My Story
Hi I’m Cori.
I started drinking alcohol in 7th grade. I quickly learned that alcohol could make me feel “normal.” I was socially awkward, felt like I didn’t belong, and drinking gave me a way to feel comfortable in my own skin.
The problem was, I never seemed to know when to stop and enough was enough. I drank too much. I was the one who needed taking care of. I said and did embarrassing things. And as I moved through my 20’s and 30’s, the consequences got bigger and bigger.
Two DUIs. Failed relationships. Broken promises. And a drinking problem that kept getting worse.
Then I met my husband and had a child. I became determined to figure out how to drink like a “normal” person. I made rules. I tried moderation. And every time I broke a rule, I would decide I needed to quit. But the quitting never lasted. Eventually we would both “forget” and I’d find myself right back where I started.
The truth was, I didn't know my husband sober. I didn’t know my friends sober. I didn’t know myself sober.
Thirty days came and went. And somehow, I stayed sober.
Then came the question I couldn’t ignore.
Two Years into my sobriety, one question kept lurking in the back of my mind:
IS THIS IT??? THIS IS WHAT I QUIT DRINKING FOR?
Because I was miserable. I wasn’t drinking, but I was angry, isolated, confused, and I still didn’t know how to actually live my life without alcohol. I had gotten sober. But I hadn’t learned how to be sober. Emotionally sober.
I didn’t know what to do with the stress, sadness, fear, loneliness. Or any emotions I’d spent years trying to escape.
So I started doing the deeper work. I started learning about emotional sobriety and began healing the little girl who had learned she needed a drink to fit in, and an adult who had learned she couldn’t function without one.
Slowly, everything began to change. I realized sobriety wasn’t something I simply needed to maintain. It was an opportunity to finally get to know myself. To heal, grow, learn new ways to cope, build more authentic relationships, and create a life I didn’t want to escape from.
I also realized that this isn’t the finish line. It’s a lifelong journey and what a privilege it is to be sober and have the opportunity to keep doing the work.
Why I Created Flourish
I created Flourish because I don’t believe every woman needs the same thing. Some women are ready to stop drinking and don’t know how.
Some are already sober but wondering. “Why am I still struggling?”
And some have built a strong foundation and want continued support as they keep growing.
So I created three paths to meet women where they are, not force them into where I think they should be.
Because getting sober is only the beginning. The real work is learning how to flourish.
I’d never been sober for more than 30 days at a time, other than during pregnancy (which was an alternate universe for other reasons so it kinda doesn’t count).
Then came New Years Eve. I went big (I think I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that I was quitting). The next morning I made a video to myself. Red stained lips from wine, riddled with anxiety, not looking so hot. I said: “We’ll see. I’m only committing to 30 days.”