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. I'm Gene McCarthy. I write the blog Unpickled. I've also written a couple of books about recovery, the Unpickled Holiday Survival Guide, which I hope you've been using to get you through this holiday season, as well as a book of poetry about recovery. It's called The Ember Ever There. So I tell my stories there, and the bubble hour is where I hold space for your stories.

This recording is being done the day before New Year's Eve. I am out in the mountains. My family

traditionally has a big gathering and a special meal called a reclette dinner. This year, thank goodness,

for the first time in a while, we are all going

to be together and we're quite excited about that. If you want to see what a reclet is, check my

Instagram. I'll try and get some pictures on there. If not, Google it. It is a really cool

way to have a dinner with family, with friends, an interesting way to entertain a large group, especially

if you have a lot of different dietary restrictions as our family does. It's similar to having

a fondue, but instead of a hot pot of oil, you have a big grill on the table. It's a wonderful

tradition. For us, that's what New Year's is going to look like. Pretty tame and

pretty happy. If it's your first sober new year, this can be really hard. You might be a little

apprehensive, but I want to tell you, hard things are worthwhile. If you plan ahead and you have

an escape route and you bring along some drinks that are safe for you to have,

you might be able to just go and have a good time. And if you decide to forgo the party and stay

home in your PJs and watch a movie, that is a wonderful way to spend the new year as well.

That's how I personally like it. In fact, there's a very good chance I will be in bed

long before midnight reading my book. Remember, these tips to help you get through the evening,

they're simple, but they really do work. It's also important that you bring along some snacks because

getting hungry feels a lot like having a craving for alcohol. And sometimes just a handful of

cheese or nuts can really help. So there's probably going to be food at the party you go to,

but it is always good to make sure you have something along with you just in case. My grandkids

...