Sober Firsts: Networking Without the Wine

Sober Firsts: Networking Without the Wine

Curious about how others manage their sobriety journey at work events? This chat on Recovery Rocks looks at the awkward, hilarious and sometimes painful reality of business dinners without alcohol. Lisa shares how, in the 90s, her whole legal career seemed wrapped up in being "the fun one" at the bar with partners. After getting sober, her first work trip to a San Francisco conference left her "basically terrified" about how she'd cope without wine-fuelled bonding.

She explains the practical plan that kept her steady: eating before the cocktail hour, keeping chocolate handy, calling her sponsor before and after, turning up late so people already had drinks, and sticking to her go-to order: "club soda with a splash of cranberry and a lime." Anna brings a very different angle: nine months of early sobriety spent at Hollywood events as Premiere magazine’s "party girl" columnist.

Surrounded by open bars and glamorous people who seemed to drink normally, she learned to "think the drink through" – from wanting one glass of wine straight through to calling a dealer and waking up with the birds chirping. That mental fast-forward became her safety net. Both talk about the shock of realising most colleagues don’t drink the way they did.

Lisa notices many people switch to sparkling water by dinner, and that the real pressure typically comes from heavier drinkers: "It was about their drinking, not mine." Anna jokes about ordering a diet coke and telling herself, if she didn’t, she might be "calling my dealer and then the birds are chirping." This episode is especially helpful if you’re dreading your first work dinner sober, worried about what to say, or convinced everyone else is drinking like you used to.

It might leave you wondering: what if sobriety at these events is actually your secret advantage?