Todd Kinney
Todd was a classic gray area drinker who looked like he had it all together on the outside: a successful attorney, a nice house, a beautiful family. But on the inside, he was tormented by his relationship with alcohol. He loved drinking and being the life of the party, yet there was so much about drinking he didn’t like: the control it had on him, how it consumed his every thought, and how he felt after drinking too much. He spent six years evaluating his relationship with alcohol and employing every moderation hack in the book. Some of them worked, but it was exhausting, and the victories were always short-lived. All the things he didn’t like about drinking-they always came back. By 2019, Todd was growing tired of fighting his internal battle. He was worn down by the constant negotiating and obsessing, and was sick of the torment, shame, and regret. Then, in the fall of that year, his wife whispered something into his ear that would change his life forever. It was the last straw in a string of countless other incidents over several years-some tiny, some big, most somewhere in between-that finally tipped the scales for good. He decided to quit drinking. Giving up alcohol was scary and overwhelming. Even though Todd knew it was the right decision, he also thought life without alcohol would be a little dull and boring, a bit like a prison sentence for not being able to 'drink like a normal person.' What he discovered, however, was that giving it up was the farthest thing from a prison sentence. On the other side of alcohol was a life of deeper connection, richer fulfillment, and unending gratitude that he didn’t even know existed. He found a sense of clarity and peace that he had never felt before. He discovered a new and better way of living that so far outweighs what alcohol ever gave him. He wishes he would have done it sooner. I Didn’t Believe It Either is the raw, honest, vulnerable, and sometimes funny story of Todd’s journey to quitting the one thing he thought he couldn’t live without and his discovery that sobriety is better than he ever imagined.
