Sober in the Country - with Shanna Whan AM

It feels like this conversation has been a long time coming. Vic is genuinely honoured to have Shanna Whan AM on the podcast this week.

Shanna is the founder and CEO of Sober in the Country, a national grassroots charity that’s been driving radical social impact and real change across rural and remote Australia over the past decade. Through laser-focused bush advocacy, peer-to-peer support, and a refreshingly straightforward message, she’s helping shift a deeply ingrained culture.

And the message is one we can all get behind, whether we drink or not: it’s always #OK2SAYNO to booze.

Shanna was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2025 for her significant contributions to rural community health. She was named National Australian of the Year (Local Hero) in 2022, and also took out Marie Claire’s national Advocate of the Year award that same year. So yes… she’s not just talking about change, she’s making it happen.

In this episode, they chat about life in rural Australia, the pressure to be strong, stoic, and self-reliant in farming communities, the isolation of rural life, and how hard it can be to say no to alcohol when it’s so deeply ingrained.

They also explore how that’s starting to shift, slowly, but meaningfully. And they establish very early on that Vic would absolutely not survive in the outback, (even if she did have a hat with corks hanging off it!)

This one takes you beyond the front gate and into the reality of life in the outback, an honest, eye-opening conversation with a truly remarkable human.

To find out more about Shanna and her incredible work head to https://www.soberinthecountry.org or follow them on socials @sober_in_the_country and to help raise awareness please add #OK2SAYNO to your socials.

💛 Resources & Links

📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays

A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.

👉 Buy the book here

🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes

👉 www.soberawkward.com

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👉 www.cuppa.community

📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide

Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.

👉 The Sober Awkward Guide

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