I have always been a reader, I'd been interacting
online for years and I was an avid reader of blogs. By November 2010 I was progressing through the fog of my brain injury
after a car accident and beginning to realize how compromised my memory actually was. I hated looking at a photo which was
taken since the car accident and having no memory of it. Of course I did what any social media savvy person would do and I
began a blog.
When
choosing a name for my blog I turned to my inactive Twitter account, it was called Julie Doing Life at that time. This seemed
appropriate for my online journal but something was nagging at me. I knew that I wanted to document my memories for myself
but it had to be more than that. I needed to incorporate my journey in recovery from alcoholism, both for myself and anybody
who stumbled upon my blog.
The
day after my last drunk night on February 6th 2010 we had a party to attend, one for a very special friend that I didn't want
to miss. While there everyone was dancing and I'd of course shocked everyone with my lack of party-girl antics. A friend was
urging me to dance with her and after I refused she said "I like drunk Julie better than sober Julie." I must say
at this point she had no idea and was in serious need of a dance partner and I wasn't insulted at all, I would have done much
the same.
I thought
it appropriate to use the tag Sober Julie in the title of my blog, to me it was just a fact and would be for the rest of my
life. I can recall being so happy when I launched Sober Julie Doing Life, I'd stepped out of the woods and into the clearing.
Once again I could be the person who shouted my joy from the rooftops and share with others what the second chance I've been
given. It had taken me 10 months but I'd gotten past the fear of judgement and felt free to live again.
For many months I wrote primarily about sobriety
and my faith, my family's antics were in there as well but the emphasis was obviously on recovery. The amount of recovery
blogs on the web is amazing; they are wealth of information and support for those seeking.
Over time I began to branch out a bit, there were many blogs that I'd read
and commented upon and these interactions led non-recovery readers to Sober Julie Doing Life. Here and there I blogged about
life with chronic pain which brought an even more diversified demographic, my literary responses to memes (online topic prompts
for writers to challenge themselves) brought yet a different crowd. As I progressed so did my content.
Writing is an
outlet for me, it gets me out of my head and allows me to feel useful, please don't think that writing is simply for my readership,
it stimulates my brain and creativity. I fell in love with blogging quickly, always mindful that whatever I wrote became public
knowledge immediately and afforded the reader an image of me based solely upon the words on the page.
After attending two blog conferences in the Fall I had made contact with many
Brands who were willing to provide products to giveaway to my readers in exchange for PR. With my blog's one year "blogiversary"
approaching I decided to give back to those who took the time to absorb my words. For a month I gave away great products and
my readership grew again as I consciously tried to maintain a balance between my written content and product reviews.
Sober Julie Doing Life has seen massive
growth in the past few months and I hope this will continue. Not because I desire noteriarity or acknowledgments but because
of the emails, comments and messages I receive.
As
my blog has grown, I've received tremendous feedback from others who are asking me questions, exploring their issues with
alcohol or those around them. I've had the opportunity to lead people to help and to experience the changes in their lives.
Facing life on life's terms isn't easy; believe
me I've taken flack for being so open. There are many people who can't believe this is actually who I am, being out here sharing
my life as it is has often made me a target.
That
target, no matter the size will never outweigh the impact that one little email can have upon me. Just one email from someone
who gains hope from Sober Julie Doing Life would have kept me writing irrelevant of the negative feedback. The thing is, I'm
not brave although I've been honored to be thought of this way, I'm weak and I know it. I don't have to be brave, I just have
to be truly honest and keep my spiritual foundation strong to experience this journey fully.
Social media has given me the ability to reach so many that normally I wouldn't
be able to and I intend to take advantage of that.
What's the future for Sober Julie Doing Life?
As long as somebody is reading, I'll be writing about Life......Straight Up.
With 15yrs invested in a high-paced corporate career,
Julie's life changed drastically after facing her alcoholism and being involved in a car accident. This recovering alcoholic
Mom/Wife shares her journey with rawhonesty in a humorous, shoot from the hip approach. Julie reminds us that wecan find Serenity
amidst the chaos of life.
