Episode 61: Laura Mckowen
04/16/2026
Alcohol can look like the problem, until you notice what it was solving.
In this episode, Ailey is joined by writer and speaker Laura McKowen, founder of The Luckiest Club and author of We Are The Luckiest, for a conversation that begins with sobriety and opens into something deeper. Embodiment, shame, appetite, and the hidden intelligence behind the ways we cope.
We explore how alcohol can both numb and, at times, create access to sensation when the body feels out of reach. From there, we look at the quiet triangle many people live inside, moving between substances, food, and relationships in search of safety.
We talk about cross addiction and why removing the substance does not remove what is underneath. And we move into the tender terrain of relationships, where emotional sobriety asks how we stay connected without losing ourselves.
We also touch on writing as a tool for healing, and how giving language to our experience can support deeper integration.
If you are exploring sobriety, patterns of coping, or what it means to come back into relationship with yourself, this conversation offers a compassionate place to land.
About In This Body: Conversations with leading experts about the importance of embodiment in living an authentic life. In This Body asks the important questions: How does connecting to your body change your life? How will connecting to your body allow you to love better and live more authentically? And how does connecting to your body change the trajectory of our shared world?
In this episode:
1:32 What Embodiment Means Here
7:39 The Story Behind We Are The Luckiest
18:07 Writing As A Way Back
23:09 Addiction And Embodiment Intertwined
32:57 Desire Shame And Addiction Language
41:25 Cross Addiction And Emotional Sobriety
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