High-Functioning Alcoholism Almost Destroyed Him: Manny’s Road to Sobriety

High-Functioning Alcoholism Almost Destroyed Him: Manny’s Road to Sobriety

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation with Manny shows just how long and messy that road can be, even for someone who looked like they had it all together. Manny grew up in New Orleans hating alcohol after watching his mum’s drinking cause chaos at home. For years he avoided booze and drugs, focused on work and study, and was the “responsible one”.

Drinking only really took hold later in life, after marriage, business success, and a late start with cocaine at 29. From there, what began as martinis and “recreational” use slowly shifted into a high‑functioning dependence, fuelled by money, status, and a career in the gambling industry. Hurricane Katrina, the death of his brother, divorce, and untreated depression all added layers to the story.

Manny kept building businesses and closing deals, yet inside, as he says, “I really looked good from the outside, but if you shook me, I was broken glass on the inside.” Eventually, day drinking, four to five bottles of wine a day, isolation, and missed work led to a brutal bottom in Mississippi, where he could barely walk. He shares candidly about medical detox, rehab, three years sober, and then multiple relapses.

You’ll hear how trying to maintain relationships with people who still drank, overloading himself with work and study, and chasing external success all chipped away at his sobriety. At 66, he talks about finally wanting sobriety for its own sake, rebuilding a relationship with his daughter, and learning to be “comfortable being uncomfortable” without reaching for a bottle. This is aimed at anyone who thinks they’re “too successful”, “too old”, or “too high-functioning” to have a problem.

Manny’s story gently asks: if you stopped drinking, who would you be—and could that version of you actually be the one you’ve been looking for all along?