Alcoholism touches many families, yet true recovery requires more than just quitting drinking. In this candid and revealing session, Kate Mohler, an English professor and speaker with ten years of sobriety, shares how understanding brain chemistry, temperament, and neurodivergence can transform how we view addiction. Kate’s journey—from lifelong heavy drinking to bipolar diagnosis to discovering she is autistic—reveals how alcohol often becomes a coping mechanism for overstimulation, anxiety, and emotional intensity. People who drink heavily are not weak-willed or self-destructive; they are neurodivergent individuals trying to right their inner world. This session explores what needs to change beyond abstinence for real recovery, how emotional dysregulation shapes drinking habits, why AA alone may not address underlying neurological and emotional needs, and paths toward healing that integrate medication, therapy, and self-understanding. Through personal story and practical insight, Kate reframes addiction as a complex, human response to an overwhelming world—and offers hope for deeper, sustainable recovery.