Episode Description
A note before you listen: we recorded this episode in late July, several weeks before Hayden Panettiere died on August 16 at the age of 36. We are publishing it as recorded rather than editing her out. Her cause of death has not been released and we are not speculating. We recorded a separate conversation about her death, and it is the episode right before this one. If this is landing hard for you: 988 is the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text. SAMHSA's National Helpline is 1-800-662-4357, free and confidential, 24/7.
Three memoirs. Three completely different humans. One question: what does it cost to numb yourself when the whole world is watching?
Alysse and Tamar pull three of The Sober Curator's most avid readers into a panel on the year's biggest quit lit: “Famesick” by Lena Dunham, “We Did OK, Kid” by Anthony Hopkins, and “This Is Me: A Reckoning” by Hayden Panettiere. Nobody read all three. Everybody has opinions. Sobee scores at the end, and house rules say you cannot score a book you didn't read.
In this episode:
- Amy Liz Harrison's book hack from her 10th grade English teacher days: first paragraph, last paragraph, skim the middle, finish in an hour
- Why The Sober Curator was almost called The Sober Critic, and the epiphany that killed the name
- “Famesick”: medical trauma, opioids, and a memoir that flatly refuses to be a before-and-after
- “We Did OK, Kid”: the blackout drive Anthony Hopkins had to be told about afterward
- Patti Clark and Alysse on what actually stops you, and it isn't what you'd do to yourself
- “This Is Me: A Reckoning” Hayden Panettiere on acting at 11 months old, a mother who was also the manager, and postpartum depression nobody names out loud
- The Sobee score lightning round, plus a quarter-point scoring controversy
Sober Shots:
"Quit lit used to mean one shelf on a bookstore nobody browsed on purpose." (Alysse)
"There are books that I just wanna eat like a really juicy nectarine and just bite into it and just get sticky." (Patti)
Mentioned in this episode:
- Mixtape with The Sober Curator zine: https://shopthesobercurator.com/collections/the-mixtape
- Cover Story Retreat, November 1-4, Scottsdale: https://evolveretreats.co/cover-story-hermosa-inn/
- Anne Marie Cribbin's Famesick review: https://thesobercurator.com/famesick-lena-dunham-review-addiction-recovery/
- Toni Will, Rebellious Success: https://amzn.to/4x65SeD
Getting sober matters. Staying sober matters more.
SEASON 2 MERCH: https://shopthesobercurator.com/
This episode is brought to you by Aura House. Save 10% with code TSC10: https://go.shopmy.us/p-64140200
SC RESOURCES:
- Alcohol + Substance Use Disorder Guide
- Recovery Nonprofit Resource Guide
- LGBTQ+ Recovery Resource Guide
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Hosted by Alysse Bryson with co-host + producer Tamar Routly. For informational and entertainment purposes only; not a substitute for professional advice.
Music: TSC S2 theme "Sober Shots" created by Alysse Bryson using Suno AI, under Suno’s commercial license.