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 this naked mind podcast and I'm here with me.

Hi, me. How are you? Hey, great to be here. Thanks for having me.

I'm so glad you're here. So, you can't wait to hear your story. I would love if you could just

take us sort of back to the beginning for you, like your first drink, where did alcohol sneak

into the picture? Sure, sure. So, yeah, so I grew up, I had a very normalish childhood.

I grew up at the beach and I would say that part of the beach life is everybody kind of works hard

during the week and on the weekends we get away to the beach and unwind. So, from a very early age,

we spent a lot of time on the weekends at the beach. You know, my parents with a cooler full of

Miller light relaxing and unwinding and as kids running around and playing and it was a,

you know, a wonderful way to grow up looking back. And, you know, my household growing up,

I mean, it was very normal. I had a older brother and my parents were, I would say, it was a

little tense in my house. I'm not sure they were very happily married and it definitely,

I was a natural born feeler, helping very deeply. And so, from a young age, like a natural impact.

So, from a young age, I really learned that my heavy emotions and my feelings kind of weren't

going to cut it in an already kind of tense house. I had a friend when I was little that's,

when I was five and she had spined a bit of and I would go to her house for play dates and I just

remember civilly wanting so badly to play with her walker to literally feel what it felt like

to kind of walk in her shoes. So, part of my story really revolves around this natural

feeling that I have. And, you know, growing up in that tense house, I learned that it was

something that wasn't going to cut it. So, I was sent to my room a lot when I was crying and

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