The Outrun – Sobriety does get easy

This article has also been published on Medium.

Warning: This article contains spoilers on the film “The Outrun”. If you haven’t watched it and would like to, please stop reading here.

Released in 2024, “The Outrun” is a film inspired by Amy Liptrot’s 2016 memoir. It follows Rona, a young woman in her 20s whose struggle with alcohol abuse leads her to a crossroads, where she decides to seek support and begin a journey of sobriety. Set primarily in the breath-taking Orkney Islands in Scotland, the main character’s home region, the film depicts her path to recovery.

This film is outstanding. I knew even before watching it that I would have loved it. I am a sucker for introspective films, so when “The Outrun” came out, I got tickets for myself and my husband, we made our way to our local independent quirky cinema and watched it. The acting was phenomenal. No surprise there as Saoirse Ronan is one of the most talented actresses on planet earth.

I’m not a film critic and this article does not intend to be a film review. As an alcohol-free professional who works with individuals grappling with alcohol abuse, though, I felt compelled to share the reflections prompted by a dialogue exchange I witnessed on screen. This is a message that my younger alcohol-drinking self would have benefited from and my guess is that there will be others like me out there.

The exchange takes place in the second half of the film. It’s between Rona and a local gentleman who works in a convenience store on the island where she is residing. We find out that the man is a “recovering addict” who shares with her the exact number of years, months and days of his sobriety, almost as if he was calculating his jail time. He asks Rona for how long she has been sober. She replies “62 days”, to which he responds “It never gets easy. Just gets less hard”. And that’s when my heart SANK.

By the way, I understand why this particular character in the film says what he says and considering his circumstances, it made sense for him to utter those words. What I wrote below is meant as an “added note” because for me, this film, is absolutely perfect. I felt that sharing my POV and experience might help other people.

1. I tried to empathise with someone struggling to quit drinking, knowing it has become a problem for them. I imagined how they might feel if they heard someone who had been sober for some time like that guy, if they had believed what he said. While I don’t know exactly how everyone would react, I recall how I would have felt in their shoes — it likely would have depressed me and provided another excuse to put off the changes I needed to make sooner rather than later. “If this is how someone feels after being alcohol-free for a few years, what chance have I got to be sober AND happy?” — I hear my old self mumbling.

2. Watching the film reveals a more nuanced reality of Rona’s recovery. As the story unfolds, we see her regaining her zest for life and developing an interest in pursuing a PhD on a topic that captivates her — an interest that blossomed as she broke free from her self-destructive drinking habit. Given Rona’s personal journey, the earlier sentence fails to capture the full depth of her experience. However, it may better reflect the perspective of the other character, which I will address next. Note to my old self: focus on her re-birth and look at the changes she is making, not his experience.

3. The man’s perspective is simply one point of view — that of someone whose life does not seem to have changed much, aside from the absence of alcohol. He still works in the same shop, selling alcohol amongst other stuff, living in the same place, spending time with the same people, going to AA meetings attended by another 3 people in a small gloomy room. Based on the way he speaks, it appears he still experiences his sobriety as a burden, rather than as a positive change. After doing my own work, which involved getting help from EFT therapists to understand the triggers and emotions underlying my behaviour, I now see things differently. This observation leads me to my final point.

4. His point of view does not accurately reflect the reality for many of us who decide to stop drinking and live healthy, alcohol-free lives. While it may well be true that for some people staying sober does not get easier, this would most likely be the case because the underlying reasons for their reliance on alcohol have not been addressed.

This process includes:

• understanding why they turned to alcohol in the first place

• identifying the unmet needs they were trying to fulfil

• develop healthy coping mechanisms to address those needs without using other substances or behaviours that might become themselves addictive.

With the right approach — whether through self-reflection or professional support — not only does it become easier to maintain an alcohol-free lifestyle, but it can also evolve into a natural, integral part of one’s identity and daily routine. Rather than a constant struggle, it can become the new “normal” — a liberating, alcohol-free way of living.

Ultimately, how we live our lives is a personal choice. I was clear on the way I wanted to live — freely and independently, without relying on external factors for my sense of self. While connecting with supportive, caring people is vital for a fulfilling life, I was determined to take full responsibility for my own sobriety. I did not want to relegate my it to anyone else apart from me. This sense of personal agency is what empowers me and gives me the purpose to help others grappling with alcohol misuse issues.

To conclude, I’d like to see a more inclusive portrayal of the diverse experiences with substance use and recovery on screen. For example, there are people who don’t drink because they simply never enjoyed it. These individuals exist, and I’ve met them myself. Additionally, there are people in recovery who don’t attend traditional support groups, like AA, but instead seek help from therapists or SMART Recovery meetings. Furthermore, there are those who have achieved long-term recovery, so much so that they have completely moved past the “sober” and “recovery” labels. We are ex-drinkers, the same way we might be ex-smokers, but we don’t necessarily identify as smokaholics. But I have never had the pleasure to come across these examples in a film or a series. I’d be glad to be contradicted.

By widening the depictions of substance dependence solutions, we can better reflect the full spectrum of real-world experiences and give people a more hopeful perspective on alcohol-free life.

Ilaria Novak is an Alcohol Addiction, Trauma and Recovery Clinical EFT Therapist. She also works with family members and friends who are impacted by their loved ones’ alcohol or drug misuse. She can be found at www.soberrebel.co.uk and on Instagram @soberrebelwitheft.