From Wine Mom to Warrior: One Mother’s Raw Journey Through Sobriety

Jun 16

Written By Meghan

Julie didn’t grow up around alcohol. She wasn’t a rebellious teen. In fact, she was a teenage mom doing her best in a world that rarely paused to support young women in her position. But years later, between homeschooling two kids, running a 40-acre ranch, and holding down the entire household while her husband worked out of town, the idea of “just a glass of wine to take the edge off” turned into something else.

It turned into survival.

She passed out on her living room floor while her kids did their math worksheets beside her. They finished their assignments. She woke up disoriented. That’s when it clicked: “This is not okay.”

🎧 Watch theFull Episode on the Sober Strong Podcast here:

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The Perfect Storm of Pressure and Silence

Julie’s early motherhood wasn’t the kind you read about in parenting books. Her daughter was born at 28 weeks, barely two pounds, facing life-threatening complications. Julie didn’t drink back then. She didn’t even think about it. She just showed up every day, sleep-deprived and terrified, doing what had to be done.

Years later, she’d look back on that time as proof: “I can survive really hard things without alcohol”.

But surviving and healing are different. The years that followed were a masterclass in overextension. Homeschooling. Farming. Isolation. The wine wasn’t for fun anymore—it was fuel.

And like so many women caught in the “wine mom” current, she didn’t see it becoming a problem until it already was.

The Silent 14 Months

At 38, Julie hit a wall. She was drinking wine at 10 a.m., drunk by noon, and falling apart emotionally. She called her husband and said, “I can’t drink anymore.” He had no idea how much she’d been drinking. No one did.

So she quit. Quietly. For 14 months.

No meetings. No community. No guidance. Just willpower and white-knuckling through every craving.

She kept it a secret, and the silence nearly broke her.

The Relapse—and the Realization

After over a year sober, Julie drank again. A single beer. Then a few more weeks later. Eventually, it snowballed into a full-blown relapse that lasted a year.

Then came the heartbreak that changed everything.

Her dog—her emotional anchor—was shot by a neighbor in a devastating and traumatic incident. The grief was instant and overwhelming. Julie turned to whiskey and wine to shut out the pain. It worked—until it didn’t.

Within weeks, she was drinking from morning until night, hiding beer in bedroom cabinets, stashing whiskey in her car, and driving drunk to horse shows and school events.

Outwardly, she looked like the dedicated mom who held it all together. Inwardly, she was crumbling.

The Crash That Couldn't Be Hidden

Julie totaled her dream car—drunk, angry, and spiraling. She screamed things at her child no mother wants to admit, let alone remember. Her husband left for work the next day. Life went on. Fair entries had to be submitted. Kids had animals to show.

She showed up, makeup on, smiling.

But inside, she knew: This isn’t just a problem anymore. This is a disaster.

185 Miles to Find Herself Again

Six weeks later, she hiked the Colorado Trail—185 miles, alone, with 40 pounds on her back and no access to alcohol.

“I was terrified,” she said. “Not of bears. Not of the dark. I was scared to be alone in my head.”

And that’s what changed her. That solitude. That silence. That space to confront herself.

The True Beginning of Recovery

Three weeks after the hike, she drank again. But this time, something had shifted. She logged into an app called I Am Sober and sat silently in a Zoom call, listening to strangers talk about sobriety.

It was the first time she’d heard people tell stories like hers.

That call turned into a community. And that community turned into something bigger.

Through the Glass: A Community Built on Real Conversations

Julie met Steve on those calls. Together, they created Through the Glass, a podcast modeled after those same small Zoom circles. Each episode is intimate, real, and full of cross-talk—because conversation, not monologue, is where the healing begins.

They started hosting their own weekly Zoom meetings. No pressure, no cameras required. Just a safe space to talk. Then came coaching certifications. Then blog posts. Then live retreats with people flying across the country just to connect in person.

This wasn’t about sobriety alone—it was about rebuilding a life.

Looking for support?
→ Check out ThroughTheGlassRecovery.com for podcast episodes, Monday night Zoom meetings, and resources.

What About the Kids?

The most painful part of Julie’s journey? The relationship with her oldest daughter. It's fractured. Still unrepaired. And it might stay that way.

That’s a scar she carries daily.

But she also sees what’s changed. Her younger daughter joined her on the podcast to talk openly about what she remembers—and what healing looks like. That conversation was raw and revealing. And it was real.

Because real is what Julie does now.