Happy #WarriorWednesday! This week, Nori Muro, founder of Cincinnati’s first Sober and Sober Curious Meet Up, Roasted Not Toasted, is sharing her journey to sobriety. Check out her story below!
My name is Nori Muro, I am 44, I live in Cincinnati with my husband and our 11-year-old daughter. I am also 2 years sober. This is My Soulful Sobriety I am a Creator of Authentic Conscious Connections & Experiences
I am Reinventing How We Gather
I am also the Founder of Cincinnati’s first Sober and Sober Curious Meet Up – Roasted Not Toasted.
I took my last drink on Christmas Night in 2017. Alcohol was very toxic for me, I abused it for years and it took over every being in my mind, body, and soul. I was living in an extremely dark and scary place feeling very alone, yet I had everything (husband, daughter, friends, family, beautiful house). I was turning to alcohol to numb out life and self-medicate.
When I lost my job in 2010 I became very depressed, angry, frustrated and lonely. I was also still suffering from Post-Partum Depression. I don’t think I ever really “came out” of my PPD. When I turned 40 my drinking got worse. I realized everything I could ever want had happened to me in my 30s so I thought, “what is left?” and started drinking every night. I succumbed to the “mommy wine culture.” For my last 2 years of drinking, I was either drunk or hungover every day. When I was drinking, I was drinking 2-3 bottles of wine a night, I was blacking out all the time, living in fear, guilt, and shame. I was always thinking about my next drink, only seeing what was right in front of me, not being able to see what was beyond my next drink.
On Christmas Eve in 2017, my daughter said to me, as she was crying, “mommy can you please stop drinking?” (she practically begged me) and I looked in her terrified eyes and said, “yes baby, I will.” I thought to myself, what kind of mom would I be if I chose alcohol over her? I hated what alcohol was doing to me, I hated the woman, mom, wife, daughter, friend, sister it was making me, and I thought I am not going to let alcohol win, I am way better than this and the person it is turning me into. Nothing good was coming from my drinking AT ALL. I honestly believe that I gave birth to my daughter so she could give me a “re-birth,” a second chance at life.
My mind, body, and soul were never really connected, not the way they are now. I was not only abusing myself physically, but mentally and emotionally, as well. I take great pride in my Holistic Recovery: treating the WHOLE ME in every aspect of it. I own my path to Recovery, it is work every day and work I am extremely passionate about. My recovery includes lots of self-love, yoga, journaling, sleep, reading self-reflection and spiritual books, connecting to a higher power, nutrition, creativity, retreats, listening to podcasts, my morning routine, my husband, my daughter, my mom and dad and my sister (who is 14 years sober), experiencing things with new eyes and mindset, the ocean, traveling, being raw and vulnerable, listening to my intuition, allowing mistakes and sitting with my feelings, manifesting, gratitude, being of service to others, getting out in nature, networking, connecting, sharing stories, forgiving myself, finding myself, quietness, waking up hangover free, finding my passion, and reminding myself how empowered I feel because of my sobriety. When you look at your life and feel at peace because of the changes you’ve made, THAT’S RECOVERY.
In January of 2019, I felt this longing to find more sober moms/women in recovery. I attended AA meetings early in my sobriety but the term Alcoholic didn’t resonate with me and I was looking at AA for personal connections which I didn’t find (looking back I realize it was because I was forcing the connections). In February of 2019, I created the Meet Up group “Women/Moms Living Alcohol-Free/Sober Curious” for the city. As of today, we have 110 women! It has all happened organically and naturally the way I would hope it would happen. “Roasted Not Toasted” is a powerful community, a safe space to find like-minded women, make connections, have deep, meaningful conversations, grow friendships, empower each other, learn from each other, share stories, partake in community work together, attend social events, doing things we used to do but now without the Alcohol! Just because you are sober doesn’t mean the FUN stops! In fact, my life got so much better when I got sober! Sobriety can be incredibly lonely, you are ostracized, you realize everything in life revolves around alcohol and you basically must reinvent who you are and how you live your life on your terms. I don’t view the women I have built this platform for are subjects of the conversation, they are the conversation. Community is powerful, personal connections are powerful, sharing a story is powerful. Stories about personal experiences break through barriers we might have. They empower us for the journey ahead. They help us move forward on days we don’t think we can.
After starting the meet-up group I knew I wanted to do more with my sobriety, give back to my community somehow, start the conversation about how our lives can change for the better when we remove toxic things from our lives. When I got sober my life changed in the most amazing ways. I see beyond what’s in front of me, I can see the world and my potential with brand new eyes, I have created new ways of doing old things. I am present in my life. I am empowered. I am confident in the person I am. I REALLY love my WHOLE self for the first time ever. I am growing, I am thriving. I am calm, centered, and happy. I have the best relationship with my daughter. I’m connecting with my husband in new ways. I am proud of the mother and wife I am becoming. I am spiritual. Sobriety was the greatest gift I ever gave to myself. So I want to share it with the community. My mission is to create conscious experiences where you can share your story, where you can move, learn, connect and grow, where personal connections can happen, where you can find your tribe, create your community and live a more connected life and be in that place where you can fully flourish as the best possible version of you. I want to unleash human connections for personal growth and help you reach your full potential.
Sobriety is work every day. But it is the best damn work I have ever done. My hope for you is for you to know that you are NEVER alone on this journey. Be brave, be strong, be patient, be honest, be vulnerable, you’ve only got one life to live, so live it the best way you can!