ESSAY August 2025 - Happy? Joyous? Single. - Pasha F., Washington, USA

Sobriety has helped him deal with the highs and lows of being single. I am single. I am not always happy, joyous, and free. It can be lonely. Divorce is painful. I don’t feel happy, joyous, and free. Today, I am 18 months sober—miraculous proof that God can do for me what I couldn’t do for myself. I have also been depressed for about a month. I have been officially single for about half the time I’ve been sober. My wife moved out the same day I went on a bender, two weeks before I went to rehab, which is also two weeks before my current sobriety date.