Why I Wrote Mostly Sober: A Love Story and a Road Trip? I Had To

By Susan Keller

I was a daily drinker for decades. Not heavy, just a couple glasses of wine in the evening; but we now know that daily drinking is physically, mentally, and emotionally damaging. In fact, no amount of alcohol is healthful. 

Here’s a glimpse at my journey. In January, 2023, my husband, Dan, and I decided to have a dry month. Some nights were a real battle to resist a drink; still, we did it. Well, until the end of the month when we jumped off the wagon. We joked that we should have chosen February with 28 days. 

Then, there was a decision.  

Would we go back to our previous habits, or would this be a new life for us? We chose the latter. We would not give up drinking but only indulge on “special” occasions. Although in February, there was Valentine’s Day, Dan’s birthday, and a couple of celebrations on the 19th hole. We indulged, and it was fun. We’d both cut down from 60 plus drinks a month to a few Happy Hours, at 2 drinks max. 

How will you define your special occasions? Finally got those Good Will bags out of the garage? Fertilized the house plants? Got those deductible receipts organized? You’ve got to decide. Just be careful of “It was such a lousy day….” Or “I need to relax….” Those can be slippery slopes that become all-too-common reasons to return to former drinking habits. 

A Bit of My Background

My father died at 60 from alcoholism. He’d left us when I was 12, remarried, and adopted his second wife’s daughter who replaced me. I was kicked to the curb and decades later am still recovering from that wound.

A piece of that recovery included alcohol. Turning to a bottle to ease trauma isn’t rare. It’s scary being so open and vulnerable. But here goes.

I started drinking a little in high school. Friends would pilfer gin or vodka from their parent’s bar and then add water to make it look like everything was just fine. I wonder how that went down with those parents. I guess I looked older, because I was the one chosen to go to the liquor store at 17 and buy beer. They sold it to me, which I still wonder about. 

I don’t remember much drinking in college, just a lot of time in the library. I graduated with a difficult double major and dove into my work life. 

When Dan and I started dating, he introduced me to martinis. After our wedding, we took the tram from Palm Springs to the top of Mount San Jacinto where we went to the lounge. He ordered martinis. When our drinks arrived, he began respectfully instructing the bartender how they should be made. I thought: Wow, have I married the right guy! We stuck to this dubious habit until I got pregnant, just four months later. Then those frozen vodka treats disappeared. 

Over the years, my husband and I enjoyed wine with dinner. It was what everyone else did after a stressful day of work, commuting, parenting, and keeping the house running. Again, it was a regular habit but not excessive. There was even “evidence” that red wine was good for the heart. That, of course, has now been dispelled. 

I’m truly happy about this new lifestyle and it can be yours too, if that’s your inclination. Lots of superb help from podcasts, apps, communities, and books are available to help you minimize or even stop drinking. I list all of these in my book’s Resource Section.

After decades of nightly drinking, I don’t intend to be alcohol free, nor will I allow alcohol back in my life every time the clock strikes five.

What Was the Process of Writing Mostly Sober?

Writing this novel was a real joy. I had a message I was passionate about and wanted it out in the world. The road-trip structure of the story was something I’d been playing around with for some time, but it came into real focus when I understood that the overarching theme of the novel was alcohol minimization. Then, I had a mission, not just a story.

Mostly Sober: A Love Story and a Road Trip is about a woman who must leave her hidden infatuation with alcohol to reach her life goals and marry the man she loves.

I wrote the book to help others loosen alcohol’s seductive grip. Release date for the e-book is June 11 and June 22 for the paperback. Millions of Americans want to cut back on their drinking. The time has come for a book like mine.

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With a degree in Epidemiology and Immunology, Susan enjoyed a 30-year career as an award-winning medical writer. Additionally, her poetry won prizes in regional and national contests. This background in science and poetry gives her writing credibility as well as lyricism.

Susan’s experience overcoming a frequently fatal lymphoma inspired her to write Blood Brother: A Memoir. The subhead: Johnny’s bone marrow could save my life, but he’d vanished 30 years ago. 

Her second book Mostly Sober: A Love Story and a Road Trip, is a deeply human narrative centered around the sober-curious movement and will help and resonate with the millions of Americans determined to reduce their drinking. Follow her at www.susankeller.com 

MOSTLY SOBER: A LOVE STORY AND A ROAD TRIP

Annie is 27 years old and has taken a break from medical school to waitress, make money, and pay down her crushing student debt. She is also a drinker. Deeply shaken by what she sees as her many failures, she speaks to her doctor who diagnoses depression and recommends volunteering to get out of her own mind. On a volunteer beach clean-up, she meets Dean, a smart, funny, sexy fireman, whose only noticeable vice is cheesecake.

Dean proposes but Annie asks for more time. He is angry and hurt. She has hidden her affair with alcohol and needs time to reduce her gray-area drinking.

Immediately after his proposal, Annie gets a distressed call from her estranged mother. This phone call launches a grueling, four-day road trip with her mother, her loving but clinically depressed stepfather, and a tranquilized cat. On this arduous journey, Annie begins to understand the family trauma behind her drinking habit. Sober curious, she stumbles on her way to moderation but continues to get up and try again.

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Category: On Writing