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My guest this week is author and philanthropist Sarah Wilson. These days, Sarah is perhaps best known for her New York Times bestselling book on anxiety, First, We Make the Beast Beautiful. But we first met in a previous life, when she was primarily known for being the woman behind I Quit Sugar – which spawned 11 cookbooks and a whole ethos on how to kick sugar addition.
Many people experience a surge in sugar cravings after they quit drinking, and so we get deep into what is up with that. But the majority of our interview focusses on Sarah’s new book, This One Wild and Precious Life, which basically details what happened after she sold her business, gave all the money to charity, and embarked on a quest to get to the bottom of our disconnection epidemic – which many would argue is really the root of all our addictions.
The book is a beautiful, inspiring, call to personal activism: what she calls our “appointment with life.” Given that the desire to remove alcohol so often stems from a sense that there is something missing from our life or something more out there waiting for us, I think anybody is sober curious will be able to relate. In the episode we discuss:
-The clusterfuck of factors threatening this one “wild and precious life” in 2021.
-Why our personal and collective crises are an invitation to our appointments with life.
-What makes both sugar and alcohol so addictive – and why we often replace booze with sugar when we quit.
-The toxic effect both substances have on our body.
-How to fill the emotional void when we remove these substances.
-Sarah’s philosophy on where anxiety comes from, and how this feeds our addictions.
-Why getting out of our heads and finding ways to be of service the world is a “cure” for anxiety.
-Why walking and other vigorous forms of exercise dial down anxiety.
-How we can “hike it out” even when we don’t have easy access to nature.
-The spiritual value of self-sacrifice – and the damage done by consuming too much “spiritualism lite.”
-Why spirituality and politics have to go hand-in-hand.
-The meaning of the term “group soul” and how we can turn attune to this to foster connection.
Learn more about Sarah and her work HERE, get your copy of This One Wild and Precious Life HERE, check out here new podcast WILD, and follow her on IG @_sarahwilson_
Big thank you to Three Spirit for partnering on this episode! You can order directly at www.threespiritdrinks.com – and get 15% off your order with the code SOBERCURIOUS
