Sober Link-Up... and Gift Guide!

Sober treats, AF holiday support, and so much gratitude

Welcome! This monthly link-up brings together supportive reads and resources from the alcohol-free Substack community. We encourage you to click through and discover newsletters you may love.

Since it’s Thanksgiving week in the U.S., we also want to pause and thank you for being part of this diverse, beautifully supportive community.

We publish alcohol-free, sober support twice a week, year-round, at Sober App Substack, including during the holidays, which can be tricky for those who aren’t drinking. You—our generous guest contributors, subscribers, and readers—are why we are here. Thank you.

Everything at Sober App Substack is free to access, including:

• My Sobriety Story: In this Q&A series, sober folks share their journeys, including their decision to get sober, the surprises they encountered, their biggest challenges and rewards, and the advice they’d offer to those newly sober or considering sobriety. Want to answer a few questions and share your story? Email our newsletter manager and editor (me!) here. We welcome submissions from anyone who’s living alcohol-free—whatever your path or program.

• Personal Essays: Dive into essays on socializing while sober, parenting while sober, creativity in recovery, grief in recovery, bouncing back after relapse, spiritual awakenings, the intersection of alcohol and other addictions, and much more.

• Sober Support: Find caring support, occasional tough love, and actionable tips, including guidance on getting and staying sober, coming out as sober, building sober friendships and community, and tackling common challenges.

• Meet the Experts: These Q&As feature sober professionals who offer insights on recovery along with their personal sobriety stories. Past contributors include an award-winning filmmaker, a psychotherapist, a shamanic practitioner, an astrologer, a Zen priest, and sober authors and entrepreneurs.

• Sober Community: Explore posts showcasing our amazing contributors, along with crowd-sourced features built around community prompts.

• AF Link-Ups: Scroll down for this month’s edition—including a sober gift guide! It’s a great source of support for anyone staying alcohol-free over the holidays… and beyond.

Across these offerings, you’ll hear from:

• People from diverse backgrounds and generations

• People newly sober, sober for decades, and everywhere in between

• People who’ve used a wide range of recovery tools and programs

• People following faith-based, spiritual, and secular approaches

• People following AA-based paths and those taking non-AA approaches

• People who describe their alcohol-free lives in different ways and with different labels

Wherever you are on your journey, these voices remind us that there are many ways to recover and to create a full, vibrant life in sobriety.

We’d love to hear from you too! Share your favorite alcohol-free writers and resources in the comments, and if you’re sober, feel free to include a link to your own publication or website. We celebrate and welcome all paths to getting and staying alcohol free.

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Sober holidays & wintertime

• Wintering Early: A New Moon Note From the In-Between, Kate Baily

• Getting & Staying Sober During the Holidays, Kristen Crocker

• The Dopameter Diaries, Drinking Lad’s Holiday vs Sober Lad’s Holiday, Niall Davison

• How I’m Navigating Grief in Sobriety This Season, Jessica Dueñas

• Surviving the Season with Grace and Dignity, Elizabeth Jannuzzi

• A season to pause, listen inward, and shape what comes next, Keri

• Opting out of holiday hubbub, Katie MacBride

• What do you need to gather for the winter? Ellie Nova

• 1055 Days of Sobriety, but Only 2 Have Been Thanksgiving, Christopher Robin

• A ghost story for Christmas, Tabitha Vidaurri

Sober journeys & reflections

• Pride’s Perspective, All Things Mankin(d)

• What does my sobriety need today, Louise Atthey

• I’ve Looked at Clouds from Both Sides Now, Allison Deraney

• You’re Safe, I’m Here, Jessica Dueñas

• What Sobriety Did To Our Marriage, Louisa Evans - Beyond Sobriety

• The Impossibility of Moderation, Julie Fontes

• Plum Premonitions, The Healing Rack

• The Rules of Sobriety, Kimberly Kearns

• On Transitions and Being In The In-Between, Josh Luton

• Sometimes I miss doing bad things, Katie MacBride

• what can emerge in the absence of a plan? Shoshana Ray

• I write to stay sober, Jake Summers

• My Sober Life, Rob Walling

Prelapse & relapse

• Relapse, Recovery, & Renewal, Mac Dohm

• i’m in recovery and relapse as a mirror, kamil

• A Hot Take On Relapse, Jesse Osmun

• I Could Relapse, Adam PT

• Relapse Recovery First Aid Kit, Roscoe

• Prelapse: The Chase Before the Choice, Shane Willbanks

• Relapse Cycle in Sobriety, Josh Woll

Sober gift guide!

BOOKS

• Love Your Sober Year, Kate Baily

• You Are Not Your Trauma, Caroline Beidler, MSW

• My Unfurling, Lisa May Bennett

• Hold Nothing, Elena Brower

• SOBER, not just dry, Paul Caimi

• Like a Normal Person, Julie Fontes

• On the Edge of Shattered, Kimberly Kearns

• Dry Humping, Tawny Lara

• Hard Lessons from the Hurt Business, Ed Latimore

• Drinking Games, Sarah Levy

• Undimmed (pre-order!), Cecily Mak

• Love Life Sober, Christy Osborne

• Alive AF, Samantha Perkins

• Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic, Jonathon M. Seidl

• The Sober Shift, Suzanne Warye

• It’s Not about the Wine, Celeste Yvonne

COURSES

• Writing Your Recovery (live course starting in January!), Ann Dowsett Johnston

• The Artist’s Way & Writing About Hard Things, Paulina Pinsky

ONE-ON-ONE

• Maria Luz O'Rourke, astrology readings

• Ellie Nova, sober coaching

• Christy Osborne, sober coaching

• Jesse Osmun, recovery coaching

• Adam PT, sobriety coaching

• Kaitlyn Ramsay, astrology readings

• Josh Woll, sobriety coaching

MORE SOBER TREATS

• (parentheses), non-alcoholic spirit, Tawny Lara

• The Sobriety Deck, Tawny Lara & Lisa Smith

• The PERFECT HUNGER™ Guide to Transformative Eating (applies to booze, too!), Dr. Dana Leigh Lyons, DTCM

• Subscription to your favorite newsletter (find 180+ sober writers here)

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How are you feeling about spending the holidays sober? What’s on your sober wish list? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!

And before you go, would you take a second to tap that little heart? It lets others know there’s something helpful here and grows our sober community.

We know that sharing about recovery and sobriety can feel vulnerable. Like in recovery groups, we ask that commenters in this space refrain from giving unsolicited advice or spreading hate and division. Thank you for helping us foster a kind and inclusive community!

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Dr. Dana Leigh Lyons, DTCM is a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine sharing heart-sourced guidance on body-mind-spirit wellness. She manages Sober App Substack alongside writing her own newsletter: PERFECT HUNGER™, feeding your hunger for a more beautiful, more nourishing life.

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If you’re sober and interested in contributing to Sober.com, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to our newsletter manager and editor here for submission guidelines.