Dear Vernon

EP 10: The Violence of Self-Improvement

Getting this episode recorded and out was like pulling teeth, but here we are. We couldn't let this question go unanswered, it's that good. A listener asked, "I'm sober, but finding myself shopping, scrolling, and using food as a way to fill that void where alcohol was, how do you (Laura and Eric) feel about this?" Laura McKowen, Founder of The Luckiest Club, and Eric Johnson CEO of The Luckiest Club, talk about their own experiences with transfer addictions and some guidelines that might help listeners understand if their habits are a problem. They also talk about how there can be harm in the need to constantly seek self-improvement. If the show resonates, please leave a review and share it with someone who needs it. Have a question for Dear Vernon? 👉 Submit your question [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSemIptEB9wRpRzTX-qjolRqLJCTKg952iqx4w97Bm-4uyuU1A/viewform], and it might be featured on a future episode. Get a FREE week of The Luckiest Club here! [https://www.theluckiestclub.com/join-community] Need more support? We offer three 13-week programs designed to meet you exactly where you are in your sobriety journey: The Sober 90 [https://apricots-duck-an2p.squarespace.com/courses/the-sober-90]- foundational work to get you through the early days The Sober Steady [https://apricots-duck-an2p.squarespace.com/courses/the-sober-steady]- for those with some sober time who need more resilience and tools The Sober Life [https://apricots-duck-an2p.squarespace.com/courses/the-sober-life]- focused on the deeper work of emotional sobriety

EP 9: How Do I Talk About My Sobriety?

This week on Dear Vernon, The Luckiest Club Founder, Laura McKowen, and The Luckiest Club CEO, Eric Johnson, are answering the question "how do I tell people I'm not drinking?" and this is one we hear all the time. We've had close to a dozen people write in asking some variation of this question, so we knew it was time to answer it on the podcast. Truthfully, the answer you give your colleagues might be different than the answer you give to close friends and family. Laura and Eric give a few examples that they use in different situations and they'll share some of the responses and questions that they've got about their drinking. They also briefly touch on sober dating and how and when you might disclose this to your date. This conversation serves as a reminder that you don't have to tell everyone, but you do have to tell someone. Leaning it to a sober community is helpful way to gain the confidence to say "I don't drink." If the show resonates, please leave a review and share it with someone who needs it. Have a question for Dear Vernon? 👉 Submit your question [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSemIptEB9wRpRzTX-qjolRqLJCTKg952iqx4w97Bm-4uyuU1A/viewform], and it might be featured on a future episode. Get a FREE week of The Luckiest Club here! [https://www.theluckiestclub.com/join-community] Need more support? We offer three 13-week programs designed to meet you exactly where you are in your sobriety journey and registration is open now: The Sober 90 [https://apricots-duck-an2p.squarespace.com/courses/the-sober-90]- foundational work to get you through the early days The Sober Steady [https://apricots-duck-an2p.squarespace.com/courses/the-sober-steady]- for those with some sober time who need more resilience and tools The Sober Life [https://apricots-duck-an2p.squarespace.com/courses/the-sober-life]- focused on the deeper work of emotional sobriety Want to learn more? We're hosting a Q&A Friday, May 1, 2026. You can register here [https://www.theluckiestclub.com/tlc-public-q-and-a-sessions]!

EP 8: Why Can't I Cry Anymore?

In this episode of Dear Vernon, Eric Johnson and Laura McKowen respond to a question that doesn’t get talked about enough: What if you get sober… and you still can’t feel anything? The listener who wrote in shared that they hadn’t cried in years — not while drinking, and not in the months after stopping. No big emotional release. No tears. Just… nothing. Eric and Laura both know that feeling. They talk about: * how alcohol can numb your emotions for a long time — even after you stop * what it means to be in a kind of “freeze” or shutdown state * why some emotions show up before others (and why it’s not usually sadness first) * how anger, fear, and shame can block access to deeper feelings * and why your body might not be ready to go there yet Laura shares about her own experience with not being able to cry, both in early sobriety and while being on antidepressants for many years, and what it’s been like to slowly feel things come back online. Eric talks about how long it took for him to get there too, and how emotions didn’t come back all at once, they showed up in layers. If the show resonates, please leave a review and share it with someone who needs it. Have a question for Dear Vernon? 👉 Submit your question [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSemIptEB9wRpRzTX-qjolRqLJCTKg952iqx4w97Bm-4uyuU1A/viewform], and it might be featured on a future episode. Get a FREE week of The Luckiest Club here! [https://www.theluckiestclub.com/join-community] Need more support? We offer three 13-week programs designed to meet you exactly where you are in your sobriety journey: The Sober 90 [https://apricots-duck-an2p.squarespace.com/courses/the-sober-90]- foundational work to get you through the early days The Sober Steady [https://apricots-duck-an2p.squarespace.com/courses/the-sober-steady]- for those with some sober time who need more resilience and tools The Sober Life [https://apricots-duck-an2p.squarespace.com/courses/the-sober-life]- focused on the deeper work of emotional sobriety

EP 7: How Do I Like My Eggs?

In this episode of Dear Vernon, Laura McKowen and Eric Johnson dig into a question that comes up way more than people talk about — what do you do when sobriety just feels... boring? The question came in from a member who's 60 days sober, a busy working mom, and feeling this strange flatness she can't quite name. Laura and Eric unpack why "boredom" in early sobriety is rarely just boredom, and what's really going on underneath it. They talk about: Why drinking feels like fun (and why that's kind of a lie) The brain chemistry behind early sobriety flatness — dopamine deficits, anhedonia, and why the color seems to drain out of everything Why "I'm bored" often really means "I have no idea what I actually like" The Runaway Bride moment: figuring out how you like your eggs when you've always ordered what someone else wanted Why action has to come before inspiration (not the other way around) How to find joy in the small stuff when you don't have time for big stuff Why going big and letting it fly isn't actually fun — it's just loud This one's for anyone sitting in that strange in-between place where the chaos of early days has settled and you're left wondering... now what? 🎧 Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/ep-1-so-who-the-hell-is-vernon/id1871522237?i=1000746371247], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/episode/4FXWQqinlrCksuZG1yGZql?si=3f21ad0fa493410d] or your favorite podcast player. If the show resonates, please leave a review and share it with someone who needs it. Have a question for Dear Vernon? 👉 Submit your question [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSemIptEB9wRpRzTX-qjolRqLJCTKg952iqx4w97Bm-4uyuU1A/viewform], and it might be featured on a future episode. Get A Free Week Trial of The Luckiest Club here [https://community.theluckiestclub.com/]! Need more support? We offer three 13-week programs designed to meet you exactly where you are in your sobriety journey: The Sober 90 [https://apricots-duck-an2p.squarespace.com/courses/the-sober-90]- foundational work to get you through the early days The Sober Steady [https://apricots-duck-an2p.squarespace.com/courses/the-sober-steady]- for those with some sober time who need more resilience and tools The Sober Life [https://apricots-duck-an2p.squarespace.com/courses/the-sober-life]- focused on the deeper work of emotional sobriety

EP 6: Is This As Good As It Gets?

Eric and Laura are back for another episode of Dear Vernon. Eric almost showed up in a dress shirt and tie. He didn't. Instead, he rolled up in his hoodie and baseball cap after a bowl of Cinnamon Pebbles. (He has no regrets. He will have them for lunch too.) This week's question comes from Karen, who's five months sober and asking something so many of us have wondered: when does the happy come back? Everything feels flat. Boring. Gray. She's not in danger of relapsing, she just wants to feel like herself again. Laura and Eric dig into what "happy" actually means in sobriety and whether drinking was really making us happy in the first place, or just giving us the illusion of caring less. (There's a difference. A big one.) They talk about the pink cloud (some people get it, some people — hi, Laura — absolutely do not), and why happiness might be the wrong thing to be chasing altogether. What they land on: peace of mind, freedom, and meaning. Not the fleeting "yay!" kind of happiness, but the kind that holds you up when life gets hard, which it certainly will. And for Karen and anyone else in the grind of early sobriety: the lights will come on. But you've got to change your life, not just quit drinking. Five months is huge — and it's also still early. Hang tight. You can learn more about The Luckiest Club here 👈 [https://www.theluckiestclub.com/] Yes, you can get a FREE week anytime! Submit a question to Dear Vernon [https://tr.ee/zhR1lx7XVY]