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.

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

I'm your host, Gene McCarthy.

I write the blog Unpickled.

I've been telling my story of life after alcohol since my first day of recovery in 2011.

I tell my stories there, and I invite you to share your stories here.

Now, before we meet my guest,

I just want to give you a quick reminder to go to your favorite e-book application, be it

Apple, Cobal, or Kindle, and check out the Unpickled Holiday Survival Guide, which is about staying

alcohol-free during the holiday season. So as I record this in mid-October,

we are just past Thanksgiving here in Canada. I know in the U.S. you are headed into Thanksgiving.

So this stretch of the year from now right through until New Year's can be really tough for people

in recovery. It is never too early to start planning ahead.

Chances are this year, with the COVID pandemic in full swing, we won't be doing as much socializing as we usually would.

But I have a feeling that that which we do partake in might be largely with our family of origin and could be incredibly tense. So I hope that you

take a look through that book and look at all the ways that you can support your sobriety as

you go through your various obligations over the coming months. Okay, let's meet our guest.

You know, I think that this might go down in history as the most repeated bubble hour guest ever.

I'm talking today with my friend from New Zealand, Lada Dan, also known as Mrs. D.

She's here today to talk about her third book, The Wine O' Clock Myth.

Now, no doubt you've read and loved

her first two recovery memoirs,

...