Sober Talk SA - Heidi

Sober Talk SA - Heidi

What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? On Sober Talk SA, Heidi lays out her journey with a mix of brutal honesty, dark humour, and hard-won hope that many in recovery will instantly recognise. From her first drink at six years old on a houseboat with her dad, Heidi describes how alcohol quickly became the centre of her life.

She laughs wryly about being the kid who’d happily fetch Nan’s port – "one for me and one for her" – and the teenager who thought self-esteem "came in a bottle". By her twenties she was binge drinking, losing her licence, waking up with shame and regret, and ending up in hospital with a heart rate of 220 beats per minute. Heidi talks about that chilling inner question that finally broke through: "Is this it?

Is this what you want for the rest of your life?" That moment, a bleak spell in Darwin, and a deep sense of spiritual emptiness pushed her back to Adelaide and into Alcoholics Anonymous, where her sober date becomes 31 May 2008. She shares what early sobriety actually looked like: fear, resistance to the steps, plenty of meetings but "plenty of activity, no action", and trying to control everything without a drink.

Things only began to shift when she became desperate enough to ask for help and seriously work through the AA programme, especially the written steps and making amends. One of the most striking moments comes when she realises the obsession has been lifted – noticing herself moving a glass of wine away from her toddler instead of towards her own mouth.

Today she talks about having real self-esteem, a relationship with a higher power, sponsoring other women, and being present as a mum. If you’ve ever thought, "I don’t want to live like this, but I don’t know how to stop," Heidi’s story might be the nudge you’ve been waiting for.