Sober Motivation: Sharing Sobriety Stories - She Drank 4 Liters of Vodka a Day | Mailinn’s Sobriety Story

Episode Date: June 24, 2026

At 28 years old, Mailinn was preparing to die.She was drinking up to 4 liters of vodka a day, vomiting blood daily, and losing the ability to walk. Doctors had run out of answers. Her family was bracing for the worst.Then her body shut down.In 2020, Mailinn was placed into a coma with multi-organ failure and given little chance of survival. What happened next would completely change the course of her life.Today, Mailinn is six years sober.In this episode of Sober Motivation, Mailinn shares her powerful recovery story, from early drinking and alcohol addiction to waking up from a coma, learning to walk again, and discovering a life she never thought was possible.Whether you’re questioning your relationship with alcohol, struggling with addiction, or supporting someone in recovery, this conversation is a powerful reminder that no one is ever too far gone.In this episode:• Starting to drink at 12 years old • The early warning signs of alcoholism • Drinking up to 4 liters of vodka a day • Hiding alcohol use from family and friends • Vomiting blood and severe health complications • Multi-organ failure and a medically induced coma • Learning to walk again • Life after alcohol • Recovery, gratitude, and finding purposeRecovery is possible. Mailinn’s story is proof.Mailinn on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soyli91/Sober Motivation Mobile App: https://apps.apple.com/app/sober-motivation-app/id6759266291Sober Motivation Website: https://www.sobermotivation.comSupport the Podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/sobermotivationContact me anytime: [e-mail] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When I was 21, I started drinking every day and it just escalated from there. And it got really serious. I drank a lot, four liters of vodka every day. And I gained a lot of weight and eventually I got paralyzed. And I was placed in a coma and I had multi-organ failure and spent two months in a coma, four and a half months at the hospital. And I was really big by then. I was 165 kilos because of the alcohol.

At just 28 years old, she was drinking up to 4 liters of vodka a day. Her body was shutting down. She was vomiting blood daily and doctors didn't think she would survive. She never pictured herself struggling with alcohol. And this is Malin's story on the Sober Motivation podcast. Welcome back to another episode of the Sober Motivation podcast. Today we've got Malin with this. Malin, how are you?

I'm very good. Thank you. How are you? Yeah, I'm doing a little. well, great to connect with you again. Thanks for being willing to jump on and share your story with us. My pleasure. I've missed this. Yeah, so what was it like for you growing up? I had a nice upbringing. I have two brothers and I grew up with the two parents. They are divorced now, though. At the countryside in Norway, an hour outside of Bergen, Norway's second largest city.

We did, started to drink kind of early, though. I was like 12 when I had my first sip of, I know what to call it, like a vodka, but a homemade. And from there, it was a lot of partying in my teenage years, but it wasn't really a problem. Until the age of 18, I guess, I started to worry about my own drinking. start to write in my diary that I was kind of like, you're drinking too much and you should have a sober weekend or at least a sober week. Then it kind of escalated when we graduated from high school. We had this in Norway. We become a rift, I don't know if you've heard of it, but it's basically like 17 days with partying and drinking in these outfits to celebrate.

us graduating. So it went downhill from there. And then when I was 20, I got really concerned. And when I was 21, I started drinking every day. And it just escalated from there. And it got really serious. I drank a lot, four liters of vodka every day or 36, like, half a litre of beers and I gained a lot of weight and eventually I got paralyzed with the

GBS, Guillain-Barre syndrome and I was placed in a coma and I had multi-organ failure and spent two months in a coma four and a half months at the hospital and I was really big by then I was 165 kilos because of the alcohol it drank like 7,000 calories a day and after four and a half months, I started my new life. No one thought I was going to survive this. So I really got my second chance and I couldn't waste it. But it was really confusing because I woke up and there was this coronavirus and it was named after a beer. And I didn't understand that it was real because I hallucinated. It took me actually four months to realize this, that this was actually happening. And then I got to see my loved ones again, month four. So it was very, very lonely time at the

hospital. So I was very confused. Yeah, because I can imagine to wake up. Yeah, to the world and everything that was going on. I just want to go back a little bit to the progression that happened, right? So you start drinking, you said at 12, kind of nothing out of the ordinary. Like, that's, it seems like, it seems like a lot of people, too, in the parks or whatever. All my friends from, you know, Europe or whatever, they're like, yeah, we started drinking at the parks and stuff, you know, early on. But what did that look like for you? Because then you get to leaders and leaders of vodka.

Yeah. But that probably wasn't the plan initially, right? No, no, not at all. We had a lot of substance use in my family. And I was like, I'm never going to have. that kind of life and I didn't understand it really growing up that I had no idea, actually. So no, it was never the plan and I always thought that I heard from a bunch of people that I was too young to be an alcoholic. I was 19 and I was a woman. So every like alcoholic,

you had to be like a man and you have to be 50 years old. So no one really thought I had a problem or that my drinking was out of the ordinary until it escalated in 2013. By then, I had already been concerned about my drinking for about two, three years. But it did escalate in 2013. And no, it was never the plan. I just, I partied a lot. And then it was the weekends where all I could. think about and eventually I started after my job or my studies I would buy just a few beers

for it for the evening and but I didn't really think it was anything out of the ordinary until it was kind of all I could think about was like the weekend and I would never do anything else I had to go to a party or to a pub or like movie nights sober movie nights with my friends. It would, it never happened anymore. I was, I was just focused on,

on partying, really. And so just progressed kind of from there. And in 2013, I just noticed that this was every day now. And I also, I went out a lot

because I didn't want to alarm my family or friends. I didn't want them to know how much I was drinking. So I kind of stopped drinking with them. I just said like I was going to visit a friend or whatever and I would actually go out on a town alone or with like new friends I just met because we live an hour away from the big city. So I could kind of hide there. And I went to Korea in June 2013. with a friend and it kind of escalated because it wasn't my normal routine and I had to and and the

everything is cheaper in other countries and then in Norway. So like vodka didn't cost anything. When I came home from there, I was there for a month and then my family and friends all noticed that my face had been like swollen. So then they started to worry about me. Yeah. And yeah. What do you credit it to the ramp up? I mean, was there something going on? I mean, you work in the space now and probably hear a lot about people going through trauma or this happened or a way to regulate our nervous system or, you know, so many things for so many people. Do you put a finger on anything for yourself specifically? Yes. It was numbing for me. I had a lot of thoughts, anxiety and things from my childhood and a lot of stress about the future. I didn't feel good enough.

So I noticed when I was out partying, I didn't think about those. I didn't think about the future. I, you know, I felt good. I had no anxiety. And I just used it as medication, I guess, to just numb every feeling. I didn't want to feel anything. And I had lost a lot of family members. And I just wanted to numb all the feelings.

I didn't want to think about the future. the past, anything. I just wanted to be happy, ironically. So yeah, it was numbing for me. Yeah. When you come back from your trip there and your family starts to mention something, how do you respond to that in the early days? I got angry. I didn't like it at all. So my brothers and my mother had this meeting about me. And I was pissed off. I didn't want any involvement. But I knew that I had a problem. I just didn't want them to bother me about it.

So I promised, you know, I would stop drinking or stop drinking that much. And this was in the summer 2013. And then I had an operation in September. I had my tonsils taken out. And I had the surgery. I started bleeding like two weeks. after the surgery and I had to have another surgery. And so I stayed actually sober for a month and a half.

So I, of course, my brain was all, oh, you're not an alcoholic. Look, you can stay sober. You have missed diagnosed yourself. So I started to drink again. And that moment I thought about every day for the next seven years because then I could stop, but I chose to start again because I didn't think that I had any problem because I, you know, I could stop. I wish I had stopped for good back then, but not anymore, though, because I wouldn't be where I am today if it hadn't been for my 20s. So, but I, I, I, I, I,

thought about that moment for a lot the next seven years. Yeah. Because after, after, after, uh, that moment, I couldn't. I couldn't stop. Yeah. And it just escalated. I hear a lot of people talk about sort of that maybe confusing place. Like, do I qualify for being an alcoholic, having a substance use disorder, having a problem with alcohol because I only drink on the weekends or I only drink this way or it's only that way. It's not like what they show in the movies. It's not this. It's not that. And, you know, the truth is, like the only thing that matters is how it's affecting us, you know, on an individual basis. It doesn't have to look like Joe down the street or Sally over here. How is it impacting our life? And, you know, how do we feel about it? But

I feel like that's a confusing spot to some people find themselves. And it sound like you did as well one way or another because you're able to stop sometimes. But then after this, things really take off. How do you land on the vodka? Sometimes I had like the, I drank beer and sometimes vodka. But vodka was easiest because I couldn't carry around like 36 beers wherever I went. So a bottle of vodka was easier to carry around without people noticing. It was different with vodka for the last four years. I drank a lot of vodka, like four liters of vodka. And I got sick, not drunk. I didn't get drunk anymore. But I got really sick like in my esophagus and I was nauseous all. the time. And so personally, a beer was better because I had like this, I was more stable or,

yeah, but it was easier to get the vodka down because it had a higher percentage. So I didn't have to drink as much because in the last four years of my alcoholism, when I woke up, I had to drink at least 12 beers, like big beers to get the shaking. to stop and to get my head working normally. And of course, it was easier if I had a vodka bottle because it would make the job done quicker. But I did feel worse on vodka. Like my best friend, she said,

she noticed in my eyes when I drank vodka. Not in my personality. It didn't change. She just noticed in my eyes when I had these vodka periods. because I was sicker then. Yeah. So I didn't really... Yeah, because there was more like, I couldn't drink as much as fast.

So I was more stable on it. And I was very nauseous all the time. For the last four years, I threw up every single day. For the last year, I threw up, it was just blood, only blood, because my esophagus had, well, it suffered. So, yeah, but it was, and it was very expensive. It's already very expensive in Norway. And it was, yeah, a lot of money. What else is kind of going on in your life throughout this period?

Like, is that what you're doing? It's just drinking? Yes, every single second of every single day. I didn't sleep much because I started shaking very fast when I, I got under three in blood alcohol level. I started shaking. But my friends and family, they were always theirs. And we did things.

Like, I did go to restaurants with them and like family gatherings. And I just always had to bring the alcohol and they adjusted. They knew that if we were going to a restaurant, we couldn't go to like McDonald's because they didn't serve there. We had to go to restaurants where they served alcohol. And they knew that I just came with like two bags of beer or vodka, but they never stopped inviting me. They always invite me to weddings and confirmations and baptisms and everything. So I wouldn't be here without them and their support. I have the same people in my life now that I had then.

They've been with me all the way since I was born. Wow. What do you credit that to like not burning those bridges? Because I know in a lot of people's stories, people around them are kind of like, hey, you got to, you know, eventually you got to shape up a little bit. How, like, how did that dynamic work to where they still supported you in those ways? They've said themselves to, they've been with me in newspapers and the journalists have asked them the exact same question. And it's because I, I. I was never violent. I didn't steal from them, from stores and stuff, but never from them. And I was never violent. I didn't change my personality. I just, like they said, I was the same person, just like a, like a Timo version.

My eyes were dead, but I still, I was still there for them when they had, they all, I'm like the shrink in my friend group. And when they had their issues, I was still there for them. They could always call me. I would support them whatever they were going through. And I was never like angry or at them or violent or whatever. So they said that it would be, we wouldn't, you know, cut you out of our lives if you had cancer. So why on earth should we cut you off when you're clearly sick?

This is clearly something that you don't want. Why would why on earth should we remove you from our lives? So I'm very grateful though. Yeah. No, I mean, that's it. That's incredible. Have they shared with you how difficult the stretch of life was for them? You mentioned like them doing interviews and stuff with you as well.

Yeah. Yes, they have. Of course they were very concerned. Especially when, you know, you saw me getting sicker. and sicker and sicker and bigger and I couldn't do much because I had absolutely no energy. And for the last four years, I stopped brushing my hair. So it's just like in knots. They had to shave it off at the hospital.

And they were, of course, very concerned. But it was nothing they could do other than be there for me. When I was placed in a coma, my mother called my best friend and told her. And the first thing she thought she was just like, okay, at least now we know that she is not drinking. That was her first thought. And of course they knew that I probably would die. But you can't really prepare for something like that. But of course it wasn't like a massive shock.

They knew. We all knew that I was dying in 2019. And I had every October, I had this appointment at, it was a, doctor specialized in liver diseases. So he checked my liver every October. And in October 2019, he said to me that, you know this, but we're not going to see each other next year. And of course, I knew he was right. I could feel that I was dying. I knew and they knew. And we just tried to make the best of it. I started to write these letters to my family and friends for them to find when I died and who my belonging should go to and yeah so it's a very really weird to look back at now

when I'm this healthy but it was just you know it was what it was very very sad though very depressing yeah yeah well thanks for sharing that too I don't think anybody maybe naively enough, but I don't think anybody starts out drinking, understanding where it could potentially go. It's kind of a lot of us start out, fit in, connect with other people, let loose a little bit, you know, maybe in our younger days or, and then, you know, things progress. And I've heard a lot of stories, you know, not exactly like yours, but a lot of ones where it just got to a place where people never thought possible. What are you thinking? Like, are you surprised at all to where this has taken you or just you kind of knew where it was going?

I'm very surprised. One side of my family had struggled a lot with the substance use. And all my life, I was like, okay, I'm never going to have like a substance use problem. And when I look back at it now, it's just how much of it? How stupid were you? Like, why did you think like that that it couldn't affect you? Like, what made me so special that I was. like immune or something and i i do like uh i started drinking every day from 2013 but

the warning signs were there from 2010 and it was and they are so like big warning uh signs that i just ignored and it's really weird to look back on because no i did not think that i would ever have a substance use problem um yeah at all so it kind of snuck up Yeah, I think that's a relatable story for many, you know, even people who might sort of be in earlier on on the spectrum of drinking, right? Like, they're like, okay, maybe there's a problem. I know that this isn't helping me. This isn't what I want to be doing. But I don't think at that point in time, we can really connect the dots what this could potentially grow into.

Heading back there to 2010, right? Because I don't know. I'm only guessing here. There's going to be a few people listening to the show that, you know, all the tires haven't fallen off yet, but there's red flags in their life. Why was it that you ignored that? What was that process like to kind of push it aside and say, hey, I noticed there's big red flags, but maybe I'll do something about it later or maybe I'll figure this out. Like, walk me through that a little bit. I had a lot of excuses every time I did worry or

did think that maybe I should not drink this weekend. Then this, I was like, no, what, what are you talking about? I mean, you're so young, you're a woman, and everyone else is, you know, drinking, so it's nothing special. So stop worrying, all these excuses. Just, I thought I was overreacting, actually, to, like, yeah, I just made a lot of excuses to why I should keep drinking. And looking back, as I said, that is just really weird. But I was young. I was very young. I was 18 because my birthday is in September.

So I was, I was, no, I don't have an answer. I just made a lot of excuses, which I wouldn't do today. Yeah. But I know better now. Yeah. Which I think is common too. I think that it, that's common, especially for being 18. Yeah.

Like, hey, I can't be. that this can't be a problem. I think the world does. I don't know about in Norway there. I'm guessing, but it seems like around here, they do a really good job with the marketing. And they really makes you feel like you're going to miss out on something

if you're not drinking. Every movie, every song, every billboard, every commercial, like there can be that subconscious maybe belief that, if we're not drinking, like we're not cool,

we're not going to be doing this. What are we going to do at the wedding or the birthday party? Like, we're just going to be, outcast, you know? Absolutely. And here we're not allowed to have alcohol or cigarettes in our commercials. They're not any commercials about alcohol because it's not allowed. It's a conservative country and we're not allowed to buy alcohol like 24-7. We can buy until like 8 p.m. or 6 p.m. on Saturdays and it's all closed on Sundays. So that was a major panic when I was an alcoholic and I drank

while I'm still an alcoholic, but when I was drinking and you just had to buy all of this beer so I had to so I could live through Sundays. But drinking culture is ridiculous. It's it's everywhere, as you say and it's like encouraged. It's not why are you drinking? Why are you not drinking? Why are you not drinking. It's reversed. It should be the other way around. No one is saying like, why are you not snorting this Coke with us, you know? It's just so normalized. So it's expected. And that is very sad. We have made progress, I would say, because at our, we have, it's kind of difficult to explain, but we can sell beer and ciders and stuff at, supermarkets, but vodka and like this hard liquor, we have like this special place you can

buy. And it's, we have a lot more mock tales now and non-alcoholic like red, white wines and a lot more of them. And the first thing you see now when you go to this vinemonpoola, this place that sells vodka, it's the non-alcoholic beverages. So, So that's an improvement. Yeah. So it's positive progress, though. Yeah. Yeah, giving options at least for people still can go out and drink something other than water.

You know, it's a nice feeling. Water, coffee, like, yeah. Yeah, the options are good. Yeah. I'm thinking take us back to sort of, you know, the end of your drinking days, you know, what those months and in weeks were like leading up to it. unpack that a little bit for us because I know a lot of stuff happened. Yes, a lot of stuff did happen.

It was horrible. I was in literal hell. I just vomited blood every day and I didn't have the energy to do anything. I didn't brush my hair. I didn't do anything. Just, you know, walking to the toilet, I could cry because I had to get up from the couch. And the Christmas, 2019, was just horrible. And then at the January start of 2020, I noticed that my legs were getting weaker, but not as weak.

I mean, I didn't think much of it because, you know, my whole body was dying. So I didn't. And then we get to the start of March. Then my legs are really, really weak. They can collapse when I was just walking to the bathroom. They could just collapse. and I was just thinking like this is a weird way to die you know I thought it was you know going to die in my sleep not like this slow kind of dying process and then eventually I did go

to the doctor because I thought this was really strange so they sent me to the hospital and I didn't want to be there there because I they wouldn't allow me to drink there so I left against medical advice and then I just got more and more paralyzed. I couldn't stand at one point like the end of February. My legs were barely working. And these home nurses, they couldn't help me go to the toilet or anything because I was so big. And I was sent to the hospital and I left the hospital like several times during this period and I got a wheelchair and I was just everyone was like hello you you have to get committed you're like getting paralyzed and I was like nah I um I didn't I I would rather die like with some dignity at home than the um the treatment I got at the hospital because they were

uh yeah they just treated me like trash um So I just sat at home. I even went to the bathroom in a litter box instead of going to the hospital because I wanted to die with some dignity at home. But then I was stuck on the toilet one time and this was like my lowest point ever. It was the home nurses tried to help me, but they, of course, I was huge so they couldn't do anything. So they called for the fire department to help me get up from the toilet. And there was like five people tried to help me get up from the toilet with this huge like fire truck on the outside and every, you know, the neighbors. And it was just like my lowest point ever.

And they brought me to the hospital actually. And then went back home. And then I collapsed and was sent back to the hospital. And then the doctor who was there at the time, he said, you just have to stay here. You have to promise me you have to stay here. You can drink whatever you want. No one here is going to take away your alcohol, but you have to stay here because if you leave now, you will die. So I stayed and they put me in a coma that morning.

So he saved my life by saying that I would. you know, drink at the hospital. Yeah. Did you know they were that you were going to go like into the coma and not be drinking anymore? Like they tell, that's something they tell you or how does that work? Yeah, they did tell me. They did. I was coughing a lot that I couldn't, I couldn't speak.

I was just coughing. And my body, I was so tired and it was so I didn't have the energy to cough. But yet, you know, my body just coughed and coughed and coughed and I couldn't talk. So I actually begged them to put me under when they told me that there was kind of like a last resort that they didn't think was going to work because I was so sick and they had percentage lung capacity. So they were like this is probably not going to work because all of your organs are shutting down. But this is our last resort to like try and save your life. And I was just, okay, just put me, I cannot do this anymore, just finish me off. And my brother had birthday the day they intubated me, and I just wanted to call him before I died to wish him a happy birthday.

And he didn't understand a word I was saying because I was just coughing, but he, he understood what I was trying to say. And he didn't think I would survive either. No one did. And then they put me under. And they did actually try to wake me like a month later. I was awake for a week. But then it was just getting worse. So they had to put me under again.

But that week I do remember being awake. But it was just horrible months at the hospital. It was so lonely. And I was so crazy. I was just hallucinating and I just didn't think anything was real and I didn't see anyone, any loved ones because of this COVID corona and I didn't believe it because it was like a beer pandemic and I was like, sure, of course my head would think of a beer pandemic, you know. And yeah, it was a very, very lonely months.

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, what a, what a journey. like you sharing this now and to where you are today. I mean, first off, like, not even recognizable to then. You know what I mean? Seeing the pictures and seeing the transformation that you've made. You know, to be honest, though,

I've had a couple of people on the podcast, especially on YouTube where they share how much they were drinking and it's a lot. And some people are like, no, there's no way, you know, they were drinking that much. You know, seeing those pictures. It makes a whole lot of sense. Explain to somebody, though, who's maybe an outsider from all of this. Yeah.

How do you let it get to this point? Like, what is going on inside of your head that you're willing to die to keep drinking? Like, you're willing to make that trade off? Well, at that point, it was, I was too far gone, I thought. It was like this, I didn't know where to begin. I couldn't stop drinking. that was my, that was my, like I would die to rather than stop drinking because it felt like it was so impossible. And it was just, I felt like, because I heard from everyone, doctors,

psychologists, therapists, everyone was telling me that they had never, ever met anyone that drank as much as me. And they told me that I should be committed. But my doctor told me that they had had to medicate me before I was sober because I would die from withdrawal. But they wouldn't do that because we're very conservative here in Norway. And so I just felt like everyone kept telling me that I was such a unique case. They would never, they didn't know what to do with me because they had never, ever experienced this that someone drank as much as I did. And let alone, I just, I didn't look like I was drunk or anything. I had 4.7 blood alcohol level and I just talk like I do now.

So no one knew what to do with me and it just kind of sent me to other places. And I was a special case, which is why I have been so much in media for the last four years because I want to kind of show if there's someone else out there like me that drinks a lot, that you're not alone like I felt I was. Yeah. And I think even if people aren't at that point yet, we look back at your story and I look back at so many of them. A lot of us started the same. So like maybe if we're earlier, if somebody's earlier in the process,

of this, now is the opportunity to get off the train, like get off the elevator. Please do. It only gets worse and all the years I wished I would get off earlier. And when it seemed more possible, when I wasn't too far gone as I thought I was, I just, I looked back at the years when I, when I, you know, started and I was just, why? why did you ever let this get this far? And I remember looking in the mirror, and I couldn't recognize even my eyes because they were just dead.

And I couldn't recognize myself because I didn't look like I do now. And I was like, how on earth did you get here? Like, how could you do this to us? Like, I really, really, really wished I would stop sooner. That was actually one of the first things my best friend told me when she was the, she and my brother and my mother were the first, were the first people to visit me when they were allowed to. And even though I was like, I was involved, I was in a wheelchair, I was, you know, huge and had all these wires. She said the first thing she saw was my eyes.

They were alive again. And she was just like, she bawled her eyes out when she saw me, when she saw my eyes. because I was there, you know, I wasn't, I was finally there again. And yeah, but absolutely, when I think back, I had so many opportunities to, you know, stop when before it escalated as much as it did. Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting, too, with that, because I do get a deep sense of gratitude just from our conversations over the years that it took what it took for you to maybe see things the way you do now and appreciate the life you have now.

Like I just think there's this, there's maybe this weird thing that we have to go through some shit in life to appreciate maybe the small things or have a different outlook on things, even though we don't really want to have to go through, you know, all of the mud. But it can, you know, it can maybe make us see things differently on the other side. Absolutely. Absolutely. I always say that, like, my gratitude is my reward for the hell I've been through. I see things completely differently. And I, even though six years later, when I, you know, just get up from the toilet, I can just burst into a smile because I can, my legs work. I can do this by myself, like, without firemen or it's the gratitude.

over just waking up and don't have to drink and I can just walk across the floor and I can go to a restaurant and order a soda. I'm grateful for everything like all day and I really feel like that is our reward for our journey for everything we've been through because I see life differently than my friends. Yeah, that's so relatable. How do things, you know, shape up for you after you leave, right? I know you had to do a lot of physical therapy, right? And learning how to walk and stuff. Was that part of it too? Yes. I had a lot of physical therapy. I still do actually the same physical therapist. So she has been with me almost the entire way. She's actually been in the newspapers with me. But I had to learn how to walk. I had to lose like

100 kilos. I had to learn to live without alcohol. I had to actually think about my life because I was sure that I was going to die before I ever turned 30. So I was like, oh my God, I actually get to live. Like, what am I going to do? So absolutely I had a long road ahead of me. But it was a very fun road because it was like I couldn't get further down. So it's just going up and it was very just fun to like be sober. I remember my, I've always loved Christmas.

So I'm starting, I start to decorate for Christmas on my birthday for September 1st because I missed the, I missed a lot of Christmases or a lot of joy. I remember my first Christmas sober. That was pure magic. I, because we had these red days in Norway where like in Christmas and with the Easter and everything, the shops are closed for. like three days and where you can't buy alcohol at all. So I had to get like thousands of krona to buy alcohol and it was just so freeing. Like I could just buy presents and be with my family and not worry about drinking and it was just just pure magic that first Christmas and every Christmas since of course but it was just to wake up you know and and

Oh my God, I can just lay in bed. Like I don't have to open a beer. And I can actually eat because contrary to what a lot of people thought, I didn't for many years because I drank so much. I was nauseous all the time. So now I could eat food and drink water. And I love that road back to life. I really, really loved my journey since 2020. And in Norway, we are lucky enough to our skin removal surgeries. They are free as long as we have enough skin. So I have removed and put my abdominal muscles back together. And luckily we, well, it was free. And all the medication, luckily are free as well because I was on a lot of medications after the hospital.

Um, yeah. Yeah. And now I guess you use my experience. So that's the best thing of all. Yeah. Which is, which, yeah, I mean, how old were you when you quit drinking? Uh, 28th. I turned 29 that September. And now you're, you're planning out, right? Like, what am I going to do with my life? And, you know, sharing your story and the publications and it's so many different ways, right? Now you're, you're, you're helping other people sort of, uh, explore this or supporting them. which full circle. Yeah, it really is. It's amazing. I wish I could go back in time, you know, to 2019 me and show how we are today and tell her like what we're doing. And yeah, because she was so, so sad and lost. And I just wanted, if I had a time machine, I would

definitely go back to show her. Because looking back at the pictures, she, is, it's hard to look that I can just, I can feel what she felt and I'm very, very proud of her to have gotten us here. Yeah. Wow, that, that's so, that's so powerful. I mean, maybe that 2019 is still in there somewhere, you know, watching. Yeah. She's resting in my heart. She is having a well, well-deserved rest. But she's with me in my work every day. day. Does it surprise you at all how far you've come or how far you, you know, I've been able to, you know, the work you've put in, the effort? It does. I did have, I still do have a lot of motivation because I, when I knew that the world was real back in 2020, I was like, okay,

this is my second chance. This is what I've been praying for for so long and begged for. And now I just, I had to grab it because I know how many people don't get a second chance. So I just, I would do everything to earn it somehow. I want to earn my second chance and I never take it for granted. I'm extremely grateful because I know how many people don't get one. So I will do a lot of good work. I will, this is what I'm supposed to do with my life. This was, I feel this was supposed to happen.

Like now, it was a reason that I had to suffer as much as I did in my 20s because I wouldn't be here today, the person I am without her. Yeah, without going through it. There's an expression or quote that says, everyone gets two lives. The first one starts when you're born and the second one starts. when you realize why. Yeah. I love that quote. Kind of what you're doing now, I think, is leaning into the why, helping others.

Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for connecting. As always, you know, I wish we had about, you might not, but I wish we had like three hours because I know that there's so much more to this story. And, you know, maybe that's another day mission for us. Just before we sign off, though, for anybody out there who may be struggling or wanting to, you know, get started on this journey, what would you mention to them? I would definitely tell them to not listen to the voice in their head telling them that it's impossible, that it's impossible to live without drugs or alcohol. I wish I had someone tell that to me that this voice that I had, that it was lying because when I look back now, I cannot for the life.

of me understand what was going through my head when I was drinking that made it so impossible to stop. I really wish that they don't listen to it. It is possible. I mean, it is very possible and it is such a life, you know, being sober and it's all that, it's so worth it. And when you get to this side, you will look back and just wonder why it, you know, took so long. And the voice is lying. It's a very good life waiting for you. And I wish I had spoken to someone with experience when I, when I was drinking. Yeah. Yeah. So, so true. I mean, it is, it can be scary to get started, but a lot of people share that none of the scary monsters really come alive, you know, that we're so worried about. No, they don't. So thank, thank you again so much.

Great to connect. My pleasure. Great to see what you're, uh, Great to see what you're doing in Norway and really all over the world. So thank you so much for hanging out. Thank you. And thank you for the work that you do. I love to connect as well. So I want to be a guest again. Yeah, let's do it.

Well, there it is another incredible episode here on the podcast. Thank you, as always, for listening along. If you enjoy the show, you love the show. Drop a review wherever you listen or your thoughts below in the comments. What an incredible story of turning things around. now working with others to give back and help them find their way. I'll draw mail that to contact information for Instagram down on the show notes below. Be sure to send over a huge thank you for sharing her story with us again.

And I'll see you on the next one.