“Party like a maniac and enjoy life to its absolute fullest” – Daniel Maddock

“I’d been numbing my life with wine – now I’m arriving in my 50s vibrant, debt-free(ish) and fully awake.”

From ‘wine girl’ to daily habit

It started innocently:Facebook kept showing me an ad for a group called OYNB. I brushed it off at first – I don’t even drink beer, I’m a wine girl.

But one word in the headline hooked me: habits.

By then, “wine o’clock” had become a fixed part of my day:

• At first it was girls’ night once a week: wine, cheese, and venting.

• Then it became twice a week… then three.

• Eventually, I was opening a bottle whether anyone came over or not.

I told myself I deserved it:

• Single working mum

• Ex with alcoholism and bipolar disorder

• Running my own business

• Raising two kids, 7 and 11 at the time

On the outside, it looked “normal” and socially acceptable. Inside, the reality was different: I was tired all the time, lethargic, overweight, in debt and lying to everyone – including myself.

Wine as escape, not enjoyment

Looking back, wine had quietly become my escape route:

• from traumatic events and the fight/flight response

• from a painful relationship where the only time we “talked” was over drinks

• from loneliness, stress and responsibility

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Twelve years slipped by on the back deck, crying into my glass, promising to change “soon” – to hike, to go to the gym, to live healthier. Instead I poured another drink.

Deep down I knew: this wasn’t just a treat. It was a daily destructive and expensive habit.

Discovering OYNB – and myself

One day, I clicked that OYNB ad and signed up for the 28-Day Challenge just to “take a break”. I had no big expectations – I just hoped to prove to myself I could pause the cycle.

What I didn’t expect was:

• how powerful the global tribe would be

• how seen and supported I’d feel

• how quickly I would realise…

  
  

  I don’t even like the taste of alcohol.

Since starting on June 17, 2019, I haven’t had a single drop.

I upgraded to the 365-day challenge, set a huge fitness goal, and decided:

This is how I want to arrive in my 50s.

My alcohol-free life now

Today I feel:

• Vibrant and healthy – hiking every day, getting physically stronger

• Lighter – dropping weight and fitting back into clothes I almost gave away

• Calm and present – sleeping well, more patient, actually living my life

• Grounded – meditating more, resisting it less

I’m also tackling one of my biggest “whys”:

Becoming debt-free.

Without wine draining my money and my energy, I finally see real movement toward that goal.

Life is not sprinkled with rose petals now. Hard things still happen. But the difference is:

I meet life’s challenges knowing: I’ve got this. I don’t need to disappear into a bottle to cope.

One day at a time, alcohol-free – and I am genuinely, unapologetically happy.