This week on No More Booze, I’m joined by New York City author and sober dating expert Tawny Lara, whose brilliant book Dry Humping is basically the guide we all needed for dating, sex and relationships without liquid courage. We talk about why sober dating can feel absolutely terrifying, how to actually plan a sober date (hint: do something experiential) and what happens in long-term relationships when the scales come off and you start seeing everything clearly. We also get into confidence, communication, queer community + substance culture and why you can’t do this work alone. One experience at a time and sometimes the best advice is simply: go to bed.

Tawny Lara is your favorite writing teacher's favorite writing teacher. She teaches ethical, sustainable approaches to storytelling, self-promotion, and creative visibility. She’s the author of Dry Humping: A Guide to Dating, Relating, and Hooking Up Without the Booze, co-author of The Sobriety Deck, and co-founder of (parentheses) botanical beverages.

Tawny writes and speaks about mental health, queer activism, the non-alcoholic drink movement, and publishing/media trends through a pop culture lens. Her Substack, Beyond Liquid Courage, mixes voicey hot takes with industry insights.

She’s spent the last decade studying what happens when people stop using alcohol as a social crutch. What surprised her is that the same lessons about vulnerability, communication, and authenticity in dating apply to writing, publicity, entrepreneurship, and building a creative life you're actually proud of. Enjoy!

Tawny Lara — Journalist + Authorpreneur

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This week on No More Booze, I’m joined by breathwork teacher, cold exposure guide and personal trainer Marta Vera. We talk about what strength through softness really means and how breath and cold can become powerful practice for meeting life’s discomfort instead of running from it. Marta shares her own relationship with alcohol, growing up with a strong drinking culture in Poland and the wake-up call that came when she couldn’t name one thing she liked about herself. We also get into identity change, energy, community and simple breathing you can use right now. Marta offers lots of free resources on her website including free breathwork sessions and hikes. She's a good one! Enjoy xx

Marta Vera is a breathwork teacher inspired by the transformative power of the breath, cold, and nature. She creates experiences that encourage people to step outside their comfort zones, reconnect with their inner strength, with nature and with others. Find out more about Marta’s work, her events both online and in person and her incredible retreat to Poland here:

Marta Vera Breathwork| Fire&Ice | Dublin Mountains| Online Breathing

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This week on No More Booze, we welcome back Psychotherapist, addiction counsellor and coach Orlagh Reid @thewellbeingpsychotherapist and we’re getting into the ever-growing conversation around neurodivergence (ADHD, autism and more) and the role alcohol can play in how we cope with this. We talk about why so many people don’t present with ADHD or autism at all; they present with burnout, overwhelm, anxiety, emotional dysregulation or problem drinking. Orlagh shares her own late diagnoses, the reality of masking, especially for women and why alcohol can feel like peace and quiet until it starts causing more problems. We also cover self-diagnosis, medication, perimenopause/PMDD and what it really looks like to support your brain without the booze. Enjoy!

To find out more about Orlagh visit her website

Psychotherapy and Coaching Services - Orlagh Reid

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This week's guest is Kim Bellis from Montreal who is the founder of @sober.is.the.new.cool. Kim shares the moment that she decided to leave alcohol behind: her son Matthew’s epilepsy diagnosis and her decision to stop drinking so he wouldn’t feel alone. Thirteen years later, Kim is still alcohol-free and the ripple effect is huge. She talks honestly about the social pressure, the liquid courage myth, and the unexpected gifts of sobriety: better sleep, calmer anxiety, stronger self-esteem, and learning she can do hard things without a drink (including walking at New York Fashion Week at 62).You’ll also hear the story behind Sober Is The New Cool, the White Heart Initiative and why a simple I am practice can help you start believing you’re enough.

Kim Bellas, affectionately known worldwide as Kim Mummy, is the founder and driving force behind Sober is the New Cool, a growing international wellness movement inspiring people to live healthier, happier, and more meaningful lives. With nearly 14 years of sobriety and appearances on over 150 podcasts, Kim has become a passionate international voice for wellness, kindness, compassion, and the power of human connection. A visionary and dedicated community builder, Kim created the International Recovery Wellness Walk, bringing together participants from 40 countries, the annual White Party in New York City, uniting women through inspiration and meaningful connections, and the White Heart Initiative, spreading messages of love and hope around the world. Known for her warmth, authenticity, and extraordinary ability to connect people from all walks of life, Kim believes true wellness extends far beyond sobriety. It’s about giving back, inspiring others, and reminding people everywhere that they matter. Her mission 'Helping to heal the world, one person at a time. We are all recovering from something'. Enjoy!

Find out about Kim's work here:

Sober is the New Cool | Wellness, Community & Support

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This week on No More Booze, I’m joined by the brilliant Dr. Gillian O’Shea Brown (joining us from New York, originally from Cork) to talk trauma, healing and what it really means to come home to yourself. We talk about her stunning new book, Psyche’s Awakening and why she used Greek mythology as a psychological map for self-understanding, like what a stunning concept! We discuss complex trauma, the hero’s journey, ego death and why it’s not why are you use alcohol but what are you trying NOT to feel by drinking? Plus: intuition vs trauma (loud vs quiet), EMDR, self-love without narcissism, social pruning and two powerful exercises from the book—including the Erotic Emotional Map. We also talk about Chiron, the wounded healer, a figure who teaches and heals others through his own suffering. Enjoy!

Dr. Gillian O’Shea Brown is a New York based psychotherapist, adjunct asst. professor at NYU, and EMDRIA approved consultant passionate about whole living for all people. Her work on the treatment and healing of complex trauma (relational trauma) has been featured internationally. She uses an integrative blend of trauma informed evidenced based modalities including: EMDR, IFS (Ego State Work), DBT, TF-CBT and Somatic Techniques to treat her clients. Her first book, entitled Healing Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Clinician’s Guide (2021, Springer) was designed to provide trauma-informed therapists with psychoeducation. Inspired to share her wisdom outside of the classroom she created Psyche's Awakening (2026,HarperOne).

Find more on Dr. O'Shea Brown's work here:

https://www.drgillianosheabrown.com/

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Jen from @dresswithdrama is a year alcohol-free and she’s bringing all the sparkle, honesty and pizzaz to No More Booze this week. Jen is a personal stylist and we start the conversation talking clothes from leopard-print confidence, vintage bargains and why your favourite outfit is basically your superhero cape. Then the conversation goes deeper: Jen shares the health scare that made her take three months off drinking, the liver results that changed everything and how quickly anxiety began to lift when alcohol left the equation. We also talk about grief, losing Jen’s sister Emma and what it’s like to feel everything fully again—joy, sadness, freedom and the signs that remind her she’s not doing it alone. What started as one decision has had such a huge ripple effect on so many other areas of her life. Jen talks openly about the unexpected freedom she has found since stopping drinking, how it has changed her relationship with herself and helped her face grief. She also talks openly about anxiety and how, since stopping drinking, she has found a sense of freedom from some of the worry that had become part of her relationship with alcohol. Jen used to feel that alcohol helped give her confidence and made her a more fun, outgoing version of herself. It’s been a real learning curve discovering that confidence can come from so many other places and that she didn’t necessarily need alcohol to feel confident at all.

Now, as a mum, drama teacher, personal stylist and colour analyst, Jen is passionate about helping both adults and children feel confident, comfortable and completely themselves. Whether that’s through helping women discover their personal style and embrace who they are or helping children find their voice and build confidence through drama, confidence is at the heart of everything she does. This is an honest and open conversation about alcohol, confidence, anxiety, grief, identity and the freedom that can come from making a different choice. Enjoy!

Find more about Jen and her work at www.stylingbyjen.co.uk

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This week on No More Booze, I'm joined by Beth @sobrietyislovely, who’s coming up on a year alcohol-free. Beth completed a year-and-a-half stint off the booze, had a slip for about a year and then found her way back to alcohol-free living. Beth opens up about starting drinking at 17 to fit in, how weekend drinking quietly became a crutch for anxiety and socialising and the scary physical symptoms that finally got her attention—heart palpitations, breathlessness, brutal hangovers and planning meals around being sick. We also unpack how she slipped through people-pleasing, the might as well carry on mindset and the tools Beth uses now: reflection, talking to herself out loud and taking it one day at a time. Enjoy!

Find Beth on Instagram: @sobrietyislovely.

Sign up for my weekly newsletter here: Sunday; The Day We Get Back — Olivia Farrelly

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No More Booze 1:1 | Four x 60-minute coaching sessions

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This week on No More Booze, I’m joined by Carla Piera Fitzgerald (aka @halfofcarla) and we go deep on what really changes when you actually change a part of who you are. Carla is the Queen of Change, having completely transformed herself by losing 180lbs over the past 7 years. Carla shares how food was her coping mechanism for what was happening internally, while alcohol helped her cope externally, giving her the courage to socialise when confidence was low. We chat about Sober October- how powerful that break can be, identity shifts, losing drinking buddies and why quitting isn’t about punishment, it’s about what you gain. Carla also shares practical tools for urges: naming what’s happening, feeling your feet, moving your body, the 20-minute delay, and coming back to your WHY. Carla, her story and her mission is so incredibly inspiring and motivating, I really hope you get as much from it as I did. Enjoy!

Carla Piera FitzGerald, known online as Half of Carla, is a content creator, speaker and Head Coach of BodySlims. After losing over 180lbs, Carla built a community by sharing the reality of lasting transformation and the mindset shifts that helped her change her life. Now a mum of two, she shares the ongoing process of becoming, from weight loss and personal development to motherhood, confidence and learning to show up for yourself even when life is messy. Her core message is simple: showing you what’s possible when you show up for yourself.

To find out more about BodySlims

BodySlims Weight Loss | Changing Bodies by Transforming Minds

Sign up for my weekly newsletter here: Sunday; The Day We Get Back — Olivia Farrelly

For more information on my Alcohol Audit check out

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No More Booze 1:1 | Four x 60-minute coaching sessions

Or to simply to find out if alcohol is taking more than it is giving, take my free online quiz now

Am I A Grey Area Drinker? — Free 2-Minute Quiz