Lauren Burnison is the founder of We Love Lucid, the UK's first alcohol-free travel company, and a trailblazer in the sober travel movement. From couch-surfing with nomads on the Mongolian steppe to snorkelling with sharks in Oman, Lauren has spent her life seeking off-the-beaten-path adventures—and this year, she took a two-month road trip through Spain and Portugal in a micro camper with her four-year-old daughter to celebrate ten years of sobriety. In this candid conversation, Lauren shares her journey from self-destructive habits to sobriety, how travel became her school of life, and the joys and challenges of being a single parent exploring the world. She talks about starting We Love Lucid, the lessons learned while traveling solo and with her daughter, and how adventure can transform the way we see ourselves. Explicit content: We touch on drugs, drinking, and addiction. *** New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries. Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast. Your support makes a difference. Thank you x *** Show notes Who is Lauren Coming from Northern Ireland Originally 41 years old Founder of We Love Lucid - The UK's First Alcohol-free Travel Company Being a single mum to a very energetic 4 year old girl Being an aspiring writer Reflecting back on her early years Being very creative, loving animals, and growing up in the countryside Where her love of travel came from Starting to learn Spanish in school and how her teacher inspired her Having a knack for learning languages Finding a diary entry from when she was 15 years old Having an ambition to learn Spanish and French and wanting to live in Spain Getting to visit Spain at 16 on a sports camp Having her eyes opened and feeling invigorated while travelling on the road Why A'Levels were such a slog and hated being told what to do Being confident about travelling Deciding to travel around South America Getting into drugs and going down a self destructive path Heading back home to go to university Spending 6 months in Barcelona - working in a pizza restaurant and living in a tent Getting her degree Being taken further down the path and still being self destructive Making changes at 32 Wanting to explore and see more of the world - spending time in South Africa Getting in more and more trouble Turning 30 and heading to South Korea to work as an English Teacher Having the best and worst moments of her life Hitting rock bottom and deciding not to drink ever since Getting in trouble, and having the fear of losing her life Partying with Chinese Dwarfs Seeing how bad her behaviour had gotten Feeling and being alone on this part of the journey Drinking 4 nights a week The hardest part - being faced with this situation of not knowing who she was Who is Lauren? Having to deal with difficult emotions. Feeing so vulnerable The night she decided to quit drinking Creating 'We Love Lucid' and how it helped her stay connected with the sober community Visiting the vast empty spaces in Mongolia Growing up with horses and riding horses Wanting to ride horses in Mongolia and how it turned in to a trip of self discovery Trying to figure out the next steps Why life is not just good or bad - it's a mixture of everything Heading to the South of Spain and doing a workaday experience over there How the idea for - We Love Lucid came about Not having a positive view of sobriety Thinking about her experiences as a sober person travelling Starting to run the trips Why the trips are all about connecting with sober people Cycling from Beer to Soberton…. Why not all projects turn out how you want them to Not wanting to be a quitter Getting to 70 miles….. Why it was a bit of a failure, but also a valuable lesson at the same time Riding up the East Coast of Korea on a bike to North Korea The goodness of people How travel and adventure changed after having her daughter Feeling as though her world has been shrinking How it affected her mentally - with not being able to travel The realities of being a single mum in Scotland How her life seems so normal Starting to go away with her daughter Being on a road trip in Portugal for 1/2 months Trying to escape the winter in the UK Needing to stay in the UK and going with that Starting to accept the reality Wanting to start her blog - "Adventures of a single, sober mum" Being able to afford a micro camper Why trips are a condensed school of life The beauty and joy of the quiet moments Walking with 12 women on the Santiago de Compostela Mandy Manners - Sober Coach She Recovers Foundation How to connect with Lauren The stigma around being a single parent Wanting to feel more empowered Final words of advice for other women Change is possible Being inspired by Terence McKenna Try something hard, push yourself out of your comfort zone. Social Media Website: www.welovelucid.com - The UK's First Alcohol-free Travel Company Instagram: @welovelucid Substack: adventuresofasobersinglemum.substack.com

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related