Welcome to episode 218 with Lauren McQuistin, who is a musician, opera singer and author of No Lost Causes Club, a memoir that explores what navigating sobriety looks like in our modern world. She is also the creator behind one of my all-time favourite mental health related meme accounts @brutalrecovery. While in her early twenties, Lauren was told that her life expectancy could be as low as twenty-five if she did not stop drinking and in this episode, she joins me to chat about her experiences with addiction and her journey towards sobriety. We chat about growing up in rural Scotland, moving to America to become an opera singer and the mental health challenges that fuelled both her music career and her relationship with alcohol. And we chat about low self-esteem, getting sober, staying sober, accepting help when you really don’t want to and how wonderful things happen when you realise that you’re just not that special. Sobriety is big right now and, on the whole, that has to be a good thing but I think that how we talk about recovery often misses the mark.  It’s not all amazing experiences, new friendships and an exciting new lifestyle – although it can be these things – it’s often messy and confusing and brutal and I love the way that Lauren talks about all the different sides of her experiences.  And if all of that can be summed up with a great meme, then I am all for it! Follow Lauren on social media @brutalrecovery Here book is available to pre-order now at No Lost Causes Club by Lauren McQuistin – HarperCollins Publishers UK You can connect with me on social media @propermentalpodcast or via www.propermentalpodcast.com. You can support the show and help me to keep it independent and ad free by buying a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/propermental Another great way to support the show and spread the word is to rate, review and subscribe on whatever platform you get your podcasts from. If you or anyone you know needs to find support in your local area, please go to www.hubofhope.co.uk Thanks for listening!