Sonia welcomes Ginny Hogan for an honest, funny conversation about sober dating, identity, and learning what actually feels good without alcohol. Sonia helps unpack the expectations that can follow women into recovery. Ginny Hogan is a stand up comic & writer. Her newest book, OBEY IN ADVANCE, co-written with Carlos Greaves, is out now.

What happens when drinking stops being the way to loosen up on dates? Does getting sober automatically improve relationships? And what if being a comedian doesn’t mean wanting to entertain everyone at dinner? Sonia and Ginny explore sober sex, compatibility, and the freedom to stop performing.

Their conversation covers early sobriety’s “pink cloud,” finding support that fits, wellness overload, and making room for discomfort. They discuss changing relationship patterns, accepting insecurities, and protecting time to step back. Ginny also shares how political satire creates space for laughter and catharsis.

From a competitive childhood in New York to dating apps and late-night comedy, Ginny traces how drinking became woven into her life. She shares the physical distress that pushed her toward change, an awkward return to sober intimacy, and how marriage and motherhood helped reshape the stories she wanted to tell.

This is Sisters in Sobriety, the support community that helps women change their relationship with alcohol. Check out our substack for extra tips, tricks and resources.

Ginny’s Links

Website Email Ginny OBEY IN ADVANCE All links and appearances

SIS Links

💌 Sisters In Sobriety Substack – where the magic (and the mocktail recipes) happen 📬 Sisters In Sobriety Email 📸 Sisters In Sobriety Instagram

Timestamped Highlights

00:00 — Introducing Ginny Hogan 02:00 — Debate, competition, and wanting validation 04:00 — Dating apps and drinking before dates 06:00 — Recognizing that moderation wasn’t working 07:00 — Feeling physically ill and seeking answers 09:00 — Fearing sober dating and stand-up 10:00 — A life that shrinks and expands 12:00 — The pink cloud and finding recovery support 14:00 — When wellness becomes expensive overcompensation 16:00 — Making room to opt out 17:00 — Sobriety labels and personal boundaries 21:00 — Feeling beyond addiction, yet fearing intoxication 23:00 — When relationships don’t improve with sobriety 26:00 — Returning to sober dating and intimacy 29:00 — Relationship patterns that survive quitting alcohol 34:00 — Learning to experience discomfort without drinking 36:00 — Body image and complicated health changes 42:00 — The pressure to be funny on dates 49:00 — OBEY IN ADVANCE and political catharsis 50:00 — What satire can reveal

Hardship does not pause when someone gets sober. In this episode of Sisters in Sobriety, Sonia welcomes Christina Smallwood, author of Hope in the Hard: Action Steps for Navigating Hardships. Through honest questions and shared recovery experiences, Sonia explores how Christina navigated grief, infertility, adoption, parenting a child with special needs, and a relationship with alcohol that became increasingly difficult to ignore.

What happens when drinking becomes a way to quiet grief and insecurity? How can someone look successful while struggling privately? And what makes hope different from toxic positivity? Their conversation explores people pleasing, alcohol as part of an identity, family expectations, and the fear that sobriety means losing the fun.

Christina describes hope as an action, rather than a demand to feel positive. She shares the difference between taking a temporary alcohol break and committing to recovery, along with the roles therapy, sponsorship, faith, and honest community played in her experience. They also discuss self-awareness, making amends, and recognizing emotional patterns that repeat across relationships.

Behind Christina’s public success is a deeply personal story: losing her father, facing infertility, and navigating her daughter’s surgery while alcohol became a source of escape. She reflects on returning to drinking after seven months alcohol-free, the private turning point that led her toward recovery, and the grace that helped her feel less alone.

This is Sisters in Sobriety, the support community that helps women change their relationship with alcohol. Check out our substack for extra tips, tricks and resources.

SIS Links

💌 Sisters In Sobriety Substack – where the magic (and the mocktail recipes) happen 📬 Sisters In Sobriety Email 📸 Sisters In Sobriety Instagram

Episode highlights

01:00 — Meet Christina Smallwood 03:00 — People pleasing and honest connection 05:00 — The hardship that changed her life 06:00 — Losing her father and finding faith 07:00 — Hope versus toxic positivity 08:00 — Taking recovery one step at a time 10:00 — Alcohol, acceptance, and blackouts 12:00 — Grief and the shift to daily drinking 15:00 — Seeing a joyful sober life modeled 16:00 — A seven-month alcohol break 17:00 — Family expectations and moderation 21:00 — Returning to drinking after surgery 24:00 — A private turning point 26:00 — Early sobriety and seeking support 29:00 — Finding belonging in recovery meetings 32:00 — Making amends and receiving grace 36:00 — Hiding sobriety in social settings 38:00 — Facing the insecurities beneath drinking 40:00 — The weight of looking successful 43:00 — Feeling less alone in the hard

On Sisters in Sobriety, Sonia and Kathleen support women in changing their relationship with alcohol and trusting themselves along the way. In this episode, Sonia talks with Nikki Sapiro Vinckier, an OB-GYN physician assistant, author of We Deserve More, and founder of Take Back Trust, about advocating for better women’s healthcare.

What does medical gaslighting sound like? When does “that’s normal” leave a real concern unanswered? How can perimenopause, sobriety, and changing relationships complicate the way women understand their bodies? Sonia and Nikki explore pain, reproductive health, and the questions patients may hesitate to ask.

Nikki explains how to prepare for an appointment, describe symptoms through their impact on daily life, and ask for a clear next step. The conversation covers perimenopause and menopause, trauma-informed care, LGBTQ+ inclusion, weight stigma, and rebuilding trust in a changing body.

The conversation becomes personal when Sonia shares the fear and isolation of receiving an HPV result by mail. Their exchange explores sexual-health stigma, gaps in communication, and why questions about prevention and follow-up deserve space in the exam room.

This is Sisters in Sobriety, the support community that helps women change their relationship with alcohol. Check out our substack for extra tips, tricks and resources.

Nikki’s Links

📸 Instagram 📚 We Deserve More

SIS Links

💌 Sisters In Sobriety Substack – where the magic (and the mocktail recipes) happen 📬 Sisters In Sobriety Email 📸 Sisters In Sobriety Instagram 🌐 Kathleen’s Website Kathleen does not endorse any products mentioned in this podcast 📸 Kathleen’s Instagram

Timestamped Highlights

01:00 — Meet Nikki Sapiro Vinckier 02:00 — An unexpected path into OB-GYN care 04:00 — Why Nikki took her advocacy beyond the clinic 06:00 — What medical gaslighting can sound like 08:00 — Why speaking up can feel difficult 12:00 — Prepare before entering the exam room 13:00 — Describe symptoms and their daily impact 15:00 — Responding when a concern is called “normal” 18:00 — Perimenopause symptoms across daily life 20:00 — Getting to know the body in sobriety 22:00 — Bias and the history of women’s healthcare 24:00 — Finding a clinician who takes concerns seriously 28:00 — Perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause 30:00 — Birth control and menopause assessment 32:00 — Gaps in training and trauma-informed care 33:00 — How healthcare fails LGBTQ+ patients 36:00 — Asking for care preferences around weighing 38:00 — The meaning behind Take Back Trust 43:00 — Dating, HPV questions, and Sonia’s experience 52:00 — We Deserve More and rebuilding self-trust