💬 message Denise What does it take for a woman to finally get honest about her relationship with alcohol, not because anyone told her to, but because some quiet part of her already knew? Susan Larkin was a high achieving professional in higher education, working on her MBA, raising two kids, and reaching for wine every evening to downshift from the day. She wasn't falling apart. She was holding it all together, until she wasn't. In this conversation, Susan shares how she moved from managing her drinking with rules and rationalizations to understanding the actual science of how alcohol works in the brain and body, why it creates the very stress and anxiety it seems to relieve, and why gray area drinking, that wide middle space between "occasional glass of wine" and "rock bottom," is where so many women in midlife quietly live. We talk about the accelerator events, perimenopause, empty nest, divorce, retirement, that shift a woman's drinking without her fully noticing, and why menopause changes how a woman's body processes alcohol altogether. Susan also walks us through her Freedom Formula approach, why she never tells a client she has to quit forever, and the simple practice of taking one pause, one night, to reconnect with yourself before reaching for the bottle. This is a conversation about awareness without shame, and about the power that lives in that pause. Susan Larkin is a certified alcohol coach who trained with Annie Grace and Jolene Park, and has worked with hundreds of women in group settings and more than 40 one-on-one clients over the past five years. She's also the host of the Sober & Lit Podcast, which you can find at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sober-lit-podcast/id1723773456 Susan's free resource, Skip the Sip, is a guide to taking one night off drinking with 5 SMART steps to skip that glass or two of wine tonight. Grab it at https://www.susanlarkincoaching.com/skip-the-sip If this conversation resonated with you, we would be so grateful if you left us a review, it genuinely helps another woman find her way to this exact episode. CONNECT WITH DENISE DRINKWALTER Website: denisedrinkwalter.com Instagram: @thethriveafter45podcast IGNITE: The Inner Uprising waitlist: ignite2026.lovable.app Thank you for spending time with me today on the Thrive After 45™ podcast! If this episode spoke to you, be sure to hit that follow button so you never miss one. November 12 & 13, 2026, I will be hosting a live, in-person experience called IGNITE: The Inner Uprising™ at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver Hotel, BC, Canada! It is a two-day immersive gathering for women in midlife — women who feel the quiet pull toward something more truthful, more embodied, more fully their own. IGNITE is an extension of these conversations. It’s where reflection becomes embodiment. Where insight becomes integration. Where women who have held so much for others gather to stand fully in their own sovereignty. If something in today’s conversation stirred you — if your body leaned in — that is NOT accidental. The ticket sales will be coming soon, so get your name on the waitlist, and never miss an update and special price breaks that will exist for early registrants. https://ignite2026.lovable.app There is a place for us to gather. If you loved this episode, I’d be so grateful if you left a review - it helps more amazing women like you find this show! Your journey doesn’t stop here - let’s keep the conversation going! Connect with me at ...
