A storyteller and creative force for self-acceptance, The Sober Hipster herself visited The Recovery Village to share her testimony of addiction and healing.
Lisa Schmidt lives for stories. She finds them through tales of redemption in podcasts, inspirational messages from the pages of her favorite books and even through tattoos — she has 14 inked works of art (and counting). However, the style she loves the most isn’t always found in prose or blog posts. Lisa’s favorite stories are the ones that only you can tell. As The Sober Hipster, Lisa believes everyone’s unique life stories matter, and that even one person sharing their story can make a difference in the world.
Sober Hipster: The Meaning Behind the Name
“The definition of sober is not affected by alcohol. Hipster is defined as being outside the cultural mainstream. Living a life of sobriety is not the norm in today’s culture,” Lisa explains. Through The Sober Hipster website and Instagram, and her company Story Box, she inspires women in recovery to embrace and express their stories in artful ways. Like the thousands of people she hopes to encourage, Lisa’s life — and identity — hasn’t always been founded on sobriety.
Lisa’s struggles with drug and alcohol misuse began in her teenage years, but the roots of her addiction also stem from identity struggles as an adolescent that started in elementary school.
“I knew I was gay from the second grade,” Lisa recalls, but it wasn’t until years later that she came to fully embrace this identity. “I was the little girl pressured to be attracted to boys, sneaking wine coolers and keeping girl crushes closer than secrets,” she says.
Hiding Her Identify Started to Take Its Toll
In her 30s, Lisa had achieved the American dream: She was a successful paralegal, had two beautiful kids and a husband of almost 17 years. Although she wasn’t raised in the church, she devoted her heart to God and served as a youth director. However, she still felt the weight and shame of hiding her true identity. In an effort to silence her own personal voice of truth, she sought reformation in a seminary. “I wanted to learn about God… I thought this is my chance to change, to finally be straight, but I hated myself more,” Lisa recalls.