Sarah Duffy’s alcohol free lent was just what she needed

Giving up drink for little over six weeks left 27-year-old Sarah Duffy feeling energetic, focused and uplifted.

While everyone on social media seemed to be observing ‘Dry January’, I was travelling around India with my best friend. I thought I was becoming genuinely Zen until we arrived at Alleppey in Kerala where nowhere served alcohol. Panic ensued.

Instead of accepting our fate, we raced to the first off-licence we could find. It was a government-run shop that had barred windows and a long line of men waiting in the blistering sun for their turn at the till. Sober, sunburned and female, we didn’t fit the mould of the regular clientele, but we didn’t care; we were getting a drink.