
This is Sober
By Molly Desch
Each episode of "This is Sober" features interviews with inspiring individuals who have achieved sobriety and are living fulfilling, purposeful lives. We dive deep into their journeys towards sobriety, exploring the challenges they faced, the strategies they used to overcome them, and the lessons they learned along the way.

This is SoberFeb 06, 2023

The Power of Choice: How Sobriety Amplified a Passion for Genuine Wellness with Stacy Toth
In this episode, we sit down with Stacy, the founder of Real Everything, a blog that began as a platform for sharing paleo recipes and tips for families but evolved into a passionate advocacy for non-toxic healthy living. Stacy's journey took an unexpected turn when she decided to confront her relationship with alcohol. Guided by her focus on holistic health, she made the courageous decision to quit drinking and embrace a (w)holistically healthy lifestyle.
As the host of The Whole View podcast, Stacy shares her experiences and insights to help listeners become the best versions of themselves. Through our conversation, Stacy opens up about her decision to quit alcohol, recognizing that it didn't align with her values and the vibrant, toxin-free life she was cultivating.
We delve into the transformation she experienced after letting go of alcohol and how it positively impacted her physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Stacy shares the benefits of living a non-toxic lifestyle inside and out, fostering a deep sense of authenticity and connection with herself and her loved ones.
Join us as we explore Stacy's journey, gaining inspiration and practical wisdom for embracing a (w)holistically healthy lifestyle, and discover the power of aligning our choices with our true values for lasting well-being.
Follow Stacy:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realstacytoth/
Website: https://realeverything.com/
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-whole-view/id553710453

Codependency Awareness: Empowering Your Sobriety Journey
Codependency can be described as someone who enables behaviors, such as rescuing, fixing, or taking responsibility for others' problems and consequences. Codependents may feel compelled to constantly help and control others, even at the expense of their own well-being. In this episode I share how I have noticed some of my past behaviors as codependent. When I learned someone very close to me was struggling with alcohol, I began rescuing, fixing, and taking responsibility for their problem. As I became self-aware of this, I have been able to step back and understand this as a pattern.
Self-awareness can be such a powerful tool in sobriety. It helps us recognize old behaviors that no longer serve us and allows us to develop healthier behaviors.
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Molly Desch is a women's sober coach, advocate for sober-awareness, podcast host, and single mother of 2.
As the Founder of As You Are, a Sober Women's Coaching company, she has worked with women from all walks of life to free themselves from alcohol with renewed energy, confidence, and pride using her Sustainable Path to Sobriety program. She has been featured in publications such as CBS, NBC, Authority Magazine, WomELLE, and Real Simple.
https://asyouarelifecoaching.com
IG: @sober_mober
FB: /asyouarelifecoaching

Redesigning Habits: Insights from the Founder of Oberit, Will House
In this episode, I speak to Will House, the founder and creator of Oberit, an app that has been helping thousands transform their habits into sustainable recovery. From a young age, he was exposed to a party culture where drinking was prevalent, influenced by his environment. In college, the drinking culture intensified, and upon entering the corporate world in London, he embraced a work hard, play hard mentality, leading to excessive alcohol consumption due to the demands of the job and corporate entertainment. Reflecting on this lifestyle, Will recognizes that his beliefs, habits, and behaviors were shaped by years of living in this environment.
Oberit is a rewards-based recovery app that incentivizes long-term mental wellness by helping users build consistent healthy habits, eliminate destructive behaviors, earn digital rewards and unlock exclusive subscriber discounts from brand partners in the in-app marketplace, which supports a healthy, fulfilling lifestyle. Will House is the founder of the Oberit app. Will has years of experience in recovery and founded Oberit to make recovery easier and more rewarding. Before founding Oberit, Will had more than a decade of experience in the tech field.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/willhouse1/
https://www.linktr.ee/oberit
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Molly Desch is a passionate advocate for sobriety and a beacon of hope for women seeking to reclaim control of their lives. Her journey towards a fulfilling and alcohol-free existence has inspired countless individuals to break free from the shackles of addiction and embrace a life of authenticity and purpose.
She is a sober coach, advocate for sober-awareness, podcast host, and single mother of 2.
As the Founder of As You Are, a Sober Women's Coaching company, she has worked with women from all walks of life to free themselves from alcohol with renewed energy, confidence, and pride using her Sustainable Path to Sobriety program. She has been featured in publications such as CBS, NBC, Authority Magazine, WomELLE, and Real Simple.

Breaking Barriers, Healing Bodies: How One Woman's Health Crisis Led to Sobriety with Mabel Bachini
In this episode I get to talk to to one of the most spirited and passionate women I've met. For way too long, she was enduring some health challenges that kept her up at night, held her in perpetual pain and discomfort, and overall led her to try anything to ease her burden. She saught medical help and for years felt frustrated at her inability to cure what most women can easily do with over the counter medication. It wasn't until a good friend of hers joked about how alcohol is an enemy of health issues like hers and it dawned on her she was going to give it a shot. She quit drinking in order to alleviate her health problems and slowly noticed her ailments improving. What started as a hypothesis to curb her pain became a lifelong commitment to sobriety.
Mabel is a career and mindfulness coach who has been sober for over almost 4 and a half years. Mabel started her sober journey for health reasons at the beginning of 2019, but even as her symptoms improved, the clarity and joy from no longer drinking was something she didn't want to up. Originally from the UK, Mabel now lives in Lancaster Pennsylvania where she continues to live a sober life.
Follow Mabel on Instagram @mabelbachini
Visit her website: mabelbachini.com
Find out your career personality & what you need for a fulfilling career: https://www.mabelbachini.com/personalityquiz/
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Nursing with Clarity: Embracing Holistic Health and Sobriety with Christy Sloan
I haven't had many healthcare professionals respond to my request to be interviewed on This is Sober, so I jumped at the chance when this nurse emailed me asking to share her story. I am grateful for her work in the field and her multi-passionate attitude towards helping others overcome their alcohol struggles.
In this episode Christy Sloan shares her story of her struggles with alcohol, how she white knuckled through her first year of sobriety, and how not confronting the underlying issues caused her to return to drinking. After watching her dad pass away from alcohol and smoking-related esophogeal cancer, she knew she needed a change both for herself and her new baby.
Christy Sloan is a BSN, RN, Certified Wellness Coach, Yoga teacher, and currently working towards Board Certification as a Nurse Coach and Holistic Nurse with the Integrative Nurse Coach Academy. As a professional woman in recovery from alcohol abuse, she passionately promotes health and healing with integrative and holistic approaches. She advocates for people to stop asking whether or not they're an alcoholic and instead ask, "Is alcohol serving my life?"
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Molly Desch is a certified women's sober coach, advocate for sober-awareness, podcast host, and single mother of 2.
As the Founder of As You Are, a Sober Women's Coaching company, she has worked with women from all walks of life to free themselves from alcohol with renewed energy, confidence, and pride using her Sustainable Path to Sobriety program. She has been featured in publications such as CBS, NBC, Authority Magazine, WomELLE, and Real Simple.
She also hosts "This is Sober", the podcast that focuses on exploring what life in sobriety is really like. Each week she dives into topics that impact those who are struggling with an unhealthy relationship with alcohol providing useful tips and strategies to string more days together and eventually overcome the drinking hamster wheel.
https://asyouarelifecoaching.com
IG: @sober_mober
FB: /asyouarelifecoaching

Sobriety and Sightseeing: Discovering the World Without Alcohol with Amy Hill
This episode is all about travelling sober. If taking a sober vacation scares the heebeegeebies out of you, this episode is for you!
Amy Hill, founder of Then She Went, is on a mission to change sober travel forever. Her very unique and incredibly amazing passion is taking women who are sober or sober curious to places like Guatemala, Columbia, and Mexico and opening their eyes to vacation sans alcohol. In this episode Amy talks about her previous relationship to alcohol, how that has changed in the past couple of years, how she is now living her best life, and helping other women overcome their fears of sober travel.
Amy has been living alcohol free since 2021 since she realized the profound effect alcohol was having in fueling her everyday anxiety. Over the course of the last two years she has completely re-imagined her life and it has learned to live aligned with her values. She is a Certified Naked Mind Coach and is passionate about educating others on how they can change their lives by changing their relationships with alcohol. As a lifelong explorer, she brings her work to the world through coaching and global sober curious events.
Follow her on Instagram: @thenshewent
TikTok: @then.she.went
Or visit her website www.thenshewent.com =================================================================================

Through the Storm: A Woman's Journey of Alcoholism, Cancer, and Healing with Angelica Alen
In this episode, Angelica Alen from Brisbane Australia shares her story how being diagnosed with stage 3 cancer not only led her to sobriety, but it completely altered her life for the better. We talk about her diagnosis and how it led her to begin a healing journey both physically and emotionally. With over 5 years sober AND now cancer free, she is determined to share her story and bring awareness to the dangers of alcohol.
About Angelica: Stage 3 Bowel Cancer Survivor & Thriver, Angelica Alen is a Health & Life Coach who focused on helping people to change their habits - physical, mental and emotional so they can create their dream life. Angelica has helped people from all over the world with issues like anxiety, diabetes, cancer recovery, mental health disorders, cholesterol, auto immune diseases, sleep issues, fatty liver disease and more. Angelica is passionate about helping people to free themselves from living in the prison of their bodies and minds so they can create life on their terms.
Connect with Angelica on LinkedIn
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Molly Desch is a certified women's sober coach, advocate for sober-awareness, podcast host, and single mother of 2.
As the Founder of As You Are, a Sober Women's Coaching company, she has worked with women from all walks of life to free themselves from alcohol with renewed energy, confidence, and pride using her Sustainable Path to Sobriety program. She has been featured in publications such as CBS, NBC, Authority Magazine, WomELLE, and Real Simple.
https://www.asyouarelifecoaching.com
IG: @sober_mober

Sipping on Life: How to Crowd Out Alcohol and Enjoy Sobriety with Julie Ann Meyer
In this episode I get to interview Julie Ann Meyer. She calls herself a late bloomer when it comes to drinking. She started in her early 20s and quickly spiraled into a full blown addiction. Like many of us, when life threw us curveballs, our drinking got worse. Julie not only shares what drinking was like for her, but her sobriety is so inspiring. What she is doing with herself these days, helping others achieve true wellness. As she says, wellness isn't just broccoli and burpees! We talk about what wellness means and how anyone in the sobriety journey, or in life in general can work towards total wellness of the mind, body, and spirit.
Julie Ann Meyer is the Visionary and TV Network President behind Achieve TV, a Tell-A-Vision Network for entrepreneurs. She’s also the Creator-Producer-Host of the successful TV show Own Your Wellness. As an industry leader in health & wellness for over a decade she supports people with life transformations, mindset shifts, nutrition changes, exercise, and stress reduction. She is also a contributing author of the book Achieve Wellness, featured on the TV show World's Greatest Motivators, and recently selected to be featured contributor in the Female Thought Leaders Special Edition of the LA Tribune. Put simply, Julie Ann is dedicated to helping people seize their greatness. Whatever that means to them!
@julesannmeyer www.ownyourwellness.net ===================================================================================
Molly Desch is a certified women's sober coach, advocate for sober-awareness, podcast host, and single mother of 2.
As the Founder of As You Are, a Sober Women's Coaching company, she has worked with women from all walks of life to free themselves from alcohol with renewed energy, confidence, and pride using her Sustainable Path to Sobriety program. She has been featured in publications such as CBS, NBC, Authority Magazine, WomELLE, and Real Simple.
She also hosts "This is Sober", the podcast that focuses on exploring what life in sobriety is really like. Each week she dives into topics that impact those who are struggling with an unhealthy relationship with alcohol providing useful tips and strategies to string more days together and eventually overcome the drinking hamster wheel.
https://asyouarelifecoaching.com
IG: @sober_mober
FB: /asyouarelifecoaching

Navigating the Stars: How Astrology Can Guide Your Sobriety Journey with Caitlin McPhail
In this episode I talk to professional Astrologer Caitlin McPhail. She's been a long-time student of astrology and is the founder of ValYou Wellbeing, providing astrology readings to clients for over 5 years.
In my personal sobriety journey, I have turned to astrology time and time again to help me overcome the uncertainty in my life. I have used the planetary alignments, the moon, my natal chart, and transit readings to guide me and help me make important decisions. Caitlin dives into all the things astrology and provides super helpful tips for those in sobriety:
- How to you use your natal chart to find your purpose
- How your natal chart influences addiction
- Transit readings are helpful when mapping out the future and planning
- How you can get natal readings for your children to assist you in their upbringing
- How astrology has helped me with emotional turbulence caused by planetary alignments
and so much more!
If you are skeptical about astrology, this episode is for you.
If you love astrology and are sober curious, this episode is for you.
Hell, this episode is helpful for anyone that is looking to find their purpose in life and live a more heart-centered and life with their eyes open.
You can contact Caitlin for natal chart reading, transit readings, and child readings by visiting ValYou Wellbeing Consulting.
or
You can email her at caitlin@valyouwellbeing.com
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Molly Desch is a certified women's sober coach, advocate for sober-awareness, podcast host, and single mother of 2.
As the Founder of As You Are, a Sober Women's Coaching company, she has worked with women from all walks of life to free themselves from alcohol with renewed energy, confidence, and pride using her Sustainable Path to Sobriety program. She has been featured in publications such as CBS, NBC, Authority Magazine, WomELLE, and Real Simple.
She also hosts "This is Sober", the podcast that focuses on exploring what life in sobriety is really like. Each week she dives into topics that impact those who are struggling with an unhealthy relationship with alcohol providing useful tips and strategies to string more days together and eventually overcome the drinking hamster wheel.
https://asyouarelifecoaching.com
IG: @sober_mober
FB: /asyouarelifecoaching

Breaking Free from the Gray Area with Kari Schwear
In this episode, I chat with founder of GrayTonic, Kari Schwear. This episode is packed with goodies! You'll learn all about how to discover the true you, what exactly is gray area drinking, how to work through that internal dialogue of 'do I have a drinking problem', how to use her D.E.C.I.D.E. methodology to create the change agent necessary to break free from alcohol, and so much more!
As a former gray area drinker, Kari Schwear founded GrayTonic & Question the Drink in 2018 after her own experience of “living in the gray” led her to the service of others. Her zone of genius is in habit creation, communication, leadership development and intentional living. She is an Executive Lifestyle Coach, author of two anthologies, a speaker and corporate trainer.
Links
Website: https://www.graytonic.com/
Free e-guide: https://graytonic.kartra.com/page/10Ways
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karischwear/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gray_tonic/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/graytonic
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Molly Desch is a certified women's sober coach, advocate for sober-awareness, podcast host, and single mother of 2.
As the Founder of As You Are, a Sober Women's Coaching company, she has worked with women from all walks of life to free themselves from alcohol with renewed energy, confidence, and pride using her Sustainable Path to Sobriety program. She has been featured in publications such as CBS, NBC, Authority Magazine, WomELLE, Scary Mommy, and Real Simple.
She also hosts "This is Sober", the podcast that focuses on exploring what life in sobriety is really like. Each week she dives into topics that impact those who are struggling with an unhealthy relationship with alcohol providing useful tips and strategies to string more days together and eventually overcome the drinking hamster wheel.
https://asyouarelifecoaching.com
IG: @sober_mober

From Near Death to New Life: Jason Lennox
This episode features Jason Lennox, author of "A Perfect Tragedy: Finding Purpose in Pain, Loss, and Addiction."
Jason tells me, "I want people to know the story is not just for those in recovery. It's designed to help everyone gain a deeper understanding of the trials and tribulations of an addiction journey, and has already resonated with many who grew up with similar struggles, even if they didn't fall into addiction. My goal is to reach as many people as possible with a story of pain, addiction, and recovery."
Jason is an addiction survivor who found his own recovery after a drug overdose in 2010, is a behavioral healthcare executive, founder and owner of two small businesses supporting organizations and individuals in recovery, and professional speaker and author who has used his story to influence hundreds of thousands of people in his twelve years of recovery. A strong member of the recovery community, Jason has advocated for change in the addiction treatment industry at the levels of individuals, organizations, societies, and government. He’s dedicated his life to helping our world better understand how to use authentic ways of being to transform the worst of situations into the greatest of assets.
To learn more about Jason, especially in how he can support you and your endeavors, visit www.jasonlennox.com, where you can find more of his work, hire him for your next event, and follow him on social media.
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Molly Desch is a certified women's sober coach, advocate for sober-awareness, podcast host, and single mother of 2.
As the Founder of As You Are, a Sober Women's Coaching company, she has worked with women from all walks of life to free themselves from alcohol with renewed energy, confidence, and pride using her Sustainable Path to Sobriety program. She has been featured in publications such as CBS, NBC, Authority Magazine, WomELLE, and Real Simple.

Breaking Free from Shame: A Path to Lasting Recovery
In this episode, I dive deep into the topics of shame and compassion in sobriety. I share some of my personal experiences with shame and how it impacted my addiction and journey to sobriety. We explore the ways in which self-compassion can be a powerful tool for overcoming shame and maintaining sobriety, as well as practical strategies for cultivating self-compassion in everyday life. Join us for this inspiring conversation about the role of shame and compassion in the recovery process.
"Self Compassion" by Kristin Neff
Molly Desch is a certified women's sober coach, advocate for sober-awareness, podcast host, and single mother of 2.
As the Founder of As You Are, a Sober Women's Coaching company, she has worked with women from all walks of life to free themselves from alcohol with renewed energy, confidence, and pride using her Sustainable Path to Sobriety program. She has been featured in publications such as CBS, NBC, Authority Magazine, WomELLE, and Real Simple.
You can find out more from her website at https://asyouarelifecoaching.com
Follow her on Instagram @sober_mober
Follow and Review this show!

Reframing Relapse: Finding Strength in Sobriety
In this episode, Molly talks about her experiences with relapse, what those experiences ultimately taught her, and how anyone working through sobriety can utilize relapse incidents as an opportunity to reframe their sobriety.
- Her first relapse happened after over 365 days of consecutive sobriety; she fell victim to the false pretense that after a long enough duration of sobriety she could handle drinking; she learned that owning her story and understanding her 'why' was vital to continuing to not drink
- After seeing her partner of over a year drinking while on a business trip she was overcome with loneliness, lack of trust, and the fear of being on her sober journey all alone; she was able to reframe her sobriety and embrace her story and be firm in knowing yes, this is all about her, and that's ok
- When friends of her threw her a happy hour going away party, Molly was underprepared and allowed fate to run its course, resulting in drinking too much, embarassing herself, and of course the worst hangover she had experienced in a very long time; she learned that social settings require a bit of forethought and planning and that it is ok to say 'no'
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Molly Desch is a certified women's sober coach, advocate for sober-awareness, podcast host, and single mother of 2.
As the Founder of As You Are, a Sober Women's Coaching company, she has worked with women from all walks of life to free themselves from alcohol with renewed energy, confidence, and pride using her Sustainable Path to Sobriety program. She has been featured in publications such as CBS, NBC, Authority Magazine, WomELLE, and Real Simple.
You can find out more about her coaching program, This is Sober podcast, and download her free workbook "Wine Stole My Dreams" from her website https://asyouarelifecoaching.com
Follow her on Instagram @sober_mober

Breaking Free: Rediscovering Yourself After Addiction with Al Richards
When Al reached out to me, I wanted to learn more about him before our interview. I scoured his podcast, other podcasts he had been on and came up very short. I realized Al hasn't publicly spoke much about his addiction and I was determined to change that. Ironically enough, Al had that exact thought when he came on my show. And for one of the first times, he shares his story.
Al Richards is a true inspiration to those who have faced addiction and are seeking a way to overcome it. After battling a weekend alcohol and cocaine addiction for eight years, Al lost his job of 24 years as a result. But instead of giving up, he turned his life around and spent the next 14 years working tirelessly on himself and helping others understand addiction. In March of 2021, he started The Other Side of Addiction Podcast, which has quickly become a space for open and honest dialogue about addiction and recovery. And just this past February, Al started the ARC/Addiction Resource Collective Networking group, in an effort to connect people with the resources and support they need to overcome addiction. Al believes that it's time to lift each other up, and he is leading the way with his powerful message of hope and healing.
Learn more about Al and his work at
https://www.resiliencetalknetwork.com/the-other-side-of-addiction
https://podcasts.apple.com/.../the-other.../id1667993425
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheOtherSideofAddiction
https://theothersideofaddiction.podbean.com/
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@sober_mober
molly@asyouarelifecoaching.com
https://asyouarelifecoaching.com

Bottled Up: The Devastating Effects of Underestimating Alcohol Addiction
This episode focuses on what to do and what not to do when a loved one comes to you saying they need help with their drinking.
Too often, when someone very close suggests they have a problem with their drinking, the recipient undermines their opinion and underestimates their request for help.
Imagine being on the giving end of such a request, you've been battling for days, weeks, even years trying to overcome your drinking and the person you trust most tells you 'you're not that bad'.
The truth is, this answer can lead to devastating results and the person asking for help should ALWAYS be taken seriously.
When I finally reached out to help, it was my mother who never questioned the seriousness and took immediate action to help, something that likely saved my life.
If you know someone who has asked for help, remember, their admission is NOT about you.
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You can follow me @sober_mober or visit my website at https://asyouarelifecoaching.com

Getting Sober Through Reframing Your Mind: Gina Kunadian
Gina Kunadian is a wife, mother, certified massage therapist, and alcohol recovery coach who has committed her life to helping women overcome their alcohol dependency, without traditional 12-step programs. She helps clients create unshakeable confidence, clarity, and energy so they can unleash their creative potential and live the lives of their dreams, alcohol free!
Aside from being a mother, Gina is most proud of overcoming her alcoholism. After trying inpatient to outpatient treatment, counseling, AA, rehab to relapse and beyond, she finally surrendered to her faith and found it was key to building a life of sobriety.
Today, Gina is proud to be over 5 years sober, and has used her experience to craft her signature “Transformation Shining Process” to help other women recover from alcoholism so they can stop sacrificing their lives, achieve their goals, and live life on their terms!
In this episode, Gina tells us about:
- The tragic sexual abuse she experienced at a very young age
- Abuse in relationships in her teens
- Introduction to ecstasy and alcohol
- Her hospitalizations and rehab admissions
- Finding recovery through church, serving, and her mentor
- Meeting her current husband when least expecting
- How you can find sobriety through reframing of your mind, establishing a healthy, mindful morning routine, positive self-talk, and a relationship with a higher power
Find Gina online:
IG: @thenewyou_kunadian
Web: www.ginakunadian.com

How do you deal with all the emotions after you get sober?
In this solo-cast, Molly talks about how our society is obsessed with blocking emotions.
From overscheduling, overworking, online shopping, social media, and drinking.
She talks about some techniques you can use to 'lean into' the emotions that come up after you quit drinking.
She advises that learning healthy strategies for the myriad of emotions that come up after you quit drinking takes time.
You have to practice different techniques that work for you and work through them until they become much more bearable.
These changes don't happen overnight.
Remember, when we drink to numb the bad, we are also numbing the good.
Molly's go-to mood altering strategies include meditation and music.
If you enjoyed this episode, please give it 5 stars and share it with your friends.
www.asyouarelifecoaching.com
IG: @sober_mober
FB: /asyouarelifecoaching

My Story
In this episode, I talk about my story. What got me started drinking, why I kept drinking, and what prompted me to give it all up.
Facebook: As You Are Life Coaching
Instagram: @sober_mober
Website: asyouarelifecoaching.com

This is Sober Trailer
Welcome to This is Sober, where I talk about what it really means to be sober, what life looks like for me and others on this journey.