Real Deal Recovery

Patrick, clean and sober 18 years, picked a great topic for this podcast: Forgiveness. In this podcast Patrick reviews how steps 4, 5, and 10 have enabled him to forgive others. In addition, he shares his experience, strength and hope with how he has come to forgive himself as well.

Josh shares his life experience prior to getting sober and his experience and perspective with the principles. The principles are honesty, hope, faith, courage, integrity, willingness, humility, brotherly love, justice, perseverance, spirituality, and service. Josh is an alcoholic who is truly on the path.

Cody, who recently celebrated one year clean and sober, discusses his previous relapse, how he got back to the program, and how he has achieved emotional and physical sobriety over this last year. In addition, he shares how he has strived to be free by having willingness to do the footwork necessary to make it happen.

In this podcast Jim shares the progression of his disease: fun, fun with problems, and just problems. In addition, Jim speaks on how the steps have given him a tremendous amount of freedom in life outside of the rooms, and how the tools of the program help him as he navigates his life as a musician and father.

For many alcoholics and alcoholics gratitude plays an important role in their recovery. Andrea, who got clean and sober at 24, shares her background prior to getting clean and sober and the role gratitude plays in her life/sobriety.

In this podcast nutritionist and dietician, Janelle de Buzna, shares her background and offers up great suggestions for alcoholics and addicts in recovery. In addition, she shares the main roadblocks that keep people from making beneficial health changes and how they can overcome them.

False evidence appearing real is how many in recovery describe fear. Michael, a former guest to the podcast, (Denial) shares on how he’s navigated fear in recovery, and how the steps, fellowship, prayer, and meditation have helped him walk through fear in recovery.

Tom Hill is the Vice President of Addictions and Recovery at the National Council for Behavioral Health. In this podcast, Tom shares his path from coming out as a gay man to becoming and esteemed recovery advocate. Other specifics Tom shares on are the opioid epidemic, current legislation, and how his personal recovery has influenced work as advocate.

Willie, clean many years, reviews how the steps have helped him to achieve emotional recovery and personal freedom. With complete candor and honesty he shares on how he integrates the steps into his life with consistent inventories, prayer, and meditation.

This week, Bucky celebrated one year clean. In this podcast Bucky shares what led him to getting clean, the specific actions he took this last year to remain clean, as well as his experience with service work and the steps.

Steve, clean and sober 24 years, shares his experience with divorce and how he has walked through other difficult events in recovery. In addition, he shares with clarity how the steps have helped him to deepen relationships with others and the relationship he has with himself.

Sponsorship is an informal relationship that may or may not last a long time. Grady, clean and sober 14 years, shares his experience with being sponsored and sponsoring others. In this podcast on sponsorship, Grady goes over boundaries with sponsorship and working the steps with others.

Barry had been clean and sober for ten years, and then had a long relapse before making it back to the program. He shares his experience with relapse, what he did to refrain from relapse after getting back, and how his life and recovery is today.

This podcast is dedicated to Jim A, who died recently with 50 years of sobriety. Our guest, Jim, who was a close friend of Jim A, suggested the topic for this podcast because of the influence Jim A had on his life. The quality of our lives is largely contingent on the depth of our relationships, and in this podcast, Jim shares with us how his recovery has shaped his relationship with himself and relationships with others.

Jack, a professional drug and alcohol councilor in Southern California, shares very candidly about his relapses over the years and how he currently maintains his recovery. In addition, he goes over several of the common patterns that can lead to a relapse and provides suggestions an addict or alcoholic can take to prevent one.

In this podcast Josh, currently in his third year of recovery, shares his experience, strength, and hope on the topic of acceptance. Other topics he shares on include how he’s prevented a relapse, addressing his character defects, and developing emotional sobriety through meditation and prayer.

In this podcast Dale, clean 17 years, shares on his last 90 days of using and his first 90 days of recovery, and how he has learned to apply the steps to his life. Dale elaborates on his experience with the second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh, tenth, eleventh steps. In this discussion he gives solid examples of how he had integrated these steps into his life. Bravo!

Steve, in his 3 year of recovery, shares his first step and the unmanageability associated with his alcoholism. The progression and unmanageability of his disease: fun, fun with problems, and then just problems. A bottom is when you quit digging, and in this pod Steve shares his bottom, and how his life is so much richer, nourishing, and self-fulfilling now that he is sober.

Ryan, a veteran who spent eight years in the air force, shares his story before and after joining the military, and the effect his experience in the military has had on his life. Post Traumatic Stress is a topic many in the rooms are very uncomfortable addressing, and Ryan shares his experience, strength and hope with clarity and sound perspective as a person facing PTSD head-on in his recovery.

Greg, clean and sober 33 years, is a pioneer of Cocaine Anonymous and vibrant power of example. In this podcast he gives us the greatest hits of his bottom and journey in recovery. Greg is the real deal, and in this pod he shares his decades of clean and sober experience in recovery and how the steps and rooms have shaped his life.