INDIAN LAND, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – At the kitchen table, two women opened a Pandora’s box of feelings.
“Like weird emotions come up,” says Britney McCormick, sitting beside her sister Shannon Morris as they go through old photos. “Sister love right there!”
“Your outfit!” Shannon said with a laugh.
“What’s up, I’m a bumble bee!” Britney added, holding a childhood Halloween picture.
Through all of life’s costume changes, their bond has been a constant.
They’ve been each other’s rocks on the road to sobriety. That’s jumpstarted a new venture to help people find friendship, support and a measure of hope. To understand what led to Sober Sisters Events, it might help to know their background.
“We look at pictures of us from our childhood and we’re like ‘Who is that? Is that you or me?” Britney asked.
They’re three years apart, but practically twins at heart. At least you can tell them apart by “Wayne’s World” inspired tattoos.
“I want to get the Wayne and Garth tattoos,” Shannon once said of the comedic movie characters. “And she was like, ‘Alright!’”
Shannon’s tattoo says “Party on, Wayne!” while Britney’s says “Party on, Garth!” Clearly, they’re kindred spirits in so many ways, but one commonality is nothing to laugh at.
Both are recovering alcoholics.
“I always knew I had a problem,” Shannon told Queen City News. “I was a very big binge drinker.”
“I didn’t have a so-called rock bottom,” said Britney. “Every time I would drink, I would drink too much. My off switch is broken.”
Britney, a mother of three, stopped drinking six months ago. Shannon’s been sober for three years.
“Any time that something negative or bad happened, alcohol was involved,” Shannon realized.
The family history of similar issues is deep-rooted, they explained. For years, relatives told them they were chips off the old block.
“People say ‘Like you act like [your dad]. You’re just like him,’” Britney recalled.
“You’re just like him,” said Shannon.
Their father died at 32 years old. Britney and Shannon were adults when they learned both parents struggled with alcohol and drug use.
“When we found out how he had actually passed away, I’m like ‘What a selfish thing to do.’ But, addiction…” Britney says.
“The generational cycles, our family never healed from that,” Shannon lamented. “They never did the work, they never got therapy, they used alcohol and other substances to heal themselves.”
Together, they continue their journey to sobriety. Now, they have yet another thing in common, a business called Sober Sisters Events. As event planners, Sober Sisters will have spirited social settings, minus the spirits. Their launch event is Sept. 14 at Summit Coffee Co. in NoDa.
“If you have your friend group that you’ve always hung out with, you’re most likely drinking with,” says Britney. “So, you need to find other hobbies and other outlets.”
Not everyone has a sibling support system, so they’re hoping to create the next best thing.
“But we also want them to mingle with other people that are sober, or in recovery, or just starting out, maybe sober curious,” Shannon said.
The business takes their mind off things they’d rather not dwell on, like the father they wish they knew more about.
“It’s just like, ‘Who was this person?’” Britney said, glancing at her dad’s picture. “And if you made different decisions in your life, you could still be here, and we would know.”
28 years after he died, his daughters wonder what could have been.
“Our lives would’ve been completely different from what they are today,” says Shannon.
“I can’t even imagine what it would be like today with him around, it would be so much stronger,” Britney concluded. “My kids would have a grandpa.”
