Show Notes
Marissa Cherepanov knew for nearly a decade that she wanted to quit drinking. She took 30-day breaks, promised herself she would eventually stop, and kept waiting for the right time. As a working mom of four with a demanding career, her drinking became increasingly difficult to ignore. After COVID, the loss of her grandmother, growing responsibilities, and stress at home, Marissa reached a point where she felt like she needed alcohol just to feel normal. Then one conversation with her children changed everything. In this episode of The Sober New Yorker, Marissa shares the moment she pictured two completely different futures for her kids: one if she continued drinking and another if she stopped. That night, she told her husband she would never drink again. Marissa also opens up about her past, becoming a mother, building a successful career, changing her habits in early sobriety, and how quitting alcohol opened the door to opportunities she never imagined. More than three years later, Marissa’s life looks completely different, and it started with one decision she had been putting off for years.
Follow Marissa: https://www.instagram.com/m_cherepanova_/
More from The Sober New Yorker
For years, Rebecca believed drinking wine was just a normal part of life. But by her 50s, she was drinking at least a bottle of wine every night, sometimes opening a second, and beginning to hide how much she was consuming. In this episode of the Sober New Yorker Podcast, Melissa sits down with Rebecca, an artist, certified life coach, and host of the Curious on Life podcast, to discuss what finally led her to quit drinking at 60. Rebecca shares how her relationship with alcohol began at just 12 years old and continued through decades of marriage, motherhood, career pressures, and personal loss. What started as social drinking eventually became a nightly habit she relied on to numb difficult emotions. After attempting to moderate her drinking and experiencing a painful turning point, Rebecca realized that alcohol was taking more from her life than it was giving. Now alcohol-free, Rebecca has rediscovered her creativity, found new purpose, and helps other women explore what life without alcohol can look like. This conversation explores quitting drinking later in life, the challenges of giving up wine after decades of drinking, and why your 50s, 60s, and beyond can be the beginning of an entirely new chapter. Connect with Rebecca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curiousonlife/
How do you recognize a drinking problem when you’re doing everything right on the outside? Brianna, creator of More Fun Without It, was earning a 4.0 GPA in graduate school, studying addiction and building a career in mental health. But behind the scenes, her drinking and drug use were becoming increasingly difficult to control. Despite studying addiction, she struggled to recognize what was happening in her own life. In this episode of The Sober New Yorker, Brianna shares her journey through high-functioning alcoholism, depression, repeated attempts to quit drinking, and the moment she finally accepted that alcohol could no longer be part of her life. Now two years alcohol-free, she opens up about finding community, building a fulfilling sober life in New York City, and navigating the complicated conversations surrounding what sobriety really means. An honest conversation about addiction, denial, recovery, and discovering that life without alcohol can be better than you imagined. Brianna on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morefunwithoutit/
Madeline Forrest grew up knowing firsthand what alcohol could do. Her mom got sober at 21, and her dad struggled with alcohol addiction throughout much of Madeline’s childhood. So when Madeline eventually began questioning her own relationship with alcohol, she knew the warning signs — but her drinking didn’t look the way she thought a problem with alcohol was supposed to look. She considered herself a “happy drunk.” She wasn’t constantly causing chaos or getting into trouble. But underneath it all were blackouts, shame, and increasingly difficult anxiety the morning after drinking. After years of trying to convince herself her drinking wasn’t that bad, a month-long break from alcohol and several attempts at sobriety began showing Madeline something she couldn’t ignore: she was happier when she wasn’t drinking. In this episode of The Sober New Yorker, Madeline shares how her drinking progressed, why her first attempts at sobriety didn’t stick, and the realization that ultimately changed everything — she had to become willing to experience the discomfort of wanting a drink without acting on it. Madeline also shares how sobriety opened up an entirely new chapter of her life, from creating Happiest Sober and building a worldwide sober community to hosting group trips — including the trip where she unexpectedly met her now-fiancé. It’s a conversation about hangxiety, learning from multiple Day Ones, getting comfortable with discomfort, finding community, and discovering that sobriety can become about much more than simply not drinking. If you’ve ever wondered whether your drinking is “bad enough” to stop, Madeline’s story offers a different question: What if life could simply be better without it? Connect with Madeline: https://www.instagram.com/happiestsober/
What happens when you know alcohol is destroying your body, but you still can’t stop? Will Gordon’s drinking had already landed him in the hospital when doctors diagnosed him with alcoholic hepatitis and warned him that he needed to stop. He stayed sober for 125 days before relapsing—and from there, his addiction progressed quickly. Will began hiding vodka around his home and eventually reached the point of drinking nearly two liters every couple of days. His eyes turned yellow, his kidneys failed, and eventually his liver failed too. At just 33 years old, Will was on dialysis, hospice was involved, and his family was told he may only have weeks left to live. Then one doctor made a phone call that gave him another chance. Will shares the incredible series of events that followed: receiving a liver transplant, surviving septic shock and emergency bowel surgery, learning to walk again, continuing dialysis, and eventually receiving a kidney transplant. Today, Will is more than three years sober and has dedicated much of his life to helping others understand the reality of alcohol addiction and recovery. This is a story about alcohol addiction, relapse, liver failure, organ transplantation, sobriety, and what can happen when someone who had nearly given up on life gets another chance to live. Will on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewillpowerpodcast/
Jason spent years believing he was a functional drinker. He had a good job, made good money and took care of his kids—but behind the scenes, alcohol had progressed to waking up in the middle of the night and taking swigs of whiskey just to get back to sleep. In 2019, Jason quit drinking and remained alcohol-free for two and a half years. But while he had stopped drinking, his cocaine use increased, and he realized he was still holding onto the identity of being the “party guy.” Eventually, Jason returned to alcohol believing he could drink normally again. Instead, he found himself back in a cycle of drinking, cocaine use and repeated attempts to quit. In this episode, Jason and Melissa talk about alcohol addiction, cocaine, relapse, anxiety, fatherhood and the role identity can play in sobriety. Jason shares what changed when he stopped trying to simply remove alcohol from his life and became willing to change the person he believed he had to be.