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Ask a Sober Oldster Series
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Ask a Sober Oldster #33: Neda Ulaby
"I crawled back to rehab almost exactly 25 years after my first time there."
Apr 21
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Sari Botton
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The Small Bow
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Ask a Sober Oldster #32: Cara Benson
"The slightest slight used to wreck me for days when the person may just have been in a bad mood that had nothing to do with me. I was hostage to the…
Mar 17
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Sari Botton
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The Small Bow
131
30
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Ask a Sober Oldster #31: Sydney Lea
"I am 83 and if I don’t get drunk or otherwise wasted for the next few months, I will have been clean and sober for 26 years."
Feb 17
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Sari Botton
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The Small Bow
128
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6
Ask a Sober Oldster #30: Tommy Swerdlow
"I used to be a bit of a cocky jerk and judgmental asshole, but there’s nothing like a twenty-year heroin habit to knock some of the snot nose out of…
Jan 20
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Sari Botton
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The Small Bow
101
22
6
Ask a Sober Oldster #29: Elizabeth Jannuzzi
"Being alive, that’s the best thing about being in recovery."
Dec 16, 2025
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Sari Botton
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The Small Bow
129
47
14
Ask a Sober Oldster #28: Carvell Wallace
"One of the best things about working on yourself is that you’re never going to be out of a job with that. I get to work on stuff for the rest of my…
Nov 18, 2025
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Sari Botton
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The Small Bow
88
8
6
Ask a Sober Oldster: Second-Year-Plus Highlight Reel
A look back at the latest in our "Sober Oldster" collaboration with The Small Bow. Here, tidbits from the most recent interviews in this popular monthly…
Oct 21, 2025
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Sari Botton
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The Small Bow
45
14
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Ask a Sober Oldster #27: Elizabeth Gilbert
"I honestly cannot think of anything about being in recovery that is harder than not being in recovery."
Sep 16, 2025
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Sari Botton
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The Small Bow
166
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Ask a Sober Oldster #26: Rhett Miller
"It’s hard feeling isolated in a roomful of partying people, and the hilarious thing is that that’s my job."
Aug 19, 2025
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Sari Botton
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The Small Bow
81
11
8
Ask a Sober Oldster #25: Rick Moody
"When I was active, any stiff breeze, any mild bit of reversal, was enough to send me down into the narcissistic ball of pain. Now, mostly, I am just…
Jul 15, 2025
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Sari Botton
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The Small Bow
112
24
12
Ask a Sober Oldster #24: Margaret Cho
"I was definitely born with the 'need.' That urge to put something between me and living."
Jun 17, 2025
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Sari Botton
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The Small Bow
143
31
7
Ask a Sober Oldster #23: Nadia Bolz-Weber
"Not only do I reliably know where I am when I wake up, I never wake up in pools of vodka vomit anymore. It’s so bad for your skin, you know…very…
May 20, 2025
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Sari Botton
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The Small Bow
395
45
42
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