Jessica Simpson marked a milestone on Monday, sharing an “unrecognizable” photo of herself on her first day of sobriety, four years ago. The image, she wrote in an emotional post on Instagram, was taken on Nov. 1, 2017. It captured the “very moment I would allow myself to take back my light… and brave this world with piercing clarity.” To do that, she went on, she “needed to stop drinking alcohol because it kept my mind and heart circling in the same direction,” leaving her “exhausted.”

In the post, Simpson acknowledged the level of stigma surrounding alcoholism and said that today she feels “wildly honest and comfortably open.” She previously spoke out about her struggle with alcohol and pills in Open Book, a 2020 memoir. Her dependence, she wrote, stemmed partially from sexual abuse she endured in early childhood. In Open Book, she chronicled the 2017 incident that led to her decision to seek treatment for her addictions. On Halloween morning, she hit “rock bottom” when she began drinking before 7:30 a.m., was unable to dress her kids in their costumes, and missed her own Halloween party. The next morning, she resolved to get help and stop drinking.