Sisters In Sobriety

Sonia welcomes Ginny Hogan for an honest, funny conversation about sober dating, identity, and learning what actually feels good without alcohol. Sonia helps unpack the expectations that can follow women into recovery. Ginny Hogan is a stand up comic & writer. Her newest book, OBEY IN ADVANCE, co-written with Carlos Greaves, is out now. What happens when drinking stops being the way to loosen up on dates? Does getting sober automatically improve relationships? And what if being a comedian doesn’t mean wanting to entertain everyone at dinner? Sonia and Ginny explore sober sex, compatibility, and the freedom to stop performing. Their conversation covers early sobriety’s “pink cloud,” finding support that fits, wellness overload, and making room for discomfort. They discuss changing relationship patterns, accepting insecurities, and protecting time to step back. Ginny also shares how political satire creates space for laughter and catharsis. From a competitive childhood in New York to dating apps and late-night comedy, Ginny traces how drinking became woven into her life. She shares the physical distress that pushed her toward change, an awkward return to sober intimacy, and how marriage and motherhood helped reshape the stories she wanted to tell. This is Sisters in Sobriety, the support community that helps women change their relationship with alcohol. Check out our substack for extra tips, tricks and resources. Ginny’s Links WebsiteEmail GinnyOBEY IN ADVANCEAll links and appearances SIS Links 💌 Sisters In Sobriety Substack – where the magic (and the mocktail recipes) happen📬 Sisters In Sobriety Email📸 Sisters In Sobriety Instagram Timestamped Highlights 00:00 — Introducing Ginny Hogan02:00 — Debate, competition, and wanting validation04:00 — Dating apps and drinking before dates06:00 — Recognizing that moderation wasn’t working07:00 — Feeling physically ill and seeking answers09:00 — Fearing sober dating and stand-up10:00 — A life that shrinks and expands12:00 — The pink cloud and finding recovery support14:00 — When wellness becomes expensive overcompensation16:00 — Making room to opt out17:00 — Sobriety labels and personal boundaries21:00 — Feeling beyond addiction, yet fearing intoxication23:00 — When relationships don’t improve with sobriety26:00 — Returning to sober dating and intimacy29:00 — Relationship patterns that survive quitting alcohol34:00 — Learning to experience discomfort without drinking36:00 — Body image and complicated health changes42:00 — The pressure to be funny on dates49:00 — OBEY IN ADVANCE and political catharsis50:00 — What satire can reveal

On Sisters in Sobriety, Sonia and Kathleen support women in changing their relationship with alcohol and trusting themselves along the way. In this episode, Sonia talks with Nikki Sapiro Vinckier, an OB-GYN physician assistant, author of We Deserve More, and founder of Take Back Trust, about advocating for better women’s healthcare. What does medical gaslighting sound like? When does “that’s normal” leave a real concern unanswered? How can perimenopause, sobriety, and changing relationships complicate the way women understand their bodies? Sonia and Nikki explore pain, reproductive health, and the questions patients may hesitate to ask. Nikki explains how to prepare for an appointment, describe symptoms through their impact on daily life, and ask for a clear next step. The conversation covers perimenopause and menopause, trauma-informed care, LGBTQ+ inclusion, weight stigma, and rebuilding trust in a changing body. The conversation becomes personal when Sonia shares the fear and isolation of receiving an HPV result by mail. Their exchange explores sexual-health stigma, gaps in communication, and why questions about prevention and follow-up deserve space in the exam room. This is Sisters in Sobriety, the support community that helps women change their relationship with alcohol. Check out our substack for extra tips, tricks and resources. Nikki’s Links 📸 Instagram📚 We Deserve More SIS Links 💌 Sisters In Sobriety Substack – where the magic (and the mocktail recipes) happen📬 Sisters In Sobriety Email📸 Sisters In Sobriety Instagram🌐 Kathleen’s Website Kathleen does not endorse any products mentioned in this podcast📸 Kathleen’s Instagram Timestamped Highlights 01:00 — Meet Nikki Sapiro Vinckier02:00 — An unexpected path into OB-GYN care04:00 — Why Nikki took her advocacy beyond the clinic06:00 — What medical gaslighting can sound like08:00 — Why speaking up can feel difficult12:00 — Prepare before entering the exam room13:00 — Describe symptoms and their daily impact15:00 — Responding when a concern is called “normal”18:00 — Perimenopause symptoms across daily life20:00 — Getting to know the body in sobriety22:00 — Bias and the history of women’s healthcare24:00 — Finding a clinician who takes concerns seriously28:00 — Perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause30:00 — Birth control and menopause assessment32:00 — Gaps in training and trauma-informed care33:00 — How healthcare fails LGBTQ+ patients36:00 — Asking for care preferences around weighing38:00 — The meaning behind Take Back Trust43:00 — Dating, HPV questions, and Sonia’s experience52:00 — We Deserve More and rebuilding self-trust

What happens when the drinking stops but the anger stays? Sonia welcomes Zach Brittle, LMHC, Certified Gottman Therapist, Relational Life Therapist, and host of Marriage Therapy Radio. Why can resentment linger after quitting alcohol? How can someone take responsibility without taking all the blame? What happens when partners get sober at different times? Sonia and Zach explore recovery, relationship boundaries, and rebuilding trust beyond counting drinks or sober days. Zach explains his approach to the “wise adult,” pausing before reacting, and playing the movie forward. He describes how Relational Life Therapy connects self-esteem, boundaries, and intimacy, and why having communication tools differs from being ready to use them. Sonia also asks about the difference between celebrating recovery and becoming overconfident. From asking for help during the pandemic to confronting longstanding resentment, Zach shares the experiences behind his recovery. An unforgettable Christmas tree stand, a frustrating gas-station queue, and his and Rebecca’s different paths to sobriety reveal how change has reshaped their marriage and parenting. This is Sisters in Sobriety, the support community that helps women change their relationship with alcohol. Check out our substack for extra tips, tricks and resources. Zach’s Links Website Instagram Marriage Therapy Radio SIS Links 💌 Sisters In Sobriety Substack – where the magic (and the mocktail recipes) happen📬 Sisters In Sobriety Email📸 Sisters In Sobriety Instagram🌐 Kathleen’s Website Kathleen does not endorse any products mentioned in this podcast📸 Kathleen’s Instagram Episode Highlights 00:00 — Introducing Zach Brittle02:00 — Recovery beyond alcohol04:00 — Recognizing personal relapse risks08:00 — Drinking escalates during COVID10:00 — Asking for a sponsor’s help13:00 — Taking inventory of resentment15:00 — Owning his anger without alcohol18:00 — Responsibility versus self-blame20:00 — Anger in the gas-station queue22:00 — The pause that creates choice25:00 — Playing the movie forward27:00 — Recovery becomes a new way of living29:00 — A milestone tests his sobriety33:00 — Why tools alone aren’t enough35:00 — Self-esteem, boundaries, and intimacy40:00 — Partners on different recovery paths46:00 — Setting relationship boundaries47:00 — Alcohol’s impact beyond drink counts49:00 — Connection, fun, and life after drinking56:00 — Modeling recovery for adult children

In this episode of Sisters in Sobriety, Sonia explores the invisible work adult daughters perform to keep families connected. With communication scholar, Baylor professor and Good Daughtering author Dr. Allison M. Alford. Dr. Alford helps women recognize how family roles can shape self-worth, perfectionism, resentment and coping. Why are daughters so often expected to organize, anticipate needs and smooth over conflict? How do culture, birth order and family expectations influence daughtering? And why can a son receive enormous praise for a small gesture while a daughter feels she is always falling short? Dr. Alford defines daughtering as the mental, emotional, logistical and identity work daughters do for their families. She explains how to make that labor visible, establish boundaries without turning them into ultimatums, distinguish venting from rumination and replace impossible A+ expectations with a sustainable B+ standard. She also shares how her own family relationships changed when she stopped building connection around complaints and enlisted her husband, children and sister in creating new conversation patterns. Her message is simple: every woman is already a good-enough daughter and has agency in deciding how that role will fit into her life. This is Sisters in Sobriety, the support community that helps women change their relationship with alcohol. Check out our substack for extra tips, tricks and resources. Dr. Alford’s Links 🌐 Daughtering 101 Website📕 Good Daughtering📸 Instagram SIS Links 💌 Sisters In Sobriety Substack – where the magic (and the mocktail recipes) happen📬 Sisters In Sobriety Email📸 Sisters In Sobriety Instagram🌐 Kathleen’s Website Kathleen does not endorse any products mentioned in this podcast📸 Kathleen’s Instagram Timestamped Highlights 01:00 — Dr. Allison Alford introduces her work on daughtering05:00 — Defining the overlooked cost of being a good daughter07:00 — Why women’s caring roles are so often called mothering10:00 — Honoring daughterhood as a distinct part of identity12:00 — Choosing how fully to show up in family roles14:00 — Daughters as the behind-the-scenes family CEOs16:00 — How daughter conditioning develops from childhood18:00 — Why sons receive praise for exceeding lower expectations22:00 — Culture, geography and privilege shape daughtering24:00 — The unspoken rules daughters are expected to follow27:00 — How impossible standards create a fog of failure30:00 — Creating a personal B+ daughter rubric32:00 — The relationship between resentment and self-abandonment34:00 — Boundaries as fences around emotional and physical space36:00 — Recognizing when family venting becomes rumination38:00 — Communicating a boundary once—and following through40:00 — Making invisible daughtering labor visible43:00 — Building a Plan B for healthier family conversations46:00 — Eldest and only daughters face distinct pressures50:00 — Every daughter gets to decide what “good enough” means