A Final Farewell
A Final Farewell
The Last Weekly Love Note
Well hello lovely reader! It’s me, your faithful messy bun wearing writer, Jess. This will be the last love note you will receive from me. I hope you’ll read this in its entirety to not only hear why I’m stepping away, but also to give me a chance to say a proper, heartfelt farewell.
Good Morning Friends and Happy Friday!
As most of you know, last week I published the very last episode of the Decidedly Dry Podcast. You have no idea how long I went back and forth on whether it was the right time. Talk abut a tough decision and one I definitely did not take lightly.
During that last recording, I mentioned I had full intentions of still publishing here on my Substack. I think I shared that because I was nervous to completely move on.
The truth is, I’ve spent four years documenting my sober journey with you all. I’ve served the sober community, created tools, developed incredible friendships, and have always been able to lean into this supportive space when I needed a little inspiration.
Holding onto this here platform would keep me connected, still give me the opportunity to reach out. But sometimes… you just know it’s time to move on and trust the magic of a new chapter.
You might be asking yourself, “Okay Jess, we get it. You already told us you’re stepping away. Why another email?”
Well pal, two reasons…
Because YOU have been a huge part of my journey and I felt like I owed you one last thank you. You all mean the world to me and I wouldn’t be where I am today without your support.
To provide you with a little HOPE. In my early days of living alcohol-free I so badly wanted to be where I am today. I didn’t want to have to always think about not drinking. I was tired of feeling left out, like something was missing, and I’d never get to where the sober mentors I admired were. Slowly but surely, it got easier. I started to think about alcohol less, began seeing all the countless benefits of being sober, and eventually those benefits outweighed the desire to have a drink. Choosing to be alcohol-free changed my life for the good. Being a non-drinker eventually became part of who I am and it can absolutely become part of who you are as well.
I know I’ve mentioned it before, but there's a reason why I called it Decidedly Dry; because the only person that can decide to make a change in your life is you.
So friend, thank you one last time and may you find joy and success in all of the adventures you take in this one beautiful life.
Sending you big monster hugs,
Jess
Final Episode on Decidedly Dry:
Well hello my sweet listeners and welcome to Decidedly Dry! This is your pal Jess and with ALL the feels - this is the last episode of the show.
Today, I’ll walk ya through why I made this tough decision, all the things I’m incredibly grateful for and celebrating, and what’s next.
First, in true Decidedly Dry fashion - let’s focus on the good. This podcast was created months after my very favorite podcast, Recovery Happy Hour shared her final episode. I remember heading out for a run one day, I was about a year and half into my sobriety at the time, I put my headphones in, pushed play, and started pounding away on the pavement. This was a ritual of mine. Plugging in and listening to others share their sober stories was extremely helpful for me. I was about a minute into the episode and I heard the words, “This will be the final episode of Recovery Happy Hour”. I’m not kidding you guys… tears began streaming down my cheeks! How could my favorite show be ending?! How could this be?! Now being in a similar place as a podcast host, I completely get it, but at the time I was heartbroken. Towards the end of the episode, Tricia said something on the lines of, “We need more recovery podcasts. If you’ve been thinking about starting one - do it!”
And that my friend, is where the seed was planted. (Hear the rest of the story by listening to the episode and/or reading the previous post.)
I hope you'll take the time to push play on this one.
And just remember my sweet friends, if the only thing you did today was stay sober, you are winning! Love you all.
**Paying Substack Members: Have no fear - you will not be charged for anything moving forward. I’ve cancelled all monthly and yearly subscriptions. xo
Jess… THANK YOU! I have appreciated everything you have put out there. It’s been comforting and been a pleasure to witness your journey. I’ve listened to countless podcasts, read your posts and even bought your journal. Congratulations, thank you, keep going, and God bless you and your new chapter ❤️🥰🙏🏻
I just found your content and have a similar story. But in reverse, kind of. At least the Substack part. I quit drinking three years ago, and my content project at lastchancerunning.com was a big part of my own catharsis and desire to help others. But, as sobriety became less something I strived for and more a way of being, I felt the pull to branch out. Just started https://runninglightly.substack.com/ and am excited to get going. Best of luck to you on your journey!