Former sober speaker details unexpected return to drinking after 11 years

Meghan O'Gieblyn, who spent more than a decade identifying as an alcoholic and speaking from church basements, says she slipped back into drinking after 11 years of sobriety, a relapse she describes as both accidental and unsettling, The Guardian reported.

How long had O'Gieblyn been sober?

She was 11 years sober before the incident in Helsinki, and even her husband was unaware of her struggle, according to The Guardian.

What triggered the first drink in Helsinki?

While shopping at a Christmas market in Helsinki, she ordered what she thought was non‑alcoholic glögi; a miscommunication led her to point at the alcoholic option and she drank half of it, feeling a brief fogginess that turned into depression, The Guardian detailed.

How did technology later enable another drink?

Later, QR codes placed on restaurant tables at an airport in Nashville let her order a glass of white wine without speaking, and the first sip “went straight to her head,” The Guardian noted.