In Sarah Hepola’s book, she writes in one part how before she got sober she was so terrified of what people would think when they see her without a drink. She then writes how she realizes now that mostly alcoholics are the only ones who actually notice and/or care if someone is not drinking.

So much about quitting drinking is changing routine. And when you first start, thats when it is the hardest.

About the paralysis around do-I-quit-or-do-I-not. You spend so much time worrying about what other people are going to think. What are they going to think of me, how is it going to look, when I’m the only one at this fancy fundraiser/wine tasting/birthday party/whatever with a seltzer instead of a glass of wine in my…

This is so wonderful (I loved your book, too) that I’m going to save it to give it to new sponsees. I too, was perplexed by how to actually stop (and I had to practice quitting a lot, too) until I realized that it really is that simple: You don’t go to the store to buy more alcohol, you don’t pour it into a glass, you…