Julia Bainbridge It's been quite a year. How are you doing mentally? Where did you grow up? When do you recall first realizing you were an introvert? Your book Good Drinks is full of delightful non-alcoholic recipes. When did you first decide to go alcohol-free? I read that alcoholism runs in your family. Is that something that was spoken about? Or did you have to navigate it on your own? How did you or how do you deal with the social anxiety that is usually quelled by alcohol? Do you use cannabis? Or do you not get social anxiety? Few things are worse than the depression and anxiety that follows a night of binge drinking. Would you beat yourself up for days afterward? How do you deal with any depression and anxiety that still naturally occurs from just existing? You work towards de-stigmatizing loneliness in your podcast The Lonely Hour. In our experience, it seems that loneliness is a consequence of not being happy with oneself, because solitude itself can be quite fruitful if you're in a good place. But we are experiencing a combination of loneliness and solitude like never before. How are you navigating having SO much alone time? Being single is definitely interesting during a pandemic. The "quarantine relationships" that do result end up getting intimate quickly on many levels. In some ways, it's sort of a good thing because the overflow of options with dating apps prior to the pandemic made people feel more disposable. Do you think one of the unintended consequences of the pandemic is that it is good for relationship-building? You also work or worked as a food editor for some time. What's your relationship with food and how does it affect your relationship with your body? We've all been cooking up a storm the past few months, so it's always nice to get some inspiration. Can you share a recipe of a recent dish you made? Which drink from your book would you pair it with? Books you always go back to: What are your five essential beauty products? Are you working on anything new you'd like to share? Are you freelancing full-time now? What's a day in the life of your work like? You typically relate most to people who are: Your vices: Thank you! Thank You
