Some seven years after she first tried to kick alcohol, Erica finally got sober. But while she quit drinking, she did not quit writing. So she found that she had to learn anew how to do the parts of the job she used to depend on bars and cocktails for. “I don’t understand coffee culture, or writing in the middle of the day. That just seems incredibly foreign to me,” Erica said. After about six months, Erica decided to try visiting bars again — not to drink, but to live like a normal American and not have to cut ties with everyone she knows. “I remember feeling very relieved that I felt comfortable there and that I didn’t feel the need to drink,” Erica said. “Having that security in my own sobriety and my own ability to resist something that had me in its grips for a long time was really empowering.”