Episode 165: Choosing to Not Drink In A Culture Obsessed with Alcohol with Holly Whitaker, author of Quit Like A Woman

Wondering if you have a drinking problem?

Yeah, I know. That first line is intense.

Well, here’s what: Today is the first day of a new year. The first day of a new decade, in fact.

Can you think of a better time to talk about the most widely-used, (abused), and normalized drug on the planet (responsible for more deaths than all of the other drugs combined) and your relationship with it?

I can’t.

If you’ve been wondering if you have a drinking problem, if you’ve dubbed yourself sober-curious, if you’ve tried to reduce your alcohol consumption or have tried to quit, if you’re a non-drinker, have someone in your family who struggles with alcohol, or are sober yourself, have I got something for you!

But before I get there, please know this:

I come from a family where there’s alcoholism and other addiction, and my husband is sober.

It’s estimated that 43% of people in the U.S. grew up with, are married to, or have a blood relative who’s an alcoholic or problematic drinker, so the chances that your life has been affected by this drug and addiction are really high.

This topic has impacted my life profoundly, and I’m bringing it up not from a place of judgment or feeling any shred of blame toward you if you struggle with alcohol.

I’m bringing it up as a gentle, loving invitation to consider your relationship with alcohol (or that of the people you love) and how it’s adding or detracting from your life.

What does this have to do with doing less to have more and/or growing your business, you might be asking?

EVERYTHING.

Our bodies are our vessels for everything we bring to this world.

A whole cocktail of biochemical things are happening inside us at all times that result in wild creativity, incredible energy, bliss, and chutzpah up the wazoo or brain fog, confusion, anxiety, depression, tremendous self-doubt, and an inability to manifest what we actually want.

One of the main things that can cause your body to serve up the latter grouping of human experience is drinking ethanol (which is the same substance that you put in the gas tank of your car) and how much of it you’re drinking.

It’s my deepest desire and commitment to offer up the best ideas, strategies, experts, insights, and stories for you to access the best of you, so you can light up the world without burning yourself out.

So, ignoring the topic of alcohol would be irresponsible on my part.

All right, enough with the preamble.

I’m so excited to be bringing you an incredible episode of The Kate & Mike Show to kick off this decade with a truly remarkable woman.Ever since I read her new book, Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol, I have told virtually everyone I’ve come into contact with that they MUST read it.

We invited Holly Whitaker, founder of Tempest Sobriety School and author of Quit Like a Woman, onto the podcast to have a powerful conversation about:

The bizarre way our culture thinks about alcohol and why it’s critical to our liberation that we question how it’s been normalized (whether we choose to drink or not).
The radical alternative to calling yourself an alcoholic that can grant the gift of a beautiful, conscious, awake life that’s available for problem and non-problem drinkers alike.
How alcohol affects women in a profoundly different way than men and the insidious way it’s used as a tool of oppression (this was the part that made my jaw drop the lowest).

And so much more!

I know this sounds like a super-heavy conversation, and it certainly was one with gravitas, but the episode is actually really fun because Holly is hilarious and a total firecracker. I think you’ll especially love the part where she talks about how and why she’s raised millions of dollars for her sobriety start-up.

Liberation is available to you. I hope this conversation unlocks as much awakening for you as it (and Holly’s book) did for me.

Once you’ve listened, we definitely want to hear from you.

What did this episode bring up for you? What surprised you? What’s your next step?

Choosing Not to Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol with Holly Whitaker, author of Quit Like a Woman

In This Episode

Holly’s experience getting sober and the pivotal moments that led to it [10:27]
The book she calls “a miracle that helped her control alcohol [14:19]
Her thoughts on Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and why she believes it’s not for everyone [17:23]
A look at the history of alcohol and why it’s so dangerous to a society [25:32]
Why she thinks that someone’s drinking status and relationship with alcohol matters so much to others [31:52]
Mike’s personal story of quitting drinking [33:24]
Holly’s first experience meditating and the awareness that it gave her [38:09]
The way that she found her center and now shows up without alcohol in her life [40:23]
What it’s like creating a business around getting sober [43:17]