Unseeing Sobriety - coffee with Paige Calentino

Unseeing Sobriety - coffee with Paige Calentino

What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? This coffee shop chat brings together hosts Mike and Glenn with returning guest Paige Calentino, a sober curious coach who focuses on helping women reshape how they see themselves and their relationship with drinking. Right from the start, you’ll hear how all three emphasise that sobriety isn’t just about removing alcohol; it’s about a complete identity shift.

Mike shares how he went from being “like Dean Martin… I always had a drink in my hand” to someone people feel they have to “relearn”, while Glenn recalls starting from “ground zero” with no job, home, or healthy relationships. Paige explains her structured three‑month coaching container that often extends into longer-term support, describing her work as “identity expansion”. Alcohol is the entry point, but the real aim is helping clients become someone who simply doesn’t want to drink.

She uses education, journaling, self-reflection, practical challenges such as attending events without alcohol, and somatic work to gradually “rewire” the brain. A big focus is the social side of drinking. Many of Paige’s clients have always used alcohol to connect with friends, so changing their social circles and situations can be tough. She’s clear that slip ups at parties, weddings or special occasions are “part of the process” and valuable data for understanding triggers, not reasons for shame.

Paige also talks candidly about leaving a successful corporate career she felt was “sucking my soul” to coach full time, and the vulnerability of sharing her story publicly, especially around shame and criticism from those defensive about their own drinking.

For anyone who’s sober curious, she suggests starting with awareness: “Once you start to really be present with that… you can’t unsee it.” If you’re wondering whether alcohol still serves you, could this be the nudge to look a bit closer at your own story?