(REBROADCAST) Celebrating Sober Anniversaries

(REBROADCAST) Celebrating Sober Anniversaries

How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober? This rebroadcast from Recovery Rocks zooms in on the messy, funny, and sometimes awkward reality of sober anniversaries, or "soberversaries" as some call them. You’ll hear how Lisa and her co-host Anna see these milestones very differently, yet land on the same message: there’s no right or wrong way to mark your time.

Lisa talks about her early days in New York, going to multiple meetings on her first anniversary, collecting her coin, and feeling like life had come full circle after hearing someone share a story that was basically her own. She describes the strange emotional charge that comes each April, when spring hits and memories of her bottom resurface, now as a reminder of how far she’s come. Anna, on the other hand, never misses a chance to throw a party.

Her first sober anniversary was a daytime karaoke bash in West LA with a private room and taped performances, reclaiming something she once only did drunk. With her 25-year mark approaching, she’s planning a full-on 90s-themed blowout, complete with velvet ropes, a doorman, instant cameras and even an In-N-Out truck. She admits the mix of excitement and anxiety around big celebrations, especially with traditions like "taking a cake" in California meetings and worrying who to ask to participate.

The conversation also touches on the pressure some people feel around anniversaries, from expectations to share something life-changing at meetings to the emotional wobble that can show up for no obvious reason. Lisa and Anna keep coming back to a simple idea: "Any excuse to celebrate yourself." Whether it’s a tattoo, a coin, a party or quietly noting the date, it’s about acknowledging a life that once felt impossible.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re "doing it right" with your sober dates, this episode might leave you asking instead: what kind of celebration feels right for you today?