Love Sober Podcast

In this episode I have the wonderful opportunity to talk once again with Ann Dowsett Johnston. Ann is the bestselling author of Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol, named one of the top 10 books of 2013 by the Washington Post. An award-winning journalist for many years, Ann is now a psychotherapist and the founder and leader of Writing Your Recovery, a popular online memoir-writing course for women. https://www.anndowsettjohnston.com/workshops Winner of seven National Magazine Awards, she is also the recipient of a Southam Journalism Fellowship and the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy. It was for the latter that she prepared a 14-part series on Women and Alcohol in the Toronto Star, looking at the closing gender gap on risky drinking. In 2013, she wrote Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol, a book named one of the top 10 of the year by the Washington Post. We talk about why writing is such an important tool for women in recovery, how to look after yourself emot

In this episode we talk about our experiences at the She Recovers Conference in Miami. The incredible speakers and the experience of being with 500 women in recovery, dancing, doing yoga, learning, swimming, chatting was an incredible experience. We met other She Recovers Coaches, old friends who have been on the pod, and made new friends. It felt like a global sisterhood moment for sure. There were so many highlights but for Kate, some of her top moments were Nadia Bolz Webber , who founded the Church for Sinners and Saints  in Detroit and for Mandy, Shari Hampton and Jennifer Pastiloff There were so many wow and ahhh moments, dancing with Payton and yoga-ing with Taryn. Still holding on and processing and smiling. On another note... change being part of life and necessary for growth and health, Mandy talks about her decision to step back from Love Sober & the podcast, to honour health, wellbeing, family and transitions after much deliberation. Kate will continue to run Love Sober & they remain great

In this episode Kate talks to Intuitive Eating Coach Tiffany North about healing disordered eating, the neurobiology of stress & trauma and her long-term recovery.  As an RN, Certified Intuitive Eating Professional, and creator of the Food Attachment Model ™, Tiffany helps people with disordered eating finally find freedom, balance, and satisfaction. She personally struggled with disordered eating and found a path to peace. It was so transformational that she dedicated her work to helping others do the same. Tiffany's passion is helping people stop wasting their precious energy drained by the food and body struggle so that they can use that energy to be powerful leaders in the world. She has also been alcohol and substance free since 1998 and feels that recovery has informed all areas of her life, especially her work as a nurse and a coach. When she isn’t coaching, speaking, and podcasting, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, being in nature and creating more fun, adventure, and play in life

In this episode we discuss the load of carers & in our cases as mothers. We discuss the need for honesty, extra support and wider nexus for us to thrive. Our mental health journeys, our kids', how we walk the line of nurture and letting go and questions about why the obsession with productivity is BS are all topics for today.  Resources mentioned: The Body is Not an Apology  The Human Library at Copenhagen  Co-Women group Sussex, UK. 

In this episode we talk about people pleasing or fawning/ appeasing as it's sometimes referred to. This is actually an adaptive trauma response and a result of us having to fit in, play small and hide ourselves in order to fit in. We look at it's spectrum, how it can actually be a superpower when used wisely and how we can look after ourselves as we learn to connect with others healthily, set boundaries and stand our ground.  Grab a cuppa and let's chat.  Resources mentioned: Untamed Journal, Glennon Doyle  Playing Big, Tara Mohr  Love Kate & Mandy 

In this episode Kate talks to dear friend and sober legend, Nana Treen, long term Soberista, occasional blogger, advocate for alcohol-free life and creator AF Loud and Proud. https://nanatreen.wordpress.com/ Treen got sober at 59 and in this episode we discuss the challenges of kicking the drink later in life and how to harness the power of 'Life's Third Trimester' to create a mindset for successful sobriety. Nana Treen is a truly inspiration woman, proud to consider herself an Elder and a Sober Sister.  Grab a cuppa and let's chat. K&M X 

In this episode we discuss our journeys in sobriety and our experiences as mums. We look at why it's so important for women to have the appropriate support, community and care as mothers to honour that rite of passage, protect our mental and physical well-being and to ask the real questions about care - not just be sold Mummy Wine Time. We revisit our first book Love Yourself Sober - a Self Care guide to Alcohol-Free Living for Busy Mothers. which was the book we REALLY needed to write and is a collection of all the things that helped us  along the way.  We also reference the Vision Boarding Workshop with Kate , this coming Sunday on Mother's Day in the UK at 5pm. This is an opportunity to engage your creativity in envisioning a life you love sober or bringing more of what you love into your sober life.  Booking link here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/spring-vision-boarding-for-sobriety-tickets-291730663267 Grab a cuppa and let's chat K&M X 

In this episode Mandy talks to Mental Health specialist and trainer Amanda Townsend. Amanda is a self-care & self-love advocate who uses her lived experience of poor mental health to inspire others on their journey to becoming their best selves. In this episode we talk about the impact of alcohol on mental health, we talk about Amanda's work and the importance of mental health first aider training to challenge the stigma and create a safer and healthier world for all. Amanda is incredibly passionate about honest and diverse conversations about mental health in her work and it was a great pleasure to dive into her self-care and self-love story.    www.pharustraining.com The Mandy & Co Show - YouTube   TheMandyAndCoShow (@themandyandcoshow) • Instagram photos and videos --

This week on the podcast Mandy speaks with Michael @happywithoutthehooch It was a real pleasure to talk to Michael and for him to share his incredible journey to sobriety. It shows us all that there is possibility and we do recover and how comedy, community and connection can provide the tools to a life without alcohol. There is talk of overdose and suicidal ideation and attempt in this conversation. So please do make sure you are in the right space to listen, it is also a conversation of hope, survival and recovery which is really inspiring. Michael Sargood is 39 years old and from Southend-on-Sea in the UK and is over one year sober. At the depths of his alcohol addiction, he was drinking up to a litre of neat vodka per night and was diagnosed as being alcohol dependent. Despite this, he managed to hold down a good job until the last few months of his addiction. He decided to quit alcohol in March 2020 and went to live with his parents for the first three months of his recovery. He was sober seven months

We kick off our Love Yourself Sober series this week, with themes from our book Love Yourself Sober - a Self-Care Guide to Alcohol-free Living. In Part 1 we talk about neuroscience and sobriety and the simple things we do to help keep our brains and nervous systems well. With tools such as nutrition, sleep, movement but also joy , connection and calm, we chat through the hows, whys and wherefores of this fascinating subject and how we put together our own brain/ body sober toolkits and how to work with these without overwhelm or placing unrealistic expectations on ourselves.  Grab a cuppa and let's chat.  K&M X 

In this episode, Kate talks to Emma Sobersonic, who is a sober life advocate  has been sober since 09/11/2015

This week Kate talks to Rachael May, accredited professional Transformational Life Coach and author of Radically Sober. In this episode, just in time for Valentine's Day we dive into Rachael's sober story and into the juicy topic of sober dating, romantic relationships and ultimately with our relationship with ourselves. We look at why the decision to go alcohol free is the foundational piece of self-love which enables all the other pieces to come together in the self-care sober toolkit.     Rachael  trained with Mindful Talent Coaching Academy, is also a trained Nutritional Therapist, an entrepreneur, a small business owner and a former secondary school/ high school Spanish teacher. Her mission with her writing and coaching is to help as many women as possible get unstuck and live fulfilling, wholehearted lives.  Rachael May lives in her native Warwickshire, England with her partner and their gorgeous border collie.  Radically Sober  is her first book and is available on Amazon worldwide. You can fin

In this week's podcast we chat about the end of Dry January and how to navigate the next part of the year and journey. With a focus on this last part of winter, mindfulness, self-care and looking for the light when the days are still dark, we explore the practices that keep us going and loving sober.  We reflect on reflection, and bringing light in terms of growing awareness and embracing and allowing the light of happiness in. Grab a cuppa and let's chat  Love K&M XXX

In this week's podcast, Kate talks to the wonderful Veronica Valli about her new  book ‘Soberful: Uncover a sustainable, fulfilling life free of alcohol’ published by Sounds True. It's an opportunity once again to benefit from her wisdom and experience as a true pioneer of sustainable sobriety. Continuously sober since May 2nd, 2000, and with 20 years experience as a recovery coach and psychotherapist, she understands that there is no ONE path to recovery. Veronica teaches that alcohol is not the problem—it’s only a symptom of a deeper underlying problem. She helps women dig deep, embrace change, and become who they are meant to be. “I return people to themselves,” she says. Veronica has helped thousands of women not only recover from alcohol but also transform their lives. Veronica works with women and men all over the world through her successful and innovative online recovery programs. She developed the Soberful program into an online subscription community; Soberful Life. Now based in the US after reloc

This week on the pod, Mandy interview Lois Beim and Liz Mckean from The Phoenix @riserecoverylive  Liz McKean is a Yoga Teacher and Person in Recovery.  Born and raised in Western NY, she lives in Tampa, Florida with her husband and rescue dog and cats.  After years of struggling with anxiety and drinking, she found strength and sobriety on the yoga mat, and soon after found community with The Phoenix.  In her current role of National Virtual Program Manager at The Phoenix, Liz helps bring the sober, active community to people across the country and beyond through live streaming events such as fitness, yoga, meditation, and social gatherings.  She also teaches yoga within her community, and at a local treatment center.  There is nothing she’d rather do than work for and with people in and seeking recovery.  Sharing her story and the joy of community and yoga is the honor of her life.   Lois is a yoga teacher, personal trainer and fitness instructor and has been sober for around five years. She lives in Surrey

It's the first episode of 2022... so welcome to any new Dry January listeners and welcome back to old friends. In this episode we discuss tips and tools from Kate's  fitness training sessions and how they translate into sobriety. The way we manage and monitor progress, reward ourselves, acknowledge our achievements in other areas of habit change and the way we manage pitfalls and setbacks are so important for how we view our success and at the end of the day, ourselves. As always we need to treat ourselves with self compassion and get the building blocks in place to give ourselves the best chance of success.  The secret of our success is built day by day, so keep going, grab yourself a cuppa and let's chat.  Love Kate & Mandy x  Join our course here https://www.lovesober.com/courses

Happy New Year! In this episode we say goodbye politely and not so politely  to 2021(aherm) and set some gentle intentions and hopes for lighter times and more play in 2022 and discuss our respective Word of the Year. Once more round the sun folks. We bloody did it!  What is your WOTY? Message us at hello@lovesober.com or tag us @instagram.com/lovesober.cic Join us at https://www.lovesober.com Get in touch with your ideas and requests for topics and guests.  We love to hear from you.  Grab a cuppa and let's chat. Love K&M xxx 

In this week's podcast Kate chats to dear Sober Sis, Sobriety Activist Nancy who is known on Tiktok and Instagram as Sober Loving Radical. https://www.instagram.com/sober_loving_radical/ Nancy is a  49 year old mum of three boys aged 9, 15 and 16 and has been sober since April 2018. She was diagnosed with ADHD in April 2020 she says  'after a lifetime of feeling like I didn't quite fit in and struggling with low self esteem." She is  a sobriety and self discovery coach, (in training) and can currently be found on TikTok and Instagram as Sober Loving Radical. Her mission is to define and promote 'Radical Sobriety' as a positive, joyful, lifestyle choice. A vehicle for self discovery and living a fulfilling and empowered life. In her private life my biggest drive is to break the cycle of generational trauma, to enable her children to feel better about themselves than she did growing up. The is real talk for real times, how we actually feel in the run up to Xmas this second pandemic winter and what we think w

In this episode we continue to assemble and refine the advent toolkit - we look at managing energy and staying balanced through 'Wintering' - which is respecting that deep need to rest and restore, do less and why it's so, so important for our sobriety and wellbeing.  We also discuss approaching this through self compassion - modelling that to our kids rather that this hyper perfectionism which feels  so stressful and actually stops us being present - which is that greatest gift we can give them - and ourselves.  Hunker down, turn off all notifications, grab and cuppa and let's chat. Love Kate & Mandy     

In this episode we chat about how to put our best feet forward for the Xmas period and boss our sobriety with a badass toolkit. We are talking about willpower and how to build our sober identities, liminal thinking, diary being the weapon of choice, respecting the ebb and doing it OUR way.  Head over to https://www.lovesober.com/blog/the-advent-ure-starts-here-your-guide-to-an-alcohol-free-december for more inspo about the toolkit.  You've got it, we've got you - let's do this!  Grab a cuppa and let's chat. Love Kate & Mandy