permission to be earnest? I've been sober for a bit over five years. That's a good thing. Do I miss it? Fuck-yeah. Will I fall off the wagon at some point? Maybe. But I hope not. Recently I was with some people (who didn't know me when I did drink). Why I wasn't drinking came up in conversation (tedious, but fine) & my "right" to call myself sober was challenged on the basis that I was drinking an alcohol-free beer & that I don't go to meetings. Are they right? Anyway, it pissed me off.