About this episode

Laura McKowen shares her journey through addiction and recovery, highlighting nine essential insights for those struggling with similar issues.

Drinking is a really acceptable thing in the US. Most towns have liquor stores on every few corners. Every home decor store has products with some variation of the same, tongue-in-cheek humor: “Mommy’s Go-Go Juice,” “I’m not whining, I’m wine-ing,” or “It’s WINE O’CLOCK!” More often than not, explaining that you’re sober can be more awkward than explaining that you binge drink every other weekend. In fact, in the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 79.2% of people aged 12 and up reported that they had consumed alcohol at some point in their lifetime.  Drinking is, for most people, considered “normal.” And for Laura McKowen, drinking was just a part of life – of work, of her social life, of relaxing. She didn’t realize how destructive it was until things had gone too far and her brother confronted her, saying, “This is your thing. You can’t drink.” Laura is here today to walk us through her addiction, guilt, turmoil, recovery, and path onwards, sharing the nine things that anyone facing addiction needs to hear. References: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (2025). Alcohol use in the United States: Age groups and demographic characteristics…

People in this episode

Guest: Laura McKowen

Topics covered

• addiction
• recovery
• guilt
• mental health
• social norms

Keywords

• addiction
• recovery
• alcohol
• guilt
• mental health
• social drinking
• sobriety

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

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