'It's never too late to make changes': Jann Arden opens up about aging and sobriety
Jann Arden is opening up about sobriety and the beauty of aging in a new essay.
The 57-year-old singer, is just one of the women featured in Chatelaine’s special series on aging, alongside Canadian television personalities Marilyn Denis and Elaine Lui.
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An extremely candid Arden reveals that a health scare in 2016 served as a wake up call to quit drinking and end an unhealthy relationship.
“Was I an alcoholic? I don’t know. I know I used alcohol in a way that was unhealthy and debilitating. I wasn’t able to control it, and the toll became greater the older I got,” she said. “That’s one thing nobody tells you about aging—the way your body reacts to alcohol changes. When I was in my 30s, drinking meant having fun with friends, unwinding, being social... As women age, our bodies need to work harder and longer to metabolize alcohol: My hangovers lasted three or four days, which meant I was almost always either drunk or depressed.”
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The “Good Mother” singer says that getting sober helped her turn her life around and ultimately reinvent her career. Aside from music, Arden now stars in her own television show, aptly titled, “Jann” and published the book, “Feeding My Mother: Comfort and Laughter in the Kitchen as My Mom Lives with Memory Loss” inspired by her mother’s battle with Alzheimers.
“You can’t skip the hard stuff,” Arden shared. “If I am the poster child for anything, it’s that it’s never too late to make changes in your life.”
An unexpected but welcomed gift of age and sobriety was finally being able to make peace with her body.
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“At age 57, I feel good about myself and in my body, which is something I never could have imagined,” she said. “I spent years hiding behind size XL blazers and overalls. Now I love wearing dresses. For most of my life, my body was the enemy. Not I think of it more like a loyal and trusted friend.”
“I want to be good to it and nourish it, which means I’m no longer ordering a pizza at 1 a.m. because I’m hammered.”
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