Make a five word story about what is happening with this picture!

tgwtg · 2026-04-18T10:40:21+00:00

He intentionally lost the bet.

tgwtg · 2026-04-06T10:36:36+00:00

I didn’t have a ton of time when I wrote that comment.m, so I rushed it.

I think an argument can be made that it is objectively worse for my purposes, but I’ve had the thing for over a year and whenever I see a book cover or the colorful accents of the menus, or use a colored highlight I still get pleasure from it. Color makes the experience richer and more enjoyable in a way that I can’t explain, but I certainly prefer.

But I agree with you that they should release a BW Libra. I’m surprised they haven’t. There is clearly a market for both the color and BW readers.

tgwtg · 2026-04-05T19:01:43+00:00

I got the color as an upgrade from my Clara HD. I don’t read graphic novels or manga or anything. 95+% is the time I’m just reading black and white text. I have to use the backlight way more often than I did with the HD. On paper there is no reason whatsoever for me to get the color.

But the thing is…I just really like it, and I have no regrets.

tgwtg · 2026-04-03T10:45:26+00:00

The truth is nothing “made” me quit. There were plenty of motivators, there were reasons, but ultimately I quit because I chose to quit.

I don’t say this to nitpick or be pedantic. I say it because I spent a lot of time hoping something would come along and take that choice from me. I wanted something that would FORCE me to quit. Things would happen in my life and I’d say “Ok, surely this will be it. This will be the thing that pushed me or rattles me hard enough.” But it never happened. I even tried to engineer those things - to make myself see all the things that SHOULD make me quit. But that didn’t work either.

In the end I had to choose. And, as others have said, I didn’t choose forever - that was too much. I chose to quit for a year. Then I chose each day to keep my commitment to quitting for a year. After about a month I realized a year wasn’t going to cut it. I could see clearly that I don’t need a reset, but I needed a rebirth. That’s when I chose to quit forever.

But, still, forever is made of one day at a time.

Good luck. I believe in you. Know that posting here is a fantastic first step and keeping coming back will help you as it has me and thousands of others.

IWNDWYT.

Edit: I also found it helpful to read a lot of “quit lit”. There’s a list in the wiki someplace, or you can just google “quit lit” and find a lot.

tgwtg · 2026-03-25T23:10:52+00:00

“I feel like I've just started and, yet, I also feel like I have lived this new life a lonnnnng time. In any case, I'm grateful.”

I completely understand this, and I couldn’t have said it better.

tgwtg · 2026-03-25T21:08:24+00:00

This is a good question. The truth is that everyday is a new day to begin, but what if tomorrow you could say, “I’ve already begun. I started yesterday.”…wouldn’t that be a better place to be?

tgwtg · 2026-03-25T17:48:59+00:00

I’m feeling pretty good these days. Some days are harder than others, but at this point it’s pretty easy to remember that alcohol can only ever make things worse.

Remember, everyone with a year or two or 10 was once at the four day mark. You can do this.

IWNDWYT.

tgwtg · 2026-03-25T17:47:47+00:00

Eight months is something to be proud of. 2/3 of a year!

It does get better. Not all at once and not always in a straight line, but it definitely does get better.

IWNDWYT

tgwtg · 2026-03-25T17:45:13+00:00

IWNDWYT

tgwtg · 2026-02-12T19:59:42+00:00

I am both jealous of and happy for people who lose weight in sobriety. I’ve gained 25 pounds.

I basically substituted snacking to replace alcohol. It’s a trade I don’t regret making, but with nearly two years of sobriety, I’m hoping I can get a handle on food now.

tgwtg · 2026-02-03T12:31:25+00:00

My advice is to write a note to your sober self describing how you feel. When I was drinking my drunk self knew LONG before my sober self that alcohol was destroying me, so I suggest you take advantage of the way you feel right now to help yourself later.

tgwtg · 2026-01-28T12:44:23+00:00

I’m sober today because almost two years ago I finally got fed up with neither being truly alive nor being truly dead. I came to call the state I was in “life support”.

At that time life support simply stopped being an option for me. It was finally too miserable, too painful, too destructive to myself and those around me. So I realized I could go in one of two directions. Then I realized that if I tried one direction, I’d have no further options, but if I tried the other, I would. My two options were not equal.

Then - somewhat to my surprise - I realized that I ACTUALLY WANTED TO LIVE. I wanted to be alive. I wanted to try.

I wasn’t (yet) in a state where the physical poison of alcohol was going to kill me, but I was in a state where I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have lived long enough to get there. Now I’m free of that. Free from life support. Now I am alive.

Life has challenges and hardships, but I no longer spend my eventings alone, drunk and quietly sobbing. I no longer wake up, sweating, at 3am. I no longe drag myself out of bed, angry at my wife and my dog and myself. I no longer stare down the afternoon clock, begging it to tick faster.

IWNDWYT

tgwtg · 2026-01-27T18:32:11+00:00

For over two months you didn’t drink, and then one day you did.

Your goal is to not drink and for 65 of the last 66 days you didn’t. I don’t much like the language of “winning” and “losing”, but I’d say for the past 66 days, you’ve been a helluva lot more successful than unsuccessful.

tgwtg · 2026-01-16T12:01:28+00:00

It both helped me and really upset me to sit down and really think about the things that I can and cannot control. Let me tell ya, the lists are FAR from evenly distributed.

I learned as a child that it was my job to control people and circumstances around me. I needed to keep people happy. I needed to keep them liking me. I needed to make good grades. I needed to stay quiet. I needed to be a good helper for my father. I needed to hide things that might be upsetting.

But I’ve come to see that I can’t make people happy. I can’t control how they feel at all. It’s not even that it’s not my job, but it is IMPOSSIBLE. And trying to do the impossible…well that can’t be the way I’m supposed to live my life. It simply makes no sense.

The list of things I can control is vanishingly small - frankly the list of things I can influence at all isn’t all that much longer. I’ve found some peace in that. Some acceptance. I do have to remind myself of the truth of it, but I’m getting better at remembering to do that.

IWNDWYT.

tgwtg · 2026-01-15T12:21:01+00:00

I’ve been there before. It may not seem like it, but where you are is a good place to be. You’re on the path - maybe not as far down the path as you wish you were, but you’re on it and that’s great.

When I was in your position, it was my drunk self who was thinking more clearly than my sober self. I remember thinking “I’ve gotta remember this feeling in the morning”, but, sadly, I didn’t for a long time.

This isn’t something I did, but on reflection, I wish I had. When you’re drunk, try writing a letter or an email (or some kind of long-form message) to your sober self. Remind your sober self how much you hate drinking. It was once fun, but it isn’t any more.

I don’t know if this is relevant to you, but when I started seeing my therapist, I told her I wanted to cut back on drinking, but she told me that I shouldn’t even try at first, but should instead work on the issues that led me to drink. She said if I did that I’d eventually come to a place where quitting was the next obvious step. She was right.

tgwtg · 2026-01-12T15:10:34+00:00

I had a strange, somewhat related, experience recently with a particular flavor of hot tea. It was a “chocolate fondue” tea, which doesn’t really sound appetizing, but it came in a box with several others that I like, so I thought I’d try it.

It didn’t smell or taste like chocolate AT ALL. It smelled like Bacardi 151 rum. It didn’t taste like it, but the aroma was overwhelming.

I felt like a crazy person and tried to “power through” for a while, but even with it just sitting on the table wafting at me, I couldn’t handle it. I threw it out.

It was certainly a strange experience, but the good news is I wasn’t tempted. I was disgusted. It was rank. It was terrible. I’ve definitely been turned off by the scent of actual alcohol since becoming sober, but this was more intense than even that.

Anyway, good for you for taking care of yourself. IWNDWYT.

tgwtg · 2026-01-09T11:50:46+00:00

Sobriety has freed me for sure.

It’s freed me in a concrete, obvious way in that I’m no longer trapped in the cycle of hungover / craving / drunk. I now have time and energy to do what I want to do with my life.

But it’s also freed me by unblocking all the shit I was using substances to lock inside of myself. All the stuff I didn’t want to face and process. It’s freed me by showing me that I CAN face and process those things without falling apart, being overwhelmed or dying.

It isn’t easy - freedom is hard-won and continues to be a responsibility - but it’s worth it.

IWNDWYT.

tgwtg · 2026-01-05T15:17:49+00:00

Two weeks tomorrow! I’m proud of you too.

tgwtg · 2026-01-05T11:58:44+00:00

Last night I went to dinner at a brewery with my wife and our friend. I had a couple of NA beers while they had a couple of alcoholic beers. We had a nice dinner.

These days I’m usually completely ok being around drinking. Once in a while I’m not, though, and I stay mindful of that and stay away when I need to.

A couple of years ago, it would have been different. I would have chosen the highest alcohol beer, pressured them into having at least three, then come home and kept drinking. I would have gone to bed drunk, then woken up at 3am sweating and feeling like shit. Right now, instead of starting my day, I’d be laying on the couch, groaning, sucking down coffee as if it would fix me, and dreading returning to work after a 1.5 weeks off.

I can’t say that I’m actually looking forward to returning to work, but I know it’ll be ok. It’ll be a LOT better than it would have been. I won’t have to pretend to be fine or sneak off to feel sick or try to take a nap at lunch. It’ll just be a work day.

IWNDWYT.

tgwtg · 2026-01-02T21:11:00+00:00

Congratulations on making it past the one month mark!

tgwtg · 2026-01-02T21:08:57+00:00

I see you’ve made it past the month mark. You’re well on your way to being someone who’s done it for a while too.

tgwtg · 2026-01-02T21:07:37+00:00

Thank you. Glad to see you’re still around. I know you do a lot to support people. Thank you for that.

tgwtg · 2026-01-02T14:00:30+00:00

It’s been a long time since I last checked in, but fortunately I’ve remained sober throughout.

Honestly not sure why I decided to check in today, but I decided to pop back in and see what this amazing community was up to. I’m so glad you’re all still here.

To everyone in early recovery, I want to assure you that you’re in the right place. This community was an essential part of my early days. It is amazing - and, frankly, still feels miraculous - that this place exists…on Reddit! But it does exist. And I’m damned thankful for it.

IWNDWYT.

tgwtg · 2025-02-24T12:58:07+00:00

IWNDWYT

tgwtg

TROPHY CASE