In a time not so long ago, sobriety was terminal. To give up drinking meant that you were an alcoholic, and to be an alcoholic was to have an incurable disease that is laden with years of prior shame. You were cast aside at family parties, uninvited to weddings, and you spent most of your social energy drinking bad coffee at AA meetings while you listened to other sick people sit in their shame. You were herded into alcohol-free zones, away from polite society. This is a stark contrast to the sober movement and community that I have found myself belonging to in 2021.