I’m Laurie, creator & coach behind Life Off The Rocks. I’m a mom, wife, sister, music-lover, Crossfitter, & Spartan-racer. I’m also a former party-girl who has been rocking a happily sober life since February 15, 2021. After that date, I found my passion:
to help others find their happily sober life so they can rock too.
I spent a few decades in a problematic relationship with alcohol. I made many attempts to moderate at different times over the years, tried setting all sorts of different ‘rules’ for myself: only drink on weekends, set drink # limits for events & get togethers, alternate with a water between drinks, set a time to cut myself off, using a shot glass to make mixed drinks so I wouldn’t over pour myself, and many others. I might stick to my self-inflicted rules for a while, then I would inevitably fail. And the rules felt so cumbersome. Waiting until Friday made the work week feel like an eternity.
But I had never been arrested, never had an accident, never lost a job, never had an irrevocable fight with a loved one, or a severe injury, or any big, insurmountable consequences from drinking. So, I kept telling myself I didn’t have a problem. Yet I grew increasingly dissatisfied with my life. I consistently felt like something was missing or just not quite right, and I knew I wasn’t living to my full potential.
I was tired of hangovers, tired of the anxiety I felt leading up to events (“I hope I don’t drink too much….”), tired of the guilt after drinking more than planned, tired of breaking promises to my husband, son, friends & family, myself, and I was just plain tired of feeling tired all the time. Deep down, I knew I needed to give up alcohol. Even deeper down, I always wanted to be alcohol free. However, I was terrified to make that leap. I thought it would be incredibly dull, that I would need to upend my entire life, giving up friends & numerous activities that I enjoyed.
When I woke up that morning in February, with a debilitating hangover after an all-day-drinking & fun fest with several friends the day before, I decided I was done - at least for a little while. No need to think about forever, or setting an end date for this experiment in abstinence. I just wanted to take the option off the table for myself & see what would happen.
Much to my surprise, things got better rather quickly. The constant anxiety-guilt cycle of pre-drink worries followed by post-drunken shame stopped immediately. I felt an enormous weight lifted from my shoulders - a weight I had grown accustomed to carrying nearly my entire life and didn’t even realize was there.
I knew I couldn’t get through on sheer willpower alone - I needed accountability, a sober social circle or at least a couple sober people to lean on, & I needed to change up habits & hobbies so booze didn’t creep back in with all the new idle time on my hands. I decided to put more focus on my health: get a heck of a lot more consistent with exercise, work on nutrition & a healthier relationship with food, get enough sleep, drink enough water. And I needed to develop coping skills for everything since all I’d ever known was, “I need a drink.”
Amazing things start happening when you start taking care of yourself.
I was finally able to discover who I really am without the trappings of alcohol keeping me stuck at status quo. I am doing the things my drinking-self always said she wanted to do, but never did. I have more hobbies & interests than day-drinking, & night-drinking. I have loads more energy, more happiness, more peace, more patience, more freedom. I feel like I have uncovered a beautiful secret that was hiding in plain sight all along, & I want to share it with everyone - including you.
I am now a trained Peer Recovery Specialist & Certified Health Coach & Nutritionist. I want to use my lived experience & the knowledge I’ve gained to help empower you to live life on your terms without alcohol holding you back. We will create a customized strategy that fits you & your lifestyle so you too can have the happiness, peace, freedom, and success you’ve always desired. You deserve it. Let's rock this!
