“I’m in my early thirties and single again. Almost all my friends are in serious relationships. I broke up with my ex, Randy, because we had big differences in our lifestyles and finally decided to go our separate ways. After years of drinking excessively, first during college and later with my friends during weekends at the local brewery and drinking for hours, one of the few things on which I agreed with Randy was to take a break from alcohol. It was easy to do it together, initially. But after a few months, Randy wanted to use alcohol again, and I wanted to stay alcohol free, so this led to a lot of changes for us, and eventually, we ended our relationship.
I really want to settle down with someone, so I’ve been dating again. I met Martin on a dating app. We’ve been texting a lot and have talked over the phone several times, so I feel I know him pretty well. We’re planning to meet up in person, and Martin suggested having dinner together. Dinners on the first date come with drinks, so I’ve been thinking, after being alcohol free for seventeen months, is having just one drink okay? I don’t know what to do. If I don’t drink, he might think that I’m weird or an alcoholic. If I do drink, I’d feel I don’t respect myself and my decision to be sober and that I’ll go back to square one.” —Serena
Lamberghini-West, A., & Karlen Triplett, P. (2025). Tipsy: A Woman’s Self-Guided Method for Managing Alcohol. US: Aysen Wellness.