Hello and welcome back to Sober Awkward, where we're doing something a little bit different.

We started this podcast to share our own messy, awkward and hopefully humorous journeys through

sobriety and have always felt incredibly humbled by how many of you have connected with our

stories. But not everyone's journey is the

same as Vicanise. So we put our heads together to figure out a way to give back and let our

listeners inspire each other. Basically, we're taking us to idiots completely out the equation.

We decided to run a storytelling competition, during which we asked you

to share your own inspirational stories of recovery with us. Well, to be honest, the stories you sent us

completely blew us away. They were powerful, moving and truly inspiring. We knew right away that we had to share them. So, with

the permissions of the storytellers, we're going to be sharing one of their stories with you

each week. This is our way of celebrating you. These are your stories, raw, real and full of hope. Welcome to Sober Stories.

The story that I'm going to share today is from one of our listeners, Annabelle. At 14, I wrote in

my diary how much I hated alcohol. I blamed it for everything. My boyfriend cheating on me, my fragile heartbreaking. I swore I'd never let it near me. I had no idea then that one day I'd become dependent on the very thing I despised. I had my first drink at age 12 at my mum's birthday party. The teenagers were allowed a beer or two,

and I remembered how much I loved it. I loved the fuzzy, floaty feeling it gave me. I felt free,

alive. My parents have always been big drinkers, and as I grew into my teenage years,

would you like a juice became,

would you like a glass of wine? I don't blame them. They did what they thought was right,

but wine became my crutch, my go-to for everything. I drank when I was happy, when I was sad,

when I was alone, when I was bored, when I was celebrating, when I didn't know how to process my feelings, wine was always there. I always knew I needed to give it up. I even went to

an AA meeting at 24 after my boyfriend, now husband, gave me an ultimatum. Quit the booze,

all we're over. I walked into that stuffy room full of older men and also thought, it just wasn't for me.

I'll never forget what one man said. I've never met a single person here who doesn't need to be here.

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