I did her 30 Day Alcohol Experiment twice, which now is also a book and an app which I hear good things about. I also listened to the This Naked Mind podcast every single day to always keep reminding myself how alcohol really works and to know I wasn’t alone in struggling with it.

Also The Little Book of Big Change by Amy Johnson, Alcohol Explained by William Porter, The Wisdom of Anxiety by Sheryl Paul, The Easy Way to Quit Drinking by Allen Carr, and The Biology of Desire by Marc Lewis.

Other people and practices that helped hugely: The Work by Byron Katie (a way to look at beliefs and ask whether they’re really true), writing daily gratitudes, guided meditations (love Sarah Blondin’s ones), relating to my inner-child/inner-child meditations, Tara Brach’s podcast and her RAIN of self-compassion meditation, going to women’s circles, having therapy and coaching (not directly about alcohol but it all supported the inner work I was doing).” – Ellie Nova, A Little Fantastic Sober Life

“Without a doubt, Laura McKowen’s books and her online sobriety support space, The Luckiest Club, is what opened my eyes and heart allowing me to admit bravely that this is my thing and how lucky am I to have a shot at living my life this way. The community that met me there has been life changing and affirming.

Sarah Hepola’s book Blackout woke me up to myself in a way I didn’t even know I needed. I will never forget that book.

Podcasts I’ve loved – especially in the earlier days of sobriety were/are Recovery Happy Hour with Tricia Lewis (she was in my ear daily), Tawny Lara’s Recovery Rocks, Soberful Podcast with Veronica Valli. I also keep returning to the Rich Roll Podcast (he steers often with a sobriety focus) and The One You Feed with Eric Zimmer. Also, I am loving what Holly Whitaker is doing with her new podcast Co-Regulation.” — Allison Deraney, DARE TO BE

“In my eyes, the inner work is far more important than the outer, but the outer still matters greatly. Perhaps people have their inner compass already pointing in the right direction but struggle to translate it outward. For me, Atomic Habits was the mighty guide that helped my intentions become a reality.” — Adam PT, Rehabitus®

“Book: We Are the Luckiest by Laura McKowen was huge! It was the first book I read where I thought, here is a strong, smart, modern woman who just had to stop drinking, and here’s how she did it.

App: I was also a big fan of Annie Grace’s neuroscience and her 30-day challenge/the challenges she presents in re-thinking our relationship to alcohol.

Podcast: The Sober Powered podcast is my favorite podcast!

Community: And lastly, AA. It is not a perfect program by any means, and most definitely engages with systemic issues, but it is the largest, most diverse, FREE resource that I have found. Taking it with a grain of salt (or, like, a few cups of salt) and hearing the message is what made it more palatable for me.

Thank you, as always, for including me in this call 🫶” — Kristen Crocker, Recoverettes

“I’m sure I’m not alone in this, but The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray was hugely influential on me. It was the first quit lit book I ever read and I didn’t realize how much I needed the perspective shift away from ‘sobriety is a sacrifice’ towards ‘sobriety is a gift.’ She really made me ask myself for the first time what I was missing out on by drinking all the time, and that planted the seeds for me to be where I am today – I’ll celebrate 1,000 days without a drink on September 25th.” — Carolyn Ellis, Mindful Dopamine

“This Naked Mind by Annie Grace was so transformative for me. I went on to join that community and their membership program, The Path, which along with a million other things allowed me to put down the bottle a bit over two years ago.

Also in early sobriety I think Laura McKowen and We Are the Luckiest, maybe (probably?) saved my life! I cannot understate how powerful that book was for me. Push Off From Here, her next book, is a wonderful treatise on how to live a sober life and I still refer to it from time time.

Ultimately though it is community. All of them. I have been part of a bunch and will be until the day I take my last breath. Being able to have conversations with people who understand the struggle, the pain, and the desire to numb that pain is priceless!” — Rob Walling, Zero Proof Rob

“Many of the ones that have been helpful for me have already been mentioned! I would also like to mention the memoir Faster Than Light by Chris Marshall! I think it’s one of the best memoirs I’ve read. It’s amazing and comes from the perspective of a black man, which is an important perspective for more of us to learn from and listen to. Also he and his co-host Anne Skriba have a podcast called Clean Play Podcast that talks about the intersections between sports and sobriety and I find it incredibly eye opening and their chemistry is wonderful. Anne is also a sober coach and can be found at cleanplaycoaching.com. I also find Alyssa Zander and Codependency Alchemy podcast insanely helpful in navigating how I recover from those behaviors in relationships. Also the Holistic Life Navigation Podcast is hugely helpful for a variety of reasons such as understanding how food impacts stress, attachment behaviors and how those impact our relationships, and somatic healing and embodiment. Thank you for always gathering resources for people it’s hugely helpful! 🙏🏻” — Jamie Magnant, Painting Nature’s Poetry

“In early sobriety and leading up to it, I joined Annie Grace’s 30-Day Alcohol Experiment (both the free version and the live paid one). I also joined Tempest Sobriety School, which was created and led by Holly Whitaker. Both were truly life-changing, and I think it would’ve taken me much longer to quit alcohol without them. I also devoured Annie Grace’s This Naked Mind book and podcast, along with Jolene Park and Aidan Donnelley Rowley’s deeply resonant podcast: EDIT: Editing Our Drinking and Our Lives (it’s especially great for anyone who struggles with ‘gray area drinking,’ a term coined by Jolene). For a big dose of laughter, I turned to the Seltzer Squad.

Especially in the first couple of months of sobriety, I read ‘quit lit’ every night before bed. My absolute favorites were Holly Whitaker’s Quit Like a Woman and Laura McKowen’s We Are the Luckiest. I also found Gabby Bernstein’s books incredibly uplifting and expansive during that time. And Debbie Ford’s The Dark Side of the Light Chasers was one of the most important, transformative books I’ve read.

Two or three years into sobriety, I discovered In The Rooms, which has online meetings every day throughout the day. Even though I didn’t get sober through 12-Step programs, I found ITR’s 12-Step meetings beautifully supportive. I attended various AA ones, NA, ACA, CODA, Recovery Dharma—basically whatever was happening when I got online. I found all of them extremely welcoming and inclusive, and think this is a phenomenal resource for anyone who can’t afford pricey group programs (ITR is free).

Africa Brooke’s Beyond the Self is probably my favorite podcast of all time. While only a few episodes focus on sobriety specifically, Africa is sober and weaves key sobriety and recovery themes and insights into her work—including emotional sobriety and sobriety from painful relationship dynamics. I’ve also taken live online masterclasses with Africa and enthusiastically recommend anything she offers.

Lastly, if you’re looking for alcohol-free writers spanning diverse backgrounds, focus areas, and paths of recovery, make sure to check out SoberStack™, an annotated directory featuring 175 Substack newsletters and growing!” — Dana Leigh Lyons, PERFECT HUNGER

What are your favorite sober resources? Please share in the comments!

And before you go, would you take a second to tap that little heart? It lets others know there’s something helpful here and grows our sober community.