Living Juicy

Years back I was inspired by an artist named SARK for her descriptions of a creative, positive, engaged, wild life. I've been moved by brilliant writers (and especially food writers) who capture in words the sensual pleasures of juicy peaches, of soft rain, of huge belly laughs, of sinking fingers into clay or toes into sand.

I've thrilled at the exhilaration of pushing past comfort zones. Of riding an elephant down Julia Street right past Emeril Lagasse's restaurant. Of being the very last in the group to jump off a rock ledge into an ice-cold white water river. Of connecting with strangers and making friends...all over the place.

Somewhere in my 40s, I think I stopped living juicy, and instead just "got juiced." I associated alcohol with fun. But my experience now tells me something different. For most people, steady alcohol shrinks their experiences rather than expands them. Yet despite that, we genuinely fear that giving up or reducing alcohol will take the luster out of life. It's no wonder, given the way sobriety has been understood or depicted in pop culture. Luckily there is a new understanding of the terms of being alcohol free and it looks and feels pretty saucy to me.

I've just started reading The Sober Lush and can already recommend it. The writing itself is lush, as the authors are true writers, published authors, both of them. The introduction asks, “Are you curious about living a giant, dirty, wild, glamorous life without consequences of numbness of regret?”

If you are, check out this interview with the authors here, and consider joining my next and biggest program yet, a Sober October that will begin with pre-work in late-September! No need to stop drinking yet (unless you want to). Just let me know that you’d like in, and I’ll start sending you helpful information, fun tips and even recipes.