Ep 47:The Art of Recovery — Emily Taylor-Rice

Episode 50: William Porter - Alcohol Explained

Episode 50 — William Porter | Alcohol Explained This is a big one. For our 50th episode, we sit down with William Porter — author of Alcohol Explained, the book that for so many people, including ourselves, finally made the whole thing make sense. William wrote the book he wanted to read. A former paratrooper, he found himself in 2014 with his drinking spiralling — He stopped in February 2014, and Alcohol Explained was published in 2015. What makes William's work different is the tone. No lectures, no moralising just a forensically clear account of what alcohol actually does, chemically and psychologically, from that first drink all the way through to dependency. When you understand the mechanism, the desire starts to dissolve. That's the point. In this conversation we get into why moderation is so much harder than it looks, what alcohol really does to sleep, why the Wednesday feeling of being "back on top of things" is probably still only 60% of your best, and how the cultural conversation around alcohol has shifted beyond recognition since 2015. We also talk about what advice William gives to people who are nervous about socialising sober for the first time. William is the perfect guest for episode 50. We hope you love it as much as we did. More on William and Alcohol Explained: Website: www.alcoholexplained.com [http://www.alcoholexplained.com/] (The first five chapters of Alcohol Explained are free to read on the website — a great place to start) Join our free community: Every Monday at noon. Email the word Community to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk [info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk] Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com [http://www.soberilliant.com/]  Insta: @sober.illiant [http://sober.illiant] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant [http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant] Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com [http://alcoholfreecoach.com/] Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_ LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032 [http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032]

Ep 49: The Holiday Special — From the Maldives to Manchester

No guest this week — just Steve and James, and the sun is very much out. This one's all about summer. The triggers, the habit loops and the reality of how to stay AF when the hot weather hits. We get into why summer feels like the hardest time to stop drinking — and why it might actually be the best. We talk about what summer holidays really looked like when alcohol was in the picture. Drinking 12 hours a day in paradise and coming home needing another holiday. The swim-up bar as the entire point of the trip. Missing the mornings. And what happens when you strip all that away — early runs on empty beaches, the North Coast 500 in a motorhome, building sandcastles with your kids instead of nursing a beer by the pool. There are also some great AF alternatives to see you through the barbecue season. Join our free community: Every Monday at noon. Email the word Community to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk [info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk] Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com [http://www.soberilliant.com/] Insta: @sober.illiant [http://sober.illiant] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant [http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant] Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com [http://alcoholfreecoach.com/]  Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_  LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032 [http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032]

Episode 48: The Red Flags We Wish We'd Spotted Sooner

No guest this week just us and honestly, and it's been a while so great to have a good chin..wag! We take a look back at the behaviours we now recognise as red flags — the ones hiding in plain sight for years before either of us made a change. Drinking alone. Drinking too fast. Hiding empties. Buying rounds just to get the next drink in. The mental arithmetic of keeping the buzz alive. The nightcap that was already poured before you'd passed out. None of it felt like a problem at the time. That's the point. It's a candid, funny, and at times surprisingly raw conversation about what it actually looks like to have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol — long before anyone would call it that. If any of it sounds familiar, you're probably not alone. Join our free community: Every Monday at noon. Email the word Community to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk [info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk] Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com [http://www.soberilliant.com/]  Insta: @sober.illiant   [http://sobe.illiant] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant [http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant] Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com [http://alcoholfreecoach.com/] Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_ LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032 [http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032]

Ep 47:The Art of Recovery — Emily Taylor-Rice

This week we welcome Emily Taylor-Rice: artist, educator and mental health advocate whose work is simply incredible. Emily is a multidisciplined artist working across printmaking and photography, exploring themes of mental health, addiction, vulnerability and recovery. She holds an MFA in Print Media and Photography from Boston University College of Fine Art, has taught internationally across Asia and the Middle East, and has exhibited widely across America and beyond. Behind the art is a remarkable personal story, one of unexpected addiction, rock bottoms, and a long road back. Emily has been alcohol-free since 21st October 2016, coming up on ten years, and has channelled every part of that journey into work that opens conversations others are too afraid to start. In this episode we talk about what drove her drinking, why removing yourself from the problem never removes the problem, and how art became the thing that reconnected her to herself. We also get into the neurobiology of alcoholism and Emily's upcoming PhD bringing together art, neuroscience and public health. A genuinely special conversation. We think you'll love it. Find Emily: Website: www.emilyricestudio.com [http://www.emilyricestudio.com/] Instagram: @emily.taylor.rice.studio [http://emily.taylor.rice.studio] Join our free community: Every Monday at noon. Email the word Community to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk [info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk] Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com [http://www.soberilliant.com/]  Insta: @sober.illiant  [http://sober.illiant] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant [http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant] Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com [http://alcoholfreecoach.com/]  Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_ [%20@alcoholfreecoach_%20]| LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032 [http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032]

Episode 46 —Tabbin Almond

This week we welcome the wonderful Tabbin Almond — coach, speaker, podcaster and author of Bottling Up Trouble. Tabbin grew up in a home where alcohol was just part of the furniture, spent her career in 80s advertising where the office bar was literally called The Gym, and never once thought she had a problem. Until a breast cancer diagnosis changed everything — and her oncologist never once mentioned alcohol. In this conversation we get into the link between alcohol and cancer risk, why the medical world stays silent on it, and the hidden cost of drinking culture in the workplace. Tabbin has spent years working with organisations on exactly this, and she doesn't pull her punches. A brilliant conversation. We think you'll love it. Find Tabbin: Website: www.wine2watercoaching.com [http://www.wine2watercoaching.com/] Podcast: The Alcohol Debate — Spotify, Apple and all major platforms Corporate work: The Wellbeing Blind Spot (launching soon) Join our free community: Every Monday at noon. Email the word Community to: info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk [info@thealcoholfreerevolution.co.uk] Coach with Steve: Web: www.soberilliant.com [http://www.soberilliant.com/] | Insta: @sober.illiant [http://sober.illiant] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant [http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevesmith-soberilliant] Coach with James: Web: http://alcoholfreecoach.com [http://alcoholfreecoach.com/]  Insta: @alcoholfreecoach_ LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032 [http://linkedin.com/in/james-lloyd-48313032]