Healthy conflict

Dear friends, Yesterday the boyfriend and I were watching a film on our giant screen (we were given a projector for our house warming party, best gift ever). It was a good film, somewhat bloody and gory, but also a moving love story between two lost teens (it’s called « Bones and all » if

The Controversial Topic of Nonalcoholic Drinks

Hi friends, I’ve been sober for over a year, and I’m fortunate that cravings very rarely hit me now. I barely think about drinking anymore, unless some new or triggering situation comes up, in which case I generally know what to do and have tools to navigate the whole thing. But yesterday, a new situation

Day 275: 9 months! No celebration after all…

I was planning on writing an uplifting and victorious 9 months post, but as usual, reality has a talent for kicking you in the ass whenever you have set expectations.  Today on the East Coast of the U.S.A. the weather is stormy. Grey and stuffy, hot, humid, irritating. I am not a fan of complaining

Day 200: Shrooms and quarantine ?!!

Yep, you heard me. But first, I would like to make a clear disclaimer: Most of them are illegal, and for a reason. MANY of them will lead to addictive, self-destructive and sometimes deadly situations. As for the special class of Psychedelics, they can be dangerous if taken unsafely and without preparation, and can provide

Day 177: Will alcoholism kill my mom?

As I approach the 6 month mark, I am faced with a difficult piece of news. Last week I found out that my mother (a heavy alcoholic since as far back as I can remember) has recently developed alcohol induced hepatitis, or as she puts it… her liver is “very tired”. This is how I

Day 140: Strength and fragility

Dearest WordPress friends,  My apologies for such a long absence. It’s not that I forgot about you or think I have this sobriety thing all figured out (oooooooh no…. believe me, I ain’t got nothing figured out !). It’s just that my dissertation chapter that was due on December 16th is STILL NOT FINISHED and

Day 105: Survived “Family of alcoholics” gathering :)

Wow. I feel almost guilty for the title of this post, but I’m not going to sugar-coat my feelings so as to not upset my introjected parental figures, that would be insane ! 🙂  (I don’t think my real parents will ever read this blog) Anyway…. I made it ! My first family event since

Day 104: Paris, Paris, Paris!

Ah, the City of Lights, my old home. I landed yesterday and spent most of the day sleeping after a 15 hour flight (I took 3 different planes!). After years of living abroad and going back and forth across the globe I don’t know where my home is anymore. I have grown used to saying

Day 97: Far from perfect! -Bye bye ego, hello shame!

These days I am under tremendous pressure work-wise: the third chapter of my PhD is due at the end of the week and I am nowhere near finished. This means I am putting in 10 hour long days, while battling very intense feelings of anxiety and discouragement, which (NO WORRIES!) is just part of the

Day 94: Sober “work party” anniversary !

As I buckle up to face the holiday cravings and fears (yay my first Sober Xmas!!), here is a quick post to mention a “big” change that I hadn’t suspected and really surprised me this week. Three months ago, almost day for day, I flew back from France to the U.S.A, ready to take on