So much of what Sober Butterfly Collective is about is promoting the joys of sober socialising – the name even comes from ‘social butterfly.’ So when we find ourselves in the midst of a Pandemic, with the ever-changing rules and restrictions, we had to think creatively about our next social event, yet still promote our message.
We brought together our love of reading, celebrating our sober Sunday’s and our connectivity – Book Club Beat was born.
The idea was simple: each Sunday of the month, starting on Sunday 4th October – we would invite our online community to enjoy the sober Sunday fresh air, somewhere local and safe with their book. Throughout the day, reflections and questions about the book were posted on our Instagram page to provoke conversation and mindful musings of what you’re reading, like a virtual book club.
The activity was shared across the platform and in turn connecting fellow Sober Butterflies.
October’s book was the inspiring ‘Untamed’ by Glennon Doyle, a Bestseller, a favourite with celebrities and the book credited to Adele’s self-discovery.
The book is a catalogue of Doyle’s thoughts, ideas and passions on various topics, but mainly about empowerment and releasing ourselves from our internal cages. Doyle is also sober, which was an unexpected joy to land upon when reading.
The book is insurmountably quotable from start to finish and be prepared to underline, fold corners of the page down and cover with post-it notes. The book really speaks to your soul and provides a lot of moments where you pause, raise your head from the page and think ‘wow.
“First: I can feel everything and survive, Second: I can use pain to become.”
The simple idea of knowing that lots of people around you are reading the same book is powerful within itself, and this fuelled conversation and interaction throughout the day and beyond. Unlike other virtual book clubs, you can read the book at your own pace – something which is crucial particularly for a book liked ‘Untamed’ which has so may poignant moments, it forces you to pause, reflect an think.
“Be still and know”
The Book Club Beat will continue on the first Sunday of each month – the next one on Sunday 1 November and the book as chosen by our Instagram community, is ‘Women Don’t owe you pretty’ by Florence Given. Make sure you are following us on Instagram to take part.
We hope you can join us in November!
Sober Butterfly Collective 