Ashley Kelsch
The Column
Midlife, sobriety, desire, and the version of yourself you're still becoming.
Written honestly, without the wellness gloss.
I Thought Wine Was My Problem. It turned out I had no idea what to do with myself.
On free time, wine in bed, and the self I hadn't met yet.
Midlife Women, Wine, and the 3am Wake-Up
Why the thing many midlife women use to unwind is often the same thing waking them up in the middle of the night.
What We Call Self-Care Doesn't Last
The things that helped in the moment weren't the same things that healed.
It Was Never Wild or Sober
Wine was sold to us as the thing that would make us looser, freer, more ourselves. Sex got sold the same way.
We Were Introduced to Our Bodies. Nobody Taught Us to Feel Them.
Girls were introduced to sex in adolescence. Most of us were not awakened to it.
Nobody Witnessed My Rock Bottom
For the women whose lives look completely fine from the outside.
Is It My Hormones, a Hangover, or Who I'm Becoming?
What happened when I removed the one thing holding my life together.
The Hidden Connection Between Wine, Sex, and Why You Feel Numb at Midlife
What happens when wine becomes the bridge to sensation and desire slowly goes quiet.
You Don't Have a Drinking Problem. You Have an Aliveness Problem.
It was never about the wine. It was about what you've been using it for.
When the Soul Says, Bitch, Wake Up.
Only when the eternal girl dies can the woman be born. I think my body got the memo before I did.
