What would your life look like if you finally let go of the one thing holding you back? For journalist and podcast host Gina, taking control back from alcohol wasn’t just about quitting drinking—it was about reclaiming nearly four decades of creative potential, authentic connection, and the freedom to live fully. At 57, after a lifetime in the bar industry and countless pub crawls across six continents, Gina made a decision that would unlock a version of herself she’d been searching for all along. Her story is a testament to the fact that it’s never too late to choose clarity over chaos, purpose over procrastination, and your best self over the bottle.
From Boone’s Farm to Burning Man: A Life Built Around Alcohol
My relationship with alcohol started the way it did for so many kids in the 1970s—with a bottle of Boone’s Farm bought by some random guy at the 7-Eleven when I was in seventh grade. That was just normal back then. By high school, it was a few beers here and there. College brought sorority parties, and then I landed in the bar industry, where alcohol wasn’t just social—it was everywhere I looked, every single day.
I became that girl. You know the one. Party girl, bartender, columnist in San Francisco, solo world traveler with a hip flask in tow. I was always the first to raise a glass and always ready to close down the club. I learned how to say “cheers” in dozens of languages because wherever I went, there was a pub, a bar, a festival. When someone once asked me, “Why are you reading a book in a bar?” I shot back, “Because libraries don’t serve beer.”
For decades, this was just who I was. Alcohol was my constant companion on every adventure, at every event. I worked in bars, I hung out in bars after work, I traveled to bars around the world. It was such an ingrained part of my identity that I couldn’t imagine my life any other way. But as my thirties blurred into my fifties, something shifted. What felt fun and adventurous in my twenties started feeling exhausting and empty. The endless personal pub crawl was getting old, and honestly, so was I.
The Moment Everything Changed: Taking Control Back from Alcohol
By the time I hit my late fifties, alcohol had gone from being my fun sidekick to this annoying albatross hanging around my neck. I’d moved from San Francisco to Central Florida to care for my aging mom, and my entire social scene changed. I didn’t really know anyone, so I’d go to the local bar to meet people, grab a few drinks, bring more home, and repeat the cycle. I’d sometimes look at myself and wonder where I fell on the scale from Mr. Rogers to Keith Richards—probably somewhere around a couple Jameson shots shy of a Rolling Stone.
Then came the turning point. Style Magazine offered me a job as a writer and asked me to host a podcast called Healthy Living Central Florida. I thought, “How am I going to sit on camera every day and tell people how to live healthy while I’m secretly craving a White Claw?” The hypocrisy was glaring, and if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s people who aren’t self-aware. That realization unlocked something in me—a real reason to stop.
Around that same time, I was interviewing a bartender who’d quit drinking, and he recommended Annie Grace’s book, This Naked Mind. I requested it through the press office and couldn’t put it down. I read it in about 12 hours straight. It wasn’t a revelation—it was a confirmation of everything I’d ever thought about alcohol. The science-based, straightforward approach made complete sense to my analytical brain. I’m an atheistic thinker, and Annie’s methodology resonated deeply because it wasn’t about faith or a higher power—it was about neurons, habits, and understanding how alcohol actually works in your brain.
Discover Your Own Path to Freedom
If Gina’s story resonates with you and you’re curious about changing your relationship with alcohol, This Naked Mind can help you start your own journey. The book offers a science-based approach that makes sense of why we drink and how to break free from alcohol’s hold without willpower or deprivation. Download the first chapter of This Naked Mind for free and discover the perspective shift that’s helped hundreds of thousands of people around the world reclaim their lives.
Life After Taking Control Back from Alcohol: Clarity, Creativity, and Cash
Something in my brain just snapped after reading that book. On March 17, 2024—one year ago—I went to an Irish pub with dramatic flair and had my last Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day. I’d had so many pints in so many Irish pubs around the world on so many St. Patrick’s Days that it felt like the perfect bookend. And then I just stopped. Just like Forrest Gump running across the country—I drank and drank and drank, and then one day I just stopped.
The changes have been incredibly subtle yet profound. I’m not married, I don’t have kids—I only care for my mom, and that helps me stay focused. I didn’t make any big announcements for about a year because I didn’t want the pressure or the potential for public failure. When people would ask if I wanted a drink, I’d just say, “Nah, I’m not feeling it,” and leave it at that.
Now when I look at bottles behind the bar where I still work, they look like poison. It genuinely doesn’t even occur to me to drink anymore. Even on the rare occasions when I think, “Would it be so bad to have a beer?” my brain immediately responds with, “And then what?” Those three words—”and then what?”—get me through every day. What would be the point? To prove I could have just one? And then what?
The practical benefits are real too. I have a little app that tracks how much money I’ve saved—almost $10,000 over the past year. My mind is clear. My finances are healthier. I’m free from hangovers. But the most unexpected gift has been the creative energy that’s flooded back into my life.
Rediscovering My Novel: The Gift of a Clear Mind
Here’s where taking control back from alcohol gets really exciting. Back in 2005, after a bad breakup, I took a year off and went to Europe on what I’d call a booze-filled odyssey. I traveled through countless countries, learning drinking customs and collecting stories. When I came back, I started writing a novel based on those experiences—I didn’t want to write a true story because, well, people were involved and some things are better fictionalized.
But about 15 years ago, drunk all the time, I convinced myself the manuscript was crap. I threw it in a bin along with all my journals and shoved it in a closet. When I moved to Florida, I kept that bin for some reason. About three months ago, right around my one-year anniversary of being alcohol-free, I was rummaging around and found it. I thought reading it would be humiliating and embarrassing.
The Best Part
You know what? It’s hilarious. It’s raw, it’s funny, it’s heartfelt—it’s a window into my soul and my experiences from when I was the boozy version of myself. But here’s the thing: I could never have finished it while I was drinking every day. I was too busy at the pub. Too hungover, too unmotivated. Drinkers are famous for procrastinating, and I was no exception.
Now, with the clarity and energy that comes from being alcohol-free, I get up at 4 a.m. to write and edit. Forty chapters are outlined, 25 are finished, and I’ve got my cover art ready. I am literally on my way to publishing my first novel, and it’s all because taking control back from alcohol unlocked the creative potential I’d been drowning in White Claws and vodka for so long. Reading my old manuscript clearheaded is like looking at another person—except I know it’s me, and I get to honor that past version while creating something meaningful from it.
It’s Never Too Late: A Message for Women Staring Down 60
I’ll be 59 soon, and I’m staring down the barrel of another decade. One of the most important realizations I’ve had is this: it is never, ever too late to unlock your potential. I don’t care how old you are. I think about celebrities like Colin Farrell who’ve said that once they “put down the jar” (an Irish term), they became more successful in their craft. That resonated with me so deeply because I know I’m a creative person, and I know for a fact that the albatross of alcohol was holding me down.
Once you’re free of it, it unlocks all the stuff you could have done “but for the booze.” I look at where I am now—writing again, having success with my podcast and my job, maintaining better relationships, feeling clear and energized—and I think about all those years I wasted. If I’m honest with myself, I’m a little annoyed at younger me for not figuring this out sooner. But I also know that girl was still funny, sweet, caring, and empathetic, even when she was loud and obnoxious at the bar.
What I Know Now
The people who truly loved me stuck around because they saw who I was deep down. The ones I alienated or put off? I probably don’t need them anyway. What I want women my age to know is this: Yes, I messed up some really good relationships. Yes, I put off quality men because I was “boozy girl.” Yes, I embarrassed myself more times than I can count. But none of that means it’s too late to become your best self.
I still have that Guinness pint glass from my last drink, but now it’s repurposed. I use it for watering my office plants or showcasing roses from my mom’s garden. That’s the perfect metaphor for this whole journey. We can take what once held us back and transform it into something that nourishes and beautifies our lives instead.
If you’re reading this and thinking, “But I’m almost 60” or “I’ve been drinking for 40 years” or “Everyone knows me as the party girl,” I’m here to tell you: I was all of those things. I traveled to 40 countries with a drink in my hand. Worked in bars my entire adult life and still do. Built my whole identity around being the fun drunk girl. And I still changed. You can too. It’s never too late to reclaim your life, unlock your creativity, find your authentic voice, and live the life you actually want instead of the one alcohol has been living for you.
Learn from your history without regrets. You still have a chance at a great life. Taking control back from alcohol isn’t about erasing who you were—it’s about becoming who you were always meant to be.
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