Introducing The Creative Sobriety Academy and Private Community

For the last four and a half years I’ve been swimming in all things modern sobriety.

When I decide to do something, anything at all really, my next course of action is usually to go as deep down the rabbit hole as possible and find anything and everything that’s ever been offered on the subject. So, when I decided to quit drinking, quit smoking weed, and generally quit getting ripped and lean into being fully human all of the time, I set out on a mission to prove a new theory. Sobriety is the plot twist. Everything I want is on the other side of my futile attempt to escape the painful, uncomfortable, and mundane.

This particular rabbit hole led me somewhere completely new and unexpected, Sober Instagram. Oh, what a world. I created my little finsta account to stalk all the cool sober girls I found through keyword searches and hashtags. I inundated myself with positive sobriety speak, empowering language, bright colors, happy tales of life beyond booze. I started to post my thoughts, getting creative with color and font choices, alternating between quotes and photos of the garden vegetables I’d been attempting to grow alongside my newfound self-respect. I got brazen around the time of my 35th birthday that summer and decided, “Fuck it, this is who I wanna be now,” and posted a picture of my whole ass face. It was terrifying and liberating, like most great things.

Since that coming out party in July of 2020 I’ve posted lots more pictures of my whole ass face, thousands more words and musings, some silly stuff, some serious stuff, some funny stuff, some cringe stuff, and some completely unhinged stuff. I’ve made dozens of thousands of new friends and connected with people all over the world, people I would have never known without my sobriety. I love nothing more than connecting with likeminded souls, those on their own journey to understand why they do the things they do. Our little corner of the internet is an example of the positive power of social media and the good that can come of it. It’s not free of negativity though. For every 100 supportive and earnest comments I see on a post, there are undoubtedly one or two “not so nice” ones. This is unavoidable, assholes will always exist, and honestly I’m grateful for the contrast they provide. I did start to ask myself another question earlier this year though, “How many people would love to chime in on this conversation but don’t feel comfortable in such a public forum?”

I decided to create a more private forum.

Starting today, there is a private Creative Sobriety community platform that can be accessed only by registering for a membership. Each community tier has access to the private chat, exclusive in-person events, and monthly virtual workshops with me. The premier tier, The Creative Sobriety Academy, will also be granted immediate access to a video series I created outlining exactly what I tell people who come to me asking how to get and stay sober. This is not a take on traditional recovery (if you’re here you already knew that) and this is not a step by step guide. This is more like a conversation I would have with my best friend, should she come asking for my guidance. The method goes like this: The Illumination-naming the ways alcohol dilutes our experiences and looking at why we drink, The Buy-in-standing ten toes down on the hope of a bigger life without alcohol, The Process-pruning our old life to support the new vision, & The New Life-the big shift.

This new content is a way of saying thank you to those of you who’ve been following my work from the beginning and, I hope, a way you can continue supporting it. I’ve worked hard to keep my content free and accessible to anyone who might need it and I’m proud of that, but I do want to offer more long-form, premium content to those who need that, too. Today also marks the launch of my official website, where I’ve made it easier (I hope) to access all of the Creative Sobriety content platforms!

This new community platform is a respite from the prying eyes of a public social media page, a place where I hope more people will feel safe to join in the conversation and speak openly about wherever they are currently on their journey. This platform will also serve as a way to connect those of you in the same city, looking for non-drinking friends and in-person support. I am working on events from Nashville to San Francisco and anywhere in between where you guys are! (In fact, if you’re in San Fran tonight-meet me at Ocean Beach Cafe from 4-8 to hang.)

I’m so excited for this next chapter and truly blown away that it all started with a fake instagram page nearly five years ago (lol). I can still remember those first few months like they were yesterday. It’s an absolute honor to be part of your sobriety story, whatever that looks like and wherever you find yourself in it. I will continue showing up here for you and anywhere else I feel like I can add value. I’ll keep sharing my experiences and what I’ve learned from them for whatever it’s worth. I’ll stay sober and keep shouting from the rooftops that it’s the greatest act of rebellion a woman in this society can make. I’ll never stop reminding you that you are capable of your wildest dreams when you cut the toxic bullshit. I’ll always be grateful for all of you making me feel like I finally belonged somewhere. Let’s keep building that place together.

Onward we go.

Love,

K