Beyond Liquid Courage: Old Blog

Sober Holiday Gift Guide

Tawny Lara — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 12:45:14 GMT

{This blog post is sponsored by the incredible folks at Soberlink}

Looking for a gift guide that celebrates sober entrepreneurs? Look no further! The holidays are a tough time for many folks in recovery. Alcohol is seemingly everywhere. Family drama is often heightened. And there's an incessant pressure to buy buy buy. Depressive episodes spike around th…

Accountability in Sobriety

Tawny Lara — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 15:26:49 GMT

((This is post is sponsored by Soberlink))

I can't think of anything more important in early sobriety than accountability. In fact, accountability is why I started this blog. I realized that alcohol was standing in the way of my writing (and myriad other important things), so SobrieTeaParty.com kept me accountable for both writing and abstaining from boo…

Three Spirit: The Perfect Drink for any Stage of Sobriety

Tawny Lara — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 15:57:35 GMT

paid partnership with Three Spirit Drinks

The joys that come with my sobriety are often inspired by what I gain (improved mental health, more money, love, etc...) vs. what I gave up (alcohol). I spent countless years *still* drinking because I looked at sobriety through a simple, naïve lens: Sobriety = Not Drinking. While that's technically true, my hypo…

Sober Dating - The Perfectly Named New Dating App

Tawny Lara — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 09:40:57 GMT

Dating is challenging AF, y'all. In between the fun moments of first kisses and getting to know each other, there are frequent moments of panic.

There's the dreaded first date jitters: What should I wear?! What will we talk about?! What if it sucks and I'd rather be home with my cats?! The post-first date jitters: Why haven't they called me back?! Did we…

Sober-Friendly Gift Ideas

Tawny Lara — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 16:59:03 GMT

The holidays are a tough time for many folks. This year will likely be one of the most challenging holiday seasons since many of us will not be able to visit our loved ones. Depressive episodes spike around the holidays during a normal year, especially for folks with Seasonal Affective Disorder in cold climates. Plus, now we have the isolation factor du…

How Sobriety Helped Me Wake Up Politically

Tawny Lara — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 09:50:54 GMT

This upcoming election is important AF. To process my incessant anxiety, I wrote about my political awakening that happened as a side effect of sobriety. Read an excerpt below. Click here to read the full essay in The Temper.

I grew up in Waco, Texas, where the food is deep-fried and the politics are deep red. Politics often makes for a confusing topic, …

I'm in a Book, Y'all!

Tawny Lara — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 08:57:00 GMT

September is National Recovery Month. It was also the launch of The Addiction Diaries, an anthology edited by Queen Anna David!! My essay about Sober Sex was selected to be featured in this book! Exclamation point!

In November 2015, I stopped drinking for a year to see how it would impact my writing and productivity. Needless to say…nearly 5 years later,…

Sobriety Helped Me Embrace My Bisexuality

Tawny Lara — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 08:47:02 GMT

This past week was Bisexual Visibility Week. To celebrate, I wrote about sobriety and bisexuality for The Temper. Read an excerpt below. Click here to read the full essay.

I discovered my bisexuality at age 14, nearly two decades before I embraced the label. It began in a typical after-school moment. I sat on the couch eating Pizza Rolls while watching C…

Freelancing 101

Tawny Lara — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 13:32:14 GMT

Freelancing can be messy, just like the clothes on my bed in this photo. I started this blog in 2015 to document a year-long social experiment: no booze for my 30th year. I had a few pieces published before that, but I had never been paid for my words at that point (unless you count concert tickets and free products as payment). It took me years of blog…

Making My Mess Into a Memoir

Tawny Lara — Fri, 10 Jul 2020 16:46:46 GMT

I've been working on my memoir for years now. I've also spent a fair amount of time going back and forth on what exactly I want this memoir to be about. Yes, sobriety, but what else? Blog to book? A collection of essays? Expanding upon one of my viral articles into its own book? Sure, those are all valid options. But they haven't inspired me enough to a…

That Time I Poured Out (and Smashed) My Jack Daniels Bottle

Tawny Lara — Mon, 18 May 2020 09:21:22 GMT

Early sobriety can be a weird time. I made it weirder by holding onto my remaining bottle of Jack Daniels for nearly a year. While newfound sobriety helped me think clearly for the first time since I began self-medicating at age 16, it was still a brand new, scary territory. It was 2015 when I made the decision to stop drinking and start this blog (Clic…

My New Normal as a New Yorker

Tawny Lara — Tue, 12 May 2020 08:34:31 GMT

None of us could have predicted what 2020 would turn into. Yet here we are, somehow getting used to our New Normal. Before the world seemingly imploded, I was like many New Yorkers: busy AF as a freelancer with a podcast and a blog and way too many social media accounts and a day job because health insurance and steady income. I rushed from my apartment…

How to Start a Blog, Build a Following, and Make Some Money

Tawny Lara — Tue, 05 May 2020 12:37:32 GMT

I've been blogging right here on SobrieTeaParty.com since I quit drinking in 2015. Yesterday I taught an IG Live class called How to Start a Blog, Build a Following, and Make Some Money, sharing some of the tips I learned over these last 4.5 years of blogging. While each section of the class could be a 2-hour course on its own, I basically outlined the …

May Writing Classes with BIGVISION

Tawny Lara — Mon, 04 May 2020 12:12:37 GMT

For the month of April, I taught weekly writing classes for @bigvisionnyc. I’m so excited to keep this writing series rolling into May! Here’s the schedule for May’s *free* writing classes with @bigvisionnyc on IG Live! All classes are open to anyone who wants to write and learn more about the writing process. Whether you just bought your first journal,…

Quarantunes that Keep me Feeling Grüvi While Stuck at Home

Tawny Lara — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 11:42:37 GMT

I've officially been quarantining for seven weeks. While I'm grateful that my job is paying me to stay home during this time, this drastic lifestyle change paired with the exhausting 24-hour news cycle has been a challenging adjustment for all of us.

These past 4+ years of sobriety gave me some tools that help during times of high stress and heightened a…

Financial Tips for Folks in Recovery

Tawny Lara — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 08:26:29 GMT

I never thought I'd be the type of person to give financial advice, seeing as my financial history is a hot mess of credit card debt, splurging, and treating my savings account as Checking Account: The Sequel. My latest piece for The Temper is about how sobriety improved my finances. I wrote this article before the world seemingly imploded. Some of this…

Three Books That Kept Me Sober and Sane This Week

Tawny Lara — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 11:01:19 GMT

I read three books this week. Friday marked five weeks since I've been quarantining at home, away from my day job - and I felt it. Like most folks, I'm experiencing news-fatigue, cabin fever, and overall restlessness. Staring at screens all day is taking its toll. I used to take a break from reality by getting tipsy, but that option is off the table. In…

I Bought Myself a Cameo from Mandy Moore

Tawny Lara — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 17:23:39 GMT

Like most people right now, I'm struggling with COVID anxiety from being cooped up for days on end. As a form of self-care (and charitable donation), I bought myself this Cameo from Mandy Moore. Then I wrote about it for Audiofemme.

Here's an excerpt:

It’s a strange experience to receive a deeply personalized message from someone whose career I’ve followe…

RECAP: Readings on Recovery - Instagram Live Edition

Tawny Lara — Sat, 11 Apr 2020 08:30:00 GMT

Last week I led the first-ever Instagram Live version of Readings on Recovery. What began as an NYC-based IRL reading series in 2017 has adapted to these unprecedented times. Six amazing sober people from all over the country “called in” to video chat about recovery. Leading this event through Instagram Live lets people participate from all over the wor…

Jumping For Joy For...Quarters

Tawny Lara — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 17:35:45 GMT

If you would have told me a month ago that I'd be elated to receive a care package of quarters, face masks, and a gallon of hand sanitizer, I'd think you were insane. But this is our reality in the spring of 2020. The reason we need hand sanitizer and face masks is obvious. But quarters...yea...that was a unique request.

Quarantining looks a lot differen…