I don’t usually send out a newsletter on the weekend. My intent is not to flood your inbox. I am here today creating my go-to post that will be the focal point of my publication. It will sit at the center of my profile on
so that folks who visit this space can glean into my reason(s) for being here. It’s the “start here” for new readers and visitors - the outfit to try on to see if I might be a good fit. I think I’m a one-size fits all. Read on to find out if you agree.What is DARE TO BE DRY and why?
I’m Allison and I am daring to speak up, as a sober person. Mostly, I’m speaking up to myself. For myself. Cutting through my own bullshit - sometimes with a megaphone, sometimes in a soft whisper.
DARE TO BE DRY is sobriety focused. But you don’t have to have ever had a problematic tango with alcohol to be here and feel resonance. My relationship with alcohol started off typical. It mirrored all the ways society convinces us alcohol is to be used. I sipped it during the good, the bad and eventually, the everything in between. Because it’s an addictive substance, my use bordered on excessive. And my brain got addicted. Overtime, I lost access to all of who I was. Looking at me, you wouldn’t have known it. But I knew it.
Walking the path of recovery is how I found my way home. And writing is how I design the home I long to live in. And there are rooms in my home that I know you’ll be comfortable visiting- they’ll feel familiar. The home I am decorating now is built on a foundation of sustenance, love, freedom, dexterity. Sometimes clouds linger over the home’s roof, and I’ll write about that. Sometimes the house needs a good cleaning. Things get dusty and I’ll show up on the page looking for help tidying up. Other days the sun is shining so bright through the windows, I will show up on the page singing words of acclamation and gratitude. Really, my writing is about living a life of paying attention. Opening the doors to those dark and messy closets we avoid. And showcasing the sun lit den where you sink into contentment. All of it.
Perhaps I could and should name my publication, simply, DARE TO BE and leave it at that.
This is the space where I get curious and invite whatever parts of me want to step up that day. For decades I spent so much time and energy doing. Writing reminds me of the importance of simply being. It slows me down. I’ve learned I don’t like the pace in the fast lane.
There’s something that happens to me when I write. I stop hiding from myself. In being vulnerable with readers, I am pulling a chair up beside my true self. And I sit there for a bit. It’s a sort of reunion.
In getting wide open on the page, I expose me to me. My hands write the words that my heart felt were too scary to speak aloud. Once they are in print, they are no longer threatening to me. It’s a transformation that is saving me. I’m learning a new language.
Who am I off the page?
I am a woman navigating mid-life. I am 45 years old, a mom to two (a teenage son and a tween daughter), a wife, daughter, sister, friend, an Enneagram 1 (*sigh*), a dog-lover, an empath - who dreams to dream. Who believes it’s not too late to be something else. My “real job” is in law - I am a real estate attorney. Law hardly ever leaves room for creativity, and I crave creativity in this season of my life. I always longed to be a writer, yet I convinced myself that it wouldn’t fit into the equation of my life. I no longer believe that - for me or anyone else. What You Want Wants You. This is my compass now.
What I am going to do here:
Show up sad, mad, glad, unsure
Showcase how and why sobriety is something I fiercely protect and cherish
Invite you to look inward, slow down your pace, examine the world
Share my journey of parenting my kids - which, I’m learning, is a process of reverse parenting myself
What I am not going to do here:
Pretend or posture that I am fully recovered
Be a prohibitionist - I am not here to push an agenda that you NEED to get sober. I will only encourage you stay curious about when/why you reach for your substance or thing of choice
Flood your inbox. You will only see me in your email/inbox once a week (twice if you upgrade to a paid subscription)
Only write about sobriety. I will be writing about living into your days. Slowing down, not jumping in the rat race of 24/7 productivity.
Why subscribe?
Because maybe, just maybe, you want to DARE TO BE, too. Because maybe, just maybe, a soft voice is whispering to you, too. Nudging you to get curious with yourself. Honest with yourself. Back to the young person you made promises to. Back to the you YOU know you are meant to be. Join me. I dare you.
INDEX:
While I would love for you to read through all 24 of my essays, here are the three I’m most proud of:
And here is the very first one - the one I was MOST nervous to hit “post” on - because it was my shaky introduction. The first time I dared to step into the arena.
I love your essays, Allison; and you're absolutely right that you do NOT need to be on a sobriety journey to enjoy these beautiful and inspiring words.
I'm a bit guilty of over-subscribing to stuff, which I'm not able to then read (working on that) but I always make time for your posts, as they bring something inspiring to my day, every time.
“Writing reminds me of the importance of simply being. It slows me down. I’ve learned I don’t like the pace in the fast lane.”
💯