If you’re reading this with the memory of a New Year’s hangover still fresh in your mind, you just might be considering a “Dry January.” Many people make the commitment, for a month, to dry out, so to speak. To leave the liquor behind in the previous year and start anew, alcohol-free. This year, Marvel Bar, the Minneapolis cocktail spot below …
I’m giving up alcohol during January for the 3rd year in a row. Here’s how it helps me understand my relationship with drinking after almost losing a loved one to alcoholism.
I completed my first Dry January in 2018, four months after a loved one was rushed into emergency surgery for a liver transplant that would ultimately save her life. Before that moment, I had mostly scoffed at Dry January, the cultural phenomenon that involves swearing off alcoholic beverages in the first month of the new year. It seemed like a …
The Patriarchy of Alcoholics Anonymous
I got sober in 2013. It took me about six months to transition from throwing back a few bottles of wine or pints of cheap whiskey a night to total abstinence. I didn’t go to Alcoholics Anonymous. I didn’t go to 90 meetings in 90 days. I didn’t have a sponsor. I didn’t work the steps. Most important: I wasn’t …
Why I Stopped Calling Myself an Alcoholic
On my first day of sobriety, desperate for just one person to tell me it would all be okay, I asked my friend if her father—a 20-something-year veteran of AA—might talk to me. Toward the end of our conversation he asked me, earnestly, why I hadn’t once mentioned “my alcoholism,” and because I had run out of answers, I took …
Is Anchorage ready for an alcohol-free bar?
Forget the stigma, it’s about socializing while staying healthy Getting out, meeting people and staying socially active is hard enough as it is but going out while abstaining from alcohol is even harder – especially in Anchorage. This town was built on heavy drinking, in fact, 4th Avenue was once nicknamed the world’s longest bar, and we’re not talking about …
What you need to know about hosting a successful holiday event
The snow has fallen, lights are strung around town and the season to celebrate with friends, families and colleagues is here. As you approach your company’s annual holiday party, or host your own event for the New Year, or perhaps you’re planning an upcoming wedding, you are no doubt already thinking about and planning every detail, including food and alcohol. …
Why millennials are increasingly choosing an alcohol-free lifestyle
Millennials are increasingly reevaluating their relationship with alcohol. A movement known as “sober curious” is gaining popularity with these young adults, who are questioning both the physical effects of alcohol and the way drinking is ingrained in American culture. And now, bars and breweries are looking to capitalize on the trend by offering alcohol-free options. Hari Sreenivasan reports. Click here …