The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries

The Share Shed: Writing Competition Entries

What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? This Share Shed special centres on Becky N’s award-winning piece, "Offline: Alcohol & Me", read aloud by Vic, with Hamish chiming in at the end. Instead of the usual shame shed confessions, you’ll hear a carefully crafted story that tracks one woman’s relationship with booze from childhood right through to sobriety.

Becky describes growing up in the Cotswolds, where alcohol was normalised and ever-present, and her first Bacardi Breezer at 14 that suddenly made socialising easier. From teenage club nights and backpacking in Australia to life in London and Spain, drinking becomes the thread running through friendships, sex, drugs, and some deeply painful experiences, including sexual assault and the self-blame that followed. Her writing shows how alcohol both numbed trauma and repeatedly put her in harm’s way.

As Vic reads, you’ll hear Becky’s shift from “smug spider in the web of judgement” to someone quietly realising that hangovers, anxiety, broken promises and fuzzy thinking are all linked to booze.

The turning point comes with mounting anxiety and a short break from alcohol that leads to one final night out, a margarita, and a stark realisation: “Alcohol was the problem.” The most moving moment arrives when Becky recalls saying “I don’t drink” at a work function, while Vic is audibly emotional at how big that sentence feels in the sober journey. Becky describes life alcohol-free as "unimaginable freedom and possibility", and shares how her inner voice has softened since quitting.

Vic and Hamish wrap up with warm congratulations for Becky’s competition win and a gentle nudge towards support if you’re questioning your drinking. If you’re sober-curious, struggling with anxiety after nights out, or just feeling stuck in the same old pattern, this story might be the nudge you need. How would it feel to say, even just once, "I don’t drink"?