I'd been drinking heavily most of my adult life. I think a lot of that was because my much older first husband was an alcoholic, and then our bandmate was as well. And then I divorced and the way I had learned to cope was heavy drinking.

Fast forward to earlier this year. I quit drinking in March and spent a few months completely dry. And surprisingly, it was easier to be social than I expected. I did have a friend trying to get me to drink at a party, saying I'd have more fun (interesting thing, that, people who do all but force the drink down your throat when you insist on abstaining!). I felt almost saintly.

But recently I've started having an occasional glass of wine with dinner- like once every 2-3 weeks, but I really don't ever want to be drunk again. If I have a particularly strong drink and feel that buzz coming on, I stop. I had a mimosa one morning and it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as it used to be.

Does that mean I was never really an alcoholic? Was I a binge drinker? I could stop for a dry January, but I'd go back in to serious drinking mode after. Maybe I was just able to convince myself that, for me, there is no off/on switch- moderation is possible and it feels good to be sober.