On February 12, 2018 I embarked on a life-changing journey to go a full 90 days without drinking a drop of alcohol.

I imbibed more than I cared to and thought that taking a break from alcohol would be a great activity for Lent. Alas, having been entrenched in a drinking culture for more than three decades, I had no idea how hard it would be.

To help me on my pathway, I joined a global tribe called One Year No Beer that runs 28, 90 and 365- day booze free challenges infused with positive daily emails, teaching videos and live Zoom calls conveying a myriad of strategies to live a better life. Most important, the movement comes along with a private Facebook group that is the most perfect example of the positive power of social media I have ever experienced.

Long story short, as I approached my 90-day finish line of no alcohol I realized that I was barely getting started with my personal transformation and upped to the challenge of going a full year sans alcohol.

As I welcome Day 416 booze free, here are a few reasons why I have decided to go a second year without alcohol:

• One year is simply not enough time to fully unravel and heal the damage from some 30 years of ingesting one of the top five most addictive substances on the planet. Go ahead and Google it. Alcohol is right up there with heroin and cocaine. However, it’s the one substance that if you don’t partake in, people all around the world think we’re weird or that we have some kind of “disease.”
• Ending the habit of ingesting alcohol–which numbed my feelings for decades–has forced me to face every part of me. I’ve had to sit with and process awful feelings that used to be masked by glasses of Sauvignon Blanc and distracted by wretched hangovers. Guess what I’ve discovered? I really like the real me~warts, wonderful and all.
• I am on a pursuit to live my best life. Why would I sabotage this by putting something into my physical body that does nothing, and I mean nothing, for my well-being. All of the news articles that tout the benefits of drinking alcohol conveniently don’t report that those same benefits can be gained by eating a whole array of fruits and veggies. I recently read an article that explained how, “red wine can help you lose weight.” Guess what, so can walking or riding a bike–and these two activities don’t result in feeling fuzzy-brained afterwards.

We have all heard the phrase, “When one door closes, another opens.” So for me, the door of drinking alcohol has closed and I am so excited to be walking through a new door filled with growth, gratitude and grandeur.

Peace and love,

Kathleen