This is Annie Grace and you're listening to this naked mind podcast where without judgment,

pain or rules, we explore the role of alcohol in our lives and culture.

Hi, this is Annie Grace and welcome to the Snake in Mind podcast. So this is super cool because you may recognize my guest, Laura McAllen.

And Laura and I had the opportunity to do a podcast. So is it like a year and a half ago or something? Yeah. Yeah. And it was one of, it was the, this is the like one of the first times I've ever had somebody

back. And that was just how, how highly I think of Laura and her story and Laura. We're back to not only talk because I'd love people to get to know you a bit who haven't tuned in, but also talk about this.

Oh my gosh, it's like, oh, you guys, I have to tell you, holy crap, like this, this book that is coming out, it will be out by the time this podcast is out.

And it's where the luckiest, the surprising magic of a summer life is probably literally one of my favorite books in the genre that I've ever written.

The writing is incredible. The storytelling, it's like riveting. It is.

Thank you so much.

Like you, you've really, you've really up the bar. It's phenomenal. So anyway, I feel all we've already.

You cried on our last podcast. So maybe it's my turn.

I know I got all emotional.

If you haven't watched that one, go back and catch up to where we were. You're in a half ago. It's always fun to see how things evolve.

But yeah, I'd love for you to just, you know, tell your story again because I know that some people are, are don't know you yet. And so I was doing this.

So I, I've been sober for five over five years now.

My story is a lot like a lot of people story and also unique. I mean, I started drinking pretty young.

I have came from a family of people who drink just regularly and it was just a very normalized thing.

I, I, in hindsight, can say I drink problematically from the beginning and when I drank and I can feel that, you know, I can remember the way it felt to me.

And then I had this kind of nagging sense of that I liked it a little too much.

And I needed it a little too much. But, but I also, it also looked pretty normal. You know, I drank towards the end of high school and then through college and I went to a big party school.

And I drank a lot when I started working in the professional world, actually, even more. And I thought that was like the greatest thing. It's like, oh my God, people know where people, you know, this is like college, but better because we're making money.

And we don't have to go to class and, you know, it's, I don't felt very, you know, exciting and adult and important.

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