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Sober Curious? Just Ask Me
I haven’t had a drink in forever — literally
A week ago, when my family gathered to celebrate Christmas, my sister did something odd: she pulled out a bottle of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey (“Tastes Like Heaven, Burns Like Hell”) and offered it around.
It was odd to offer it to our parents, as our father is a retired Southern Baptist pastor. They declined, though alcohol is not alien to them: during their honeymoon in 1968, champagne was included with their room, and they had a sip.
It was a little odd to offer it to my wife, who doesn’t drink now but used to, though never much, according to her.
It would have been insane to offer it to me, and my sister did not. If you’ve read my first-ever Medium essay, you know why.
I have never tasted alcohol.
Not-drinking is growing in popularity. In 2021, a Gallup poll reported that only 60 percent of U.S. adults drink alcohol, down from 65 percent in 2019. That was the lowest consumption in two decades.
The reasons for this trend vary. Some people want to get healthier. Some want to save money. Others just don’t enjoy it anymore. (Four percent of the respondents of one survey quit because they “started doing other recreational drugs.”)
