Prompted by a listener question, this week’s episode is about Brooke and Ben’s relationship with alcohol and how it’s changed over the past five years. Brooke shares why she never really wanted to use the word ‘sober’ to describe herself and how healing helped her let go of rigid ideas on drinking vs not drinking.

Ben discusses the role drinking culture has had on his life and why he thinks other countries do it better than Australia. They also talk about wasted days, the toll drinking takes and the flip-side: the high cost of complete restriction. It’s a vulnerable chat but it feels important to share.

They also discuss:
their respective relationships with alcohol — then and now
Brooke’s experience with quitting — why, how and what she told people about it
what was lost and gained
how learning to have fun sober has been a game-changer
the physiological effects of alcohol and why Brooke used it as a social crutch
why moralising could have a negative effect on their family
how to step back from a restrictive mindset and soften the language we use
why we still do things we know to be “bad” for us
the difference between preferences and non-negotiables
what Brooke and Ben would tell themselves 10 years ago

Thanks for listening!

Links:
Find everything mentioned in today’s show at brookemcalary.substack.com 
Become a paying supporter of ttath and get double the episodes! Weekly shows delivered straight to your inbox for just $8AUD/month or $80AUD/yr.
If video is your jam, subscribe to our YouTube channel @thetortoiseandthehare and watch today's episode
Access the full, human-made transcript here

Credits:
the tortoise & the hare is a McAlary Media production.
Produced and hosted by Brooke McAlary and Ben McAlary
Edited by Ben McAlary
Studio equipment supplied by shot.studio
Theme music is Edgar Allan Poe by Modern Aquatic

Prompted by a listener question, this week&rsquo;s episode is about Brooke and Ben&rsquo;s relationship with alcohol and how it&rsquo;s changed over the past five years. Brooke shares why she never really wanted to use the word &lsquo;sober&rsquo; to describe herself and how healing helped her let go of rigid ideas on drinking vs not drinking.
Ben discusses the role drinking culture has had on his life and why he thinks other countries do it better than Australia. They also talk about wasted days, the toll drinking takes and the flip-side: the high cost of complete restriction. It&rsquo;s a vulnerable chat but it feels important to share.
They also discuss:
<ul>
<li>their respective relationships with alcohol &mdash; then and now</li>
<li>Brooke&rsquo;s experience with quitting &mdash; why, how and what she told people about it</li>
<li>what was lost and gained</li>
<li>how learning to have fun sober has been a game-changer</li>
<li>the physiological effects of alcohol and why Brooke used it as a social crutch</li>
<li>why moralising could have a negative effect on their family</li>
<li>how to step back from a restrictive mindset and soften the language we use</li>
<li>why we still do things we know to be &ldquo;bad&rdquo; for us</li>
<li>the difference between preferences and non-negotiables</li>
<li>what Brooke and Ben would tell themselves 10 years ago</li>
</ul>
Thanks for listening!
Links:
<ul>
<li>Find everything mentioned in today&rsquo;s show at <a href="https://www.brookemcalary.substack.com">brookemcalary.substack.com</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Become a paying supporter of ttath and get double the episodes! Weekly shows delivered straight to your inbox for <a href="https://www.brookemcalary.substack.com/subscribe">just $8AUD/month or $80AUD/yr.</a></li>
<li>If video is your jam, subscribe to our YouTube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thetortoiseandthehare">@thetortoiseandthehare</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/Ra8J29u9p7o">watch today's episode</a></li>
<li>Access the full, human-made <a href="https://brookemcalary.substack.com/p/drunk-and-sober?showTranscript=true">transcript here</a></li>
</ul>
Credits:
<ul>
<li>the tortoise &amp; the hare is a McAlary Media production.</li>
<li>Produced and hosted by Brooke McAlary and Ben McAlary</li>
<li>Edited by Ben McAlary</li>
<li>Studio equipment supplied by shot.studio</li>
<li>Theme music is Edgar Allan Poe by&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/3NH6G625odjefc6B8x21ol?si=s0SgpRcrRi-epsHTor9PcQ">Modern Aquatic</a></li>
</ul>

Fast and slow. Young and old. Hard and soft. Open and closed. Real and fake. Hide and seek. Pleasure and pain… Life is full of dualities and extremes and pick-a-sides. But most of our days are spent in the messy middle. 

the tortoise and the hare is a weekly show from the crew who brought you The Slow Home Podcast (RIP). Each episode is a human-made, homegrown, perfectly imperfect conversation about the either/or of life and the vast grey area in between.

Because we all contain multitudes. So let’s talk about them.

Fast and slow. Young and old. Hard and soft. Open and closed. Real and fake. Hide and seek. Pleasure and pain&hellip; Life is full of dualities and extremes and pick-a-sides. But most of our days are spent in the messy middle.&nbsp;
the tortoise and the hare is a weekly show from the crew who brought you The Slow Home Podcast (RIP). Each episode is a human-made, homegrown, perfectly imperfect conversation about the either/or of life and the vast grey area in between.
Because we all contain multitudes. So let&rsquo;s talk about them.

We all contain multitudes. So let's talk about them.

the tortoise & the hare

Five years of not drinking taught Brooke a lot about joy and shame. So where is she and Ben on the spectrum of sobriety now?