I own it, I did that, not proud, but that was me, and when I face it, I take back a little dignity, not looking for excuses, I just want to be free from power.

Weakness had on me.

Free, free, free, free, free.

Hi, everyone, and welcome to the bubble hour where real people tell real stories of addiction and recovery.

I'm Gene McCarthy, recovery author, Wadger, and podcast host.

I've been chronicling my adventures in life after alcohol since my first day of sobriety over nine years ago in my blog Unpickled and in books like the Unpickled Holiday Survival Guide,

which I encourage you to get a copy of

since the holidays are right around the corner and the best way to protect your recovery is to plan

ahead also my poetry collection the ember ever there poems about grief growth recovery and

rediscovery so i tell my stories there and I hold space for your stories here. And today,

I'm holding space for Mandy Manners and Kate Bailey. They are hosts of the Love Sober podcast and they

have a new book out called Love Yourself Sober, a self-care guide for alcohol-free living for busy

mothers. Now, whether you're a mother or a

caregiver of another sort, you're going to find a lot of good information in this book. And I think

you're going to really enjoy my chat with Kate Bailey and Mandy Manners.

Mandy and Kate of Love Sober, welcome to the bubble hour. Oh, thank you. Thanks for having us.

Hi. I'm so pleased. Thanks for having us. Hi.

I'm so pleased you're here.

Congratulations on your beautiful book.

Really exciting stuff.

It is a wonderful resource.

And I'm so pleased for you.

...