Welcome to LaLa Bright.
Welcome to LaLa Bright, a space for real stories, honest reflections, and the little sparks of light that remind us life can be brighter than we imagined.
Here you’ll find essays and moments pulled from my own journey - the messy, the meaningful, and everything in between. You can also follow along on Brighter Without for daily doses of inspiration and sober joy.
Once Upon a Wine Glass
Once upon a time, I thought I’d found my happily ever after in a wine glass. Every pour promised calm, escape, and a little shimmer of magic I couldn’t quite find on my own. But fairytales built on glass are fragile, they shatter before the last sip.
What I didn’t know then was that the ending I was chasing wasn’t at the bottom of the glass at all. It was waiting in the quiet morning light, in clear-eyed laughter, in a life I didn’t have to numb. Sobriety didn’t steal the magic. It handed me back the pen and let me rewrite the ending.
Our Brighter Without
Recovery isn’t a solo act. I had to do the hard, messy work but Gary made the path gentler. From pouring out every drop of alcohol in our house to cooking salt-free meals, his love turned something impossible into something brighter.
How Alcohol Stole My Time
For years, I blamed Instagram scrolls and my undying loyalty to bad reality TV for stealing my hours. But the real time thief wasn’t my phone or my remote - it was the wine glass in my hand. Turns out, nothing wastes a Tuesday night (and Wednesday morning) faster than “just one more.”
I Was the Last to Know
I didn’t hide my drinking from other people, I hid it from myself.
On a Tuesday night, I poured cabernet into the biggest glass I owned and told myself it was “just one.” I wasn’t lying. But I wasn’t telling the truth.
Half-bottle rules. Boxed wine “efficiency.” Comparing myself to people who drank more. I wrapped my habit in excuses and Instagram-worthy slogans until it felt like a personality, not a problem.
The lies worked, until they didn’t. And once the truth broke through, there was no tucking it back into the dark.
Almost a Love Letter
I wrote this in early sobriety. It’s not a love letter, it’s a goodbye.
I thought I was the exception. I wasn’t.
I thought I could sip without sinking, just a trickle, just socially. I was too smart, too self-aware to get pulled under. But in the cruelest plot twist, I became the sequel… and this time, I already knew how the story would end.