- 36 minutes 40 secondsNaltrexone - Can You Drink Your Way Sober? - with Katie Herzog
This week Vic is joined by journalist and podcaster Katie Herzog to talk about the winding, messy road many of us take trying to figure out our relationship with alcohol.
Katie shares what her drinking looked like during Covid, how it quietly ramped up behind closed doors, and the strange mental gymnastics of hiding drinking from partners and pretending your fine and dandy, when really... it's all falling apart.
They talk about the moment when drinking stops feeling fun and starts feeling lonely, the awkward reality of not quite connecting with AA, and the long search for something — anything — that might actually help.
Eventually that search led Katie to Naltrexone, a medication used to reduce the brain’s reward response to alcohol. For Katie, discovering it changed everything. Over time it helped rewire the habit loop, take away the obsessive pull toward drinking, and slowly create something she hadn’t felt in a long time… freedom from alcohol.
The experience was so transformative that Katie went on to write a book about it, exploring the science, the stigma, and why conversations about medication and sobriety can be so surprisingly controversial.
It’s an honest chat about finding your own path, challenging recovery dogma, and the strange relief of realising there might be more than one way to get sober.
Find out more about Katie and buy her book here -
https://www.amazon.com/dp/163774739X
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Drink-Your-Way-Sober/Katie-Herzog/9781637747391
follow her on twitter here - @kittypurrzog
💛 Resources & Links
📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes
🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
10 May 2026, 2:01 pm - 11 minutes 37 secondsThe Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
This week’s Shame Shed is a more serious one.
A parent writes in about the shame they carry from drinking while raising their kids, and the heavy weight of seeing it all clearly now they’re sober.
If you’ve ever felt that knot in your stomach about the past, this one will hit home.
The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking stories. It’s not about judgement, it’s about recognising how wild things could get when alcohol was in charge, and laughing about it now we’re on the other side.
But sometimes, it’s also a place for the harder stuff, the honest bits we don’t always say out loud.
If you’ve got a story you’d like to get off your chest, funny, awkward or something a bit more serious, you can send it to Vic at:
Anonymous is absolutely fine. In fact, for legal reasons, probably preferable!!
📞 SUPPORT & RESOURCES
If anything in today’s Shame Shed felt familiar, or you’re worried about your drinking, there is support out there. You don’t have to do this on your own.
🇦🇺 Australia
National Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline
📞 1800 250 015 (24/7)
🌐 https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/alcohol-and-drug-information-service
Lifeline
📞 13 11 14 (24/7)
🌐 https://www.lifeline.org.au
Hello Sunday Morning / Daybreak
🌐 https://hellosundaymorning.org
🌐 https://daybreakapp.com.au
Clean Slate Clinic
🌐 https://www.cleanslateclinic.com
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Drinkline
📞 0300 123 1110
🌐 https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/alcohol-support/
Alcohol Change UK
🌐 https://alcoholchange.org.uk
We Are With You
🌐 https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk
🌍 International
Alcoholics Anonymous
🌐 https://www.aa.org
SMART Recovery
🌐 https://www.smartrecovery.org
💬 A gentle reminder
If you’re drinking in the morning to cope, especially with anxiety or withdrawal symptoms, it’s really important to speak to a doctor or medical professional. Stopping suddenly can be unsafe for some people, and support can make a huge difference.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
6 May 2026, 2:01 pm - 36 minutes 45 secondsSobriety on Instagram: Connection, Comparison or Compulsion? - with Sarah Drage
This week on Sober Awkward, Vic chats with Social Media Educator and (National Association for Children of Addiction) NACOA Ambassador - Sarah Drage about the strange and sometimes complicated world of sobriety on the internet.
When we stop drinking, many of us head straight online. Suddenly there are sober coaches, Instagram accounts, communities, podcasts, hashtags, and an entire digital world devoted to not drinking. For some people it becomes a lifeline. For others… it can start to feel like just another thing we’re slightly addicted to.
Vic gets honest about her own relationship with the online sober world, the pressure to keep creating content, and the strange reality of sharing your life with people you’ve never met. She often tells herself, “If it helps one person, it’s worth it.” But what happens when helping strangers online starts competing with real life, family time, and your own wellbeing?
And then there’s the other side of the internet. The rabbit holes. You open Instagram looking for a sober quote and twenty minutes later you’ve somehow ended up on a page where people are putting very strange things in very strange places. How does that happen? What are they doing? And why can’t we look away?
You’ll have to listen to find out… let's just say it involves bottoms.
Find out more about Sarah here @sarah_drage
Find The Children of Alcoholics Podcast here - https://hello9a.podbean.com/
Ted Talk - https://tr.ee/x6tGO8cVc5
💛 Resources & Links
📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes
🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
3 May 2026, 2:01 pm - 8 minutes 27 secondsThe Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
A work Christmas party that escalated quickly… involving a Christmas tree, a taxi ride that didn’t go to plan, and a very unfortunate encounter with a dog flap.
This week’s Shame Shed is a reminder that some people don’t “just have a few”… they fully commit.
The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking stories. It’s not about judgement, it’s about recognising how wild things could get when alcohol was in charge, and laughing about it now we’re on the other side.
If you’ve got a story you’d like to get off your chest, funny, awkward or slightly ridiculous, you can send it to Vic at:
Anonymous is absolutely fine. In fact, for legal reasons, probably preferable!!
📞 SUPPORT & RESOURCES
If anything in today’s Shame Shed felt familiar, or you’re worried about your drinking, there is support out there. You don’t have to do this on your own.
🇦🇺 Australia
National Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline
📞 1800 250 015 (24/7)
🌐 https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/alcohol-and-drug-information-service
Lifeline
📞 13 11 14 (24/7)
🌐 https://www.lifeline.org.au
Hello Sunday Morning / Daybreak
🌐 https://hellosundaymorning.org
🌐 https://daybreakapp.com.au
Clean Slate Clinic
🌐 https://www.cleanslateclinic.com
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Drinkline
📞 0300 123 1110
🌐 https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/alcohol-support/
Alcohol Change UK
🌐 https://alcoholchange.org.uk
We Are With You
🌐 https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk
🌍 International
Alcoholics Anonymous
🌐 https://www.aa.org
SMART Recovery
🌐 https://www.smartrecovery.org
💬 A gentle reminder
If you’re drinking in the morning to cope, especially with anxiety or withdrawal symptoms, it’s really important to speak to a doctor or medical professional. Stopping suddenly can be unsafe for some people, and support can make a huge difference.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
29 April 2026, 2:01 pm - 52 minutes 24 secondsLittle Addictions with Catherine Gray
Vic had to properly brace herself for this one… sitting down with Catherine Gray, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober.
This is the book that completely changed the course of Vic’s sobriety. The one that, for the first time, made an alcohol-free life feel exciting rather than something to endure. So yes… she tried not to gush. No promises.
As expected, Vic and Catherine had plenty to share. Catherine’s latest book Little Addictions dives into all the little things we lean on, the scrolling, the snacking, the busy distractions, the habits that don’t look like a problem… but might quietly be running the show.
From favourite reality TV to chewing gum habits and even watching traffic on the M25, nothing is off limits.
Together they unpack what “little addictions” really are, and why, as sober people, we might find it easier to quit the big things… but struggle to moderate the small ones.
Confused? Don’t worry, it all makes sense.
And if you fancy listening to two grown, sober women who have both been arrested in the past… you’re in luck. (Brixton 1, Brighton 1)
No shame here, but lots of laughs and honesty!
💛 Resources & Links
📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes
🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
26 April 2026, 2:01 pm - 8 minutes 13 secondsThe Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
One man, one very confident walk home… and one slight issue with the fact he no longer lived there.
The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking stories. It’s not about judgement, it’s about recognising how wild things could get when alcohol was in charge, and laughing about it now we’re on the other side.
If you’ve got a story you’d like to get off your chest, funny, awkward or slightly ridiculous, you can send it to Vic at:
Anonymous is absolutely fine. In fact, for legal reasons, probably preferable!!
📞 SUPPORT & RESOURCES
If anything in today’s Shame Shed felt familiar, or you’re worried about your drinking, there is support out there. You don’t have to do this on your own.
🇦🇺 Australia
National Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline
📞 1800 250 015 (24/7)
🌐 https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/alcohol-and-drug-information-service
Lifeline
📞 13 11 14 (24/7)
🌐 https://www.lifeline.org.au
Hello Sunday Morning / Daybreak
🌐 https://hellosundaymorning.org
🌐 https://daybreakapp.com.au
Clean Slate Clinic
🌐 https://www.cleanslateclinic.com
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Drinkline
📞 0300 123 1110
🌐 https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/alcohol-support/
Alcohol Change UK
🌐 https://alcoholchange.org.uk
We Are With You
🌐 https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk
🌍 International
Alcoholics Anonymous
🌐 https://www.aa.org
SMART Recovery
🌐 https://www.smartrecovery.org
💬 A gentle reminder
If you’re drinking in the morning to cope, especially with anxiety or withdrawal symptoms, it’s really important to speak to a doctor or medical professional. Stopping suddenly can be unsafe for some people, and support can make a huge difference.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
22 April 2026, 2:01 pm - 44 minutes 54 secondsThe Problem With “Normal” Drinking – with William Porter
Vic sits down with William Porter to unpack one of the biggest traps in drinking culture, how alcohol became so normal we stopped questioning it.
From cracking a Red Stripe on a train at 7.30am in London to planning entire nights around that first drink, this episode explores the quiet, creeping ways alcohol becomes the main event without us even noticing.
They dive into where cravings really come from, why our brains keep sending us back for more even when it makes us feel awful, and how growing up surrounded by booze can make drinking feel less like a choice and more like something we were always going to do.
There’s also a moment so many of us will recognise, that slow realisation that feeling anxious, flat, and exhausted all the time might not just be “life”, it might be alcohol.
This is the episode where things start to click, where the fog lifts a little, and where you begin to see the bigger picture.
If you’ve ever woken up and thought “why am I doing this again?”, this one’s for you.
💛 Resources & Links
William Porter - Alcohol Explained - https://amzn.asia/d/0j9Q896E
📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes
🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
19 April 2026, 2:01 pm - 15 minutes 36 secondsThe Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
This week in the Share Shed there is a message from someone who feels properly stuck.
It’s whisky, and it’s creeping earlier. What used to be evenings has slowly shifted… to afternoons… and now sometimes mornings. Just a quick swig out of the bottle to steady the nerves.
They’ve been listening to the podcast, quietly questioning things, knowing deep down something isn’t right… but still lying to themselves and everyone around them.
And this is the first time they’ve ever said it out loud. If this resonates maybe the best thing you can do is just tell one person?
The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking stories. It’s not about judgement, it’s about recognising how wild things could get when alcohol was in charge, and laughing about it now we’re on the other side.
If you’ve got a story you’d like to get off your chest, funny, awkward or slightly ridiculous, you can send it to Vic at:
Anonymous is absolutely fine. In fact - for legal reasons - probably preferable!!
and if you feel like you are in need of some extra support and you live in Australia - here are some people you can call -
📞 SUPPORT & RESOURCES
If anything in today’s Shame Shed felt familiar, or you’re worried about your drinking, there is support out there. You don’t have to do this on your own.
🇦🇺 Australia
National Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline
📞 1800 250 015 (24/7)
Free, confidential advice and support
🌐 https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/alcohol-and-drug-information-service
Lifeline (if you’re feeling overwhelmed or in crisis)
📞 13 11 14 (24/7)
🌐 https://www.lifeline.org.au
Hello Sunday Morning / Daybreak App
Online support programme and community
🌐 https://hellosundaymorning.org
🌐 https://daybreakapp.com.au
Clean Slate Clinic
Telehealth support for detox and recovery from home
🌐 https://www.cleanslateclinic.com
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Drinkline (NHS Alcohol Helpline)
📞 0300 123 1110
🌐 https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/alcohol-support/
Alcohol Change UK
Advice, tools, and support
🌐 https://alcoholchange.org.uk
We Are With You
Free, local and online support
🌐 https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk
🌍 International
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
Find local meetings worldwide
🌐 https://www.aa.org
SMART Recovery
Science-based support groups (online and in person)
🌐 https://www.smartrecovery.org
💬 A gentle reminder
If you’re drinking in the morning to cope, especially with anxiety or withdrawal symptoms, it’s really important to speak to a doctor or medical professional. Stopping suddenly can be unsafe for some people, and support can make a huge difference.
You don’t have to have it all figured out.
You just have to start somewhere.
💛 Other Resources & Links
📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes
🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
15 April 2026, 2:01 pm - 39 minutes 54 secondsSober Sex: How to Get Wet When You’re Dry - with Anna Wolfe
This week… we’re going there.
Dating sober. Regretful one-night stands. The murky truth about consent. Letting go of shame. First sober sexual encounters… and yes, even prison date nights. It’s all on the table.
I’m joined by the brilliant Anna Wolfe, host of How To Get Wet When You’re Dry, who brings both lived experience and serious journalistic insight into what actually happens after we get sober, especially when it comes to relationships and sex.
We talk about the things most of us have done… but rarely unpack properly. The choices we made when alcohol was involved, the lines that got blurred, and what it looks like to navigate intimacy without it.
It’s honest, uncomfortable at times, and properly eye-opening.
And yes… I do cringe my way through parts of it.
But that’s kind of the point. Because sobriety doesn’t just change what we drink, it changes how we connect, how we choose, and how we show up in the most vulnerable parts of our lives.
Enjoy! and you can listen to Annas podcast here - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-to-get-wet-when-youre-dry/id1833243242
or follow her here - @imannawolfe
💛 Resources & Links
📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes
🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
12 April 2026, 2:01 pm - 13 minutes 10 secondsThe Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
This week in the Share Shed there is a very common story about what happns when you have too many shots at a Hen Night. A big thank you to Clare who sent it in and another question from an anonymous listener - What do you say when your friends ask why you're not drinking?
The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking stories. It’s not about judgement, it’s about recognising how wild things could get when alcohol was in charge, and laughing about it now we’re on the other side.
If you’ve got a story you’d like to get off your chest, funny, awkward or slightly ridiculous, you can send it to Vic at:
Anonymous is absolutely fine. In fact - for legal reasons - probably preferable!!
💛 Resources & Links
📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes
🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
8 April 2026, 2:01 pm - 53 minutes 10 secondsLet’s Talk Nervous Systems – with Sarah Rusbatch
This week on Sober Awkward, Vic chats with one of her favourite sober buddies, sobriety coach - Sarah Rusbatch about something many of us completely ignored while we were drinking… our nervous systems.
For years we thought alcohol was helping us relax. Turns out it was often doing the exact opposite, keeping our bodies stuck in stress mode.
Sarah breaks down what’s really going on in our nervous systems, why so many of us feel wired, anxious or exhausted, and what we can actually do to regulate ourselves without reaching for a drink.
Vic admits she learned loads in this chat and had a few lightbulb moments along the way. Make sure you listen right to the end for a simple breathing exercise you can try with us. And in true Sober Awkward style, Vic pops back in 24 hours later with a little update after trying a couple of the things Sarah suggested. It’s amazing what a difference a day can make when you start paying attention to your nervous system.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Find Sarah's courses, retreats, challenges and more here - https://sarahrusbatch.com
and join her amazing April alcohol reset challenge here - https://sarahrusbatch.com/30day-af-program
💛 Resources & Links
📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes
🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
5 April 2026, 2:01 pm - More Episodes? Get the App