A sobering conversation

Noelene Brown lived just 15 minutes from a bottle shop in a rural town. Like in all small communities she knew everyone who worked there.

So she found reasons to visit another larger town, 40 minutes away, multiple times a week to help hide her secret - an addiction to alcohol.
The planning and brain power it took to keep her secret safe, and her fridge stocked with two bottles of chilled wine each night, was all consuming.
“Even at the pub or out to dinner I’d be thinking ‘Are they noticing that I’m filling my glass three times as fast as they are?’
These are behaviours you may recognise in yourself or a loved one. Noelene, who is now a certified sobriety coach at Rural Sobriety, has a clear message: “There are people who have been through this and have come out the other side of it. There is help out there.”


It was my pleasure to interview Noelene for this article for the summer issue of Victorian Farmer and to help share the message that it's #OK2SAYNO to alcoholic drinks.
Follow the link below for the whole story (page36-37) and some tips on how you can create change in your rural community.
READ STORY HERE

Natasha 💚