The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast

Today, my guest is China Brezner. China earned her Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University and has extensive experience working with teens, adults, couples and families. She began her career helping juvenile inmates and has worked with clients challenged by PTSD, anxiety, substance abuse, depression, disordered eating, sexual orientation, and gender identification. Spending over 13 years in the addiction field, she has immense experience with the 12-step recovery model. She has been a clinical director for multiple treatment centers, at the detox, residential, and PHP/IOP level of care.  China will be sharing her story of addiction, how she was able to recover and the tools and practices she uses to maintain her sobriety.   But before we jump in, I just wanted to share that my book: How to Quit Drinking: A 12 Step Exploration Guide is finally with the editor! It’s a huge milestone, but we have a long way to go. The book will be focusing on dispelling...

If you’re listening to this podcast, I’m going to assume that you either want to quit drinking or you already have. For those who want to quit drinking there are typically two camps. Those who think of themselves as alcoholics and everyone else. I got sober in a time when AA was really the only program available, and people who went were facing a serious problem.     Nowadays, there are all kinds of programs that help people stop drinking no matter where they fall on the addiction spectrum. This episode will focus on the moderate or “middle lane drinkers”.   And the perfect guest to talk about how to help those people is Andy Ramage. He was the co-founder of “one year no beer”, he’s the author of two books: “The 28 Day Alcohol-Free Challenge: Sleep Better, Lose Weight, Boost Energy, Beat Anxiety” and “Let's Do This!: How to use motivational psychology to change your habits and change your life” and Founder of The Arete Way Coaching Certification Program.  ...

Today my guest is Author, Speaker and Recovery Advocate Melissa Bond. Simon & Shchuster sent me a galley copy of her new book “Blood Orange Night: My Journey to The Edge of Madness” and I have to say, I was riveted from page one. I was introduced to a world I knew little about which is insomnia paired with a benzodiazepine addiction.    I confess that I don’t normally talk to people who are not practicing abstinence, and frankly I didn’t know if I would even publish this episode, but I’m so glad that I am. Melissa educated me not only on the nuance of benzo usage, but the appropriate terminology to describe this specific substance use disorder. We also discuss the dangers of unsupervised detox from these substances and the protocols and professional support required to get off of them.   But before we jump in, I’m ridiculously excited to share with you that I have finally found an editor for my new book coming out this fall. The working title is:  “How to Qui...

Today my guest is Brad Orsted, an award-winning wildlife and conservation filmmaker/photographer, author, speaker and wilderness therapy instructor. Brad’s work has appeared on Nat Geo Wild, The BBC, PBS, Nature, The Washington Post and Smithsonian Channel. Brad’s most recent film, “The Beast of Our Time: Grizzly Bears and Climate Change” is narrated by none other than Jeff Bridges. The film recently won Best Environmental Film Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival. We will be discussing his new memoir, “Through the Wilderness: My Journey of Redemption and Healing in the American Wild”, available now wherever books are sold. But before we jump in, I’m excited to share that I have made a lot of progress on my book “How to Quit Drinking, A 12 Step Exploration Guide. Overcome barriers to entry, Clarify Misconceptions and access a process of transformation for an alcohol-free life”.    The first chapter is available now as my gift to you, just visit 12stepexplorationguide.com...

Today my guest is someone who has been on the very prestigious New York Times Best Seller list, not once, twice or three times but FOUR times for non fiction books! Truly an incredible achievement. She was the ghost writer for two of the most spiritual luminaries of our time, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and The Dali Lama. She also wrote the life story for Anthony Ray Hinton called The Sun Does Shine that was chosen for Oprah’s book club in 2018.  Her name is Lara Love Hardin and her newest book “The Many Lives of Mama Love” was SO good, I absolutely devoured it in about 2 days. I can’t wait for you to meet her!     But before we jump in, I want to share an experience I had recently. I went paddle boarding with a friend who is also in recovery and you know how we are, small talk isn’t a thing so as we were getting into it, I was telling her about some of the guests I had on recently that were relevant to what she was sharing. She was like, Oh I have to get back to the p...

Today my guest is Victoria LaMadeline. She has been clean and sober for over 19 years and we’re going to be talking about why she left her NA community and what she does now to stay sober.    Victoria and I also making plans to do a podcast series called “the self help junkie podcast” where we talk about books, podcasts, and psychology and how to apply the information to your life. I think it’s going to be a great series because so many of us are obsessed with personal growth, but it can be tricky to take action on it sometimes. Each episode will cover the ideas that can help us evolve and specific actions for transformation. Stay tuned for more on that later!   But before we jump in, I thought it would be helpful to talk about the difference between peer support and professional support in terms of seeking help to get sober. When I first got sober in 94, I was broke and couldn’t afford professional help so I went to 12 step meetings to learn how to stop drinking. I’m...

Today my guest Jeannine Lindgren, host of the Chasing Heroine Podcast. She was on a few weeks ago, but we had so much and she has so many relatable stories I just had to invite her back!     But before we jump in, I’m going to offer some resources to help you on your recovery journey. So first, if you are a woman and would like to join my free private women’s group on facebook, just do a search for “The one day at a time private women’s group”. I post other podcasts I listen to in there along with inspirational cards, workshops, and it’s just a nice place to connect with other supportive women.   Another resource I offer is a free pdf called “100 resources for your first 100 days”. There are SO many sober podcasts, books and online support groups available at zero cost and I have put some of my favorites in a list for you so you don’t have to go hunting for them. You can download it by visiting soberlifeschool.com which is my main website. It acts as a hub for th...