Drinks | The Dry Tide
sipped on The Crimson Maiden (a tart and foamy concoction of pomegranate, apple juice, and fig syrup). Reid, who works in sexual-assault services at Carleton University, says a particularly bad hangover almost three years ago spurred her to try sobriety for 100 days. She hasn’t looked back. While people often frame sobriety as a type of deprivation, Bailey says the only things she’s depriving herself of these days are the anxiety and the shame that accompanied hangovers. “I’ve gained so much in sobriety,” she says, citing better sleep, overall health, and connections with her friends and family.
Reid dove into sobriety by listening to podcasts on recovery and engaging with the subreddit r/stopdrinking, share challenges and counter stigmas around abstaining from alcohol. “You can live a really full and beautiful life and be out in the world and socialize ... and not drink,” says Reid.
Jessie Duffy echoes that sentiment. Sobriety is both a personal and a professional matter for her: her role as owner of Arlington Five coincided with her transition to sobriety. She said not drinking has been “shockingly easy.” After decades in the service industry, Duffy says she feels support from her former colleagues when she does not accept a drink. With a business to run and a toddler at home, she felt she had too much to lose to hangovers and blurry nights. “My behaviour was becoming increasingly destructive.” with the same principles that go with making any good cocktail: balancing flavours and using quality ingredients.
When this issue went to press, there were no parties or bars to navigate with a seltzer in hand, but that doesn’t mean it’s easier to keep things dry in quarantine — the loss of routine and other coping mechanisms have made sobriety at home difficult for many. There’s no question the tide is changing. In the three years since she’s been sober, Reid has noticed an uptick in products catering to sober drinkers. Along with the explosion of the wellness industry, Parniak says, the rise in the sober movement is more than just a flash in the pan. “People are feeling a lot of freedom and empowerment to choose their own lifestyle.”