The Sober Gardener: How Miley Cyrus (and Grateful Truce) Discovered the Healing Power of Getting Your Hands Dirty

When a global superstar like Miley Cyrus speaks openly about her sobriety, people listen. In a recent interview in the Daily Mail, she didn’t credit a fancy rehab or a strict diet for her five years of recovery. Instead, she pointed to something remarkably simple and profound: gardening.

She called it a personal process of nurturing, a form of love. And in doing so, she perfectly illustrated one of the most important principles for sustainable recovery.

The Gift of Time

When you stop drinking or using, you are suddenly faced with a vacuum. Evenings, weekends, and mental energy that were once consumed by the cycle of addiction are now empty. This newfound time can be terrifying. Without a plan, it becomes the biggest risk for relapse.

As I write in Grateful Truce, sobriety gives you back 20 to 30 hours a week. The critical question is: what will you do with it?

Why Gardening is the Perfect Sober Hobby

Miley’s insight hits on exactly why gardening is so powerful for someone in recovery:

1. It is a Nurturing Act: Addiction is fundamentally destructive. It breaks down your body, your relationships, and your spirit. Gardening is the opposite. It is a creative, nurturing act. You put a small, vulnerable seed in the ground and commit to caring for it. This external act of nurturing mirrors the internal work you are doing to nurture your own recovery.
2. It Grounds You Literally and Figuratively: The feeling of soil in your hands, the sun on your back, the physical labor—it pulls you out of your anxious thoughts and into the present moment. It’s a form of mindfulness that doesn’t require meditation; it requires a trowel.
3. It Teaches Patience and Faith: A seed doesn’t become a tomato overnight. Gardening teaches you to trust the process, to have faith in unseen growth. This is a vital lesson for recovery, where progress is often slow and non-linear.
4. It Provides Tangible, Healthy Rewards: The fruits (and vegetables) of your labor literally nourish your body, which is desperate for healing after the abuse of addiction. Eating something you grew yourself is a powerful act of self-care.

More Than a Hobby—A Strategy for Life

Miley Cyrus’s quote isn’t just a cute soundbite; it’s a testament to a successful strategy. She found a simple, life-affirming activity to fill the space that addiction once occupied.

This is the heart of the Grateful Truce philosophy: replacing destructive habits with constructive ones. It’s not just about removing the poison; it’s about planting something new in its place.

You don’t have to be a celebrity with a vast garden. A single pot on a windowsill—a basil plant, a cherry tomato—can be your starting point. It’s about the ritual, the care, and the quiet satisfaction of nurturing life.

Miley found her path. The question is, what will yours be? Maybe it’s gardening. Maybe it’s something else. But find that thing that grounds you, nurtures you, and helps you grow.

What’s one new, life-giving hobby you could start this week? Share your idea in the comments below!

Chris Mosser
Author of Grateful Truce and The AGI Dilemma