S3 Ep11: Jenny Valentish: Everything Harder Than Everyone Else

In this episode we chat to the wonderful Jenny Valentish who's recently released her new book, Everything Harder Than Everyone Else. We're Sharon, Freddie and Ben, three normal people who decided to give up alcohol to see how our lives would change. We're not medical experts but we are expert ex-drinkers, and our podcast brings people together who are on their own alcohol-free journeys by celebrating just how wonderful life without booze can be! Jenny has a fabulous career as a writer - she's written for Rolling Stone, NME, Time Out and some of the biggest newspapers in the world, her first novel Cherry Bomb was published in 2014 and her memoir, Woman of Substances, was published just a few years later. She's edited magazines, she's worked in music PR, and as well as being a writer she is currently an ambassador for Monash University’s Brain & Mental Health Laboratory, she's a board director of SMART Recovery Australia, and she's chair of SMART Recovery International’s Communications and Brand Committee too! Jenny started drinking when she was 13 after finding her Dad's alcohol cabinet, and carried on drinking until she was 34. She removed alcohol from her life for eight years, and decided that she'd start drinking again after Woman of Substances was published - in her words, she'd "done a lot of work and it felt like that chapter had closed". This conversation of course talks about what led her to decide to give up alcohol and then re-introduce it in to her life (but in a very different way), but the conversation about her work with SMART Recovery also leads in to a chat about drugs and how addiction is treated in different countries across the world. We thank Jenny hugely for her time, we love her work, and we know that you'll love her too! --- Get In Touch: Of course, you can always get in touch with us (publicly or privately) on our socials - @alcoholfreepod on Instagram, or search for "Over The Influence" on Facebook. We'd love to hear your story - please get in touch with us directly at [email protected] or go to our website, www.overtheinfluence.co.uk --- The Premium Podcast: If you love OTI and you'd like to hear behind the curtain, subscribe to the OTI Premium Podcast now! Released every Monday and exclusive to subscribers and OTI Community members, the Premium Pod is Sharon and Ben talking through even more topics surrounding alcohol-free life, from how to not just survive but enjoy AF holidays to alcohol free dating! Subscribe now! Released every Monday, cancel any time - just £5 per month. --- Links: Over The Influence is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel. Sound Rebel works with businesses, brands, charities & other organisations across the UK - go to soundrebel.co.uk now to find out how podcasts could help you to tell your story to the world. If you feel as if connection with likeminded people would help as you try life without alcohol, join the Over The Influence Community now - and we can't wait to meet you! For links to alcohol-related support services, please visit our website. --- Disclaimer: All views expressed in this podcast are of the participants themselves, and not necessarily those of Over The Influence (OTI) Ltd. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this podcast is done at your own risk. We are not medical professionals but normal people giving their own experiences of removing alcohol from their lives, and as such this podcast should not be considered professional advice. If you are dependent on alcohol, or think you may be, we strongly recommend that you seek professional medical advice. --- Helpful Hashtags: We found hashtags and sober social media accounts really helpful in our early days alcohol free, as following them can help to reinforce that you are not alone!  These are some of the hashtags we've followed: #alcoholfree #stopdrinking #healthandwellnessjourney #zeroalcohol #idontdrink #sobercurious #healthydrinking #alcoholfreelife #soberaf #alcoholfreeliving #sobermotivation #podcast #healthpodcast #noalcohol #nobooze #sober #sobercurious #soberlofe #soberliving #sobercommunity #afcommunity #soberwomen #sobermom #sobermomtribe #sobersisters #sobriety #soberuk #soberjourney #sobrietyrocks #overtheinfluence #oti