In December 2020, our founder, Nicole Pietrandrea Hough, was three weeks sober and was preparing to host Christmas dinner. Holiday parties had been difficult to manage that year. Dry January wasn’t really a “thing,” and the sober-curious movement hadn’t yet gained traction. People had asked a lot of questions about why she wasn’t drinking—some thoughtful, some not so much. One “friend” had yelled, “You suck now!” in front a roomful of people when Nicole declined a drink.🤨 

The adjustment period of new sobriety is not for the faint of heart. On one hand, feeling proud, sleeping better, thinking clearly…and, on the other, looking for new meaning, evaluating friendships, raw emotions, and feeling a little left out. 

For Nicole, an avid foodie, cooking Daniel Boulud’s short ribs for a crowd of ten and knowing there would be no glass of red wine to go with it felt like a cruel injustice. Mostly, though, in that moment, she felt ALONE in this new lifestyle.

Over time, things settled down. Nicole found a wine replacement to toast with at Christmas dinner (and found that it actually paired well with the short ribs). She got her groove in sobriety, found beverages she enjoyed, developed new hobbies, and met a lot of new friends. 

But the biggest difference came from discovering there were OTHER people on the same path who understood what she was doing: people hosting sober events and retreats, people writing books, sharing their stories, AF retailers, bar owners, beverage brands…the list goes on and on. Getting to know these people made this whole sobriety thing feel so much less lonely. 

AFTER Magazine was created so that anyone going through the transition to not drinking can be more CONNECTED, and become part of this vibrant world too. We’re here to share the stories and resources of the alcohol-free world with anyone who is wondering what their life might be like without alcohol. And to help usher our readers into a joyful new life, full of purpose and clarity.