My husband and I gave up alcohol, and this is what happened

’So many things can creep into our lives as habits and routines without us consciously choosing them,’ says Kezia Neusch as she and her husband contemplated giving up their evening G&T.

When I told the internet I was quitting alcohol, everyone had an opinion. My inbox quickly filled with evangelists for a sober life telling me I was going to love it. “You’ll never go back!” one message read boldly.

I hadn’t meant to give up alcohol. But my husband had reflected that our celebration-filled summer was one with more drinking than normal. As an American from the Bible Belt south, he grew up with a more religious take on alcohol than I did, which has consistently led him to assess his relationship with drinking.