Sober Motivation: Sharing Sobriety Stories

Jen started drinking alcohol at just 12 years old and began experiencing blackouts almost immediately. Growing up with an alcoholic mother, childhood trauma, and years of instability, she turned to alcohol as a way to escape feelings she didn’t know how to process. What began in childhood developed into decades of alcohol addiction, blackout drinking, broken relationships, and eight alcohol- and d...

How does a mother of three go from being a social drinker to struggling with alcohol addiction so severe that she nearly loses everything? In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Anne shares her powerful journey through alcoholism, five trips to rehab, repeated relapses, and the moment that finally changed her life. Growing up with a father who struggled with alcohol, Anne promised hersel...

How does a successful attorney go from building a thriving career to drinking six bottles of wine before 3 PM and wondering if she’ll ever be able to stop? In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Les shares her journey through alcohol addiction, losing everything, and finding a second chance in sobriety. Les built a successful career as a Boston attorney specializing in liquor licensing....

What happens when you’re told you might only have weeks to live, but you’re still not ready to stop drinking? For Tom, what started as weekend partying eventually became a daily dependence on nearly 30 ounces of vodka. He was drinking from the moment he woke up until he passed out at night, all while trying to keep his struggles hidden from the people closest to him. After a devastating car accide...

Have you ever promised yourself you’d never drink like that again, only to find yourself doing the exact same thing a few weeks later? For years, Sam struggled with binge drinking, alcohol blackouts, and the anxiety that followed. He was the life of the party, had a successful career, and was surrounded by friends, but his drinking was becoming increasingly difficult to control. After blacking out...

What really changes when you stop drinking, and what are some of the biggest benefits of sobriety that nobody talks about? When we think about quitting alcohol and getting sober, we often focus on the big milestones: 30 days sober, 90 days sober, one year sober, or even hitting rock bottom and turning our lives around. But some of the most powerful changes in recovery happen quietly, in the everyd...

Country artist Robyn Ottolini didn’t lose everything because of alcohol. She had a career she loved, close friends, a supportive family, and plenty to be grateful for. But behind the scenes, drinking was contributing to anxiety, sadness, shame, and a growing feeling that something needed to change. In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Robyn opens up about her decision to stop drinking,...

Feel like you’ll never get sober? Maybe you’ve tried again and again, but nothing seems to stick. Mike knows that feeling well. Mike’s alcohol addiction eventually cost him his marriage, his business, his relationship with his kids, and nearly everything he had. He went through treatment multiple times, tried AA, and even put together years of sobriety, only to find himself drinking again. Mike kn...

Amanda built much of her identity around partying. Drinking, drugs, festivals, relationships, and a large social circle weren’t just things she did—they had become part of who she believed she was. Even when a doctor warned her that continuing to use drugs could kill her, Amanda couldn’t imagine stopping. In her mind, getting sober meant losing her friends, her relationship, her social life, and e...

No one knew how much Kori was really drinking. From the outside, she was a wife, mom, and hard worker who seemed to have everything together. Behind the scenes, she was secretly taking shots, hiding her alcohol use, and questioning whether she had a drinking problem. After years working in the bar and restaurant industry, drinking had become part of Kori’s everyday life. She could still show up fo...

After more than seven years sober, Anthony never imagined he would find himself back in active addiction. In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast , Anthony shares his powerful story of drug addiction, cocaine addiction, sobriety, relapse, and addiction recovery . He opens up about his early struggles with cocaine, going to treatment, getting sober, and eventually building a life he was pro...

Will returns for Part 2 of his story. After 125 days sober, Will returned to drinking. His alcohol addiction progressed until he was facing end-stage liver cirrhosis, kidney failure, and doctors telling his family he could have just weeks left to live. Will shares what it was like receiving a liver transplant, nearly dying again after his colon ruptured and his family was given a 4% chance that he...

David Wilson, better known as Sober Dave, spent decades drinking before alcohol slowly took over nearly every part of his life. What began with drinking socially eventually progressed from beer to cider, wine and finally vodka — at his worst, Dave was drinking around a litre of vodka every night. He would wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning still drunk, go to work hours later, spend entire weekends d...

Will Gordon’s alcohol addiction progressed to drinking as much as 1.75 liters of vodka every two days. His health deteriorated, he was diagnosed with alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis, and eventually his organs began shutting down. In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Will shares the reality of alcohol addiction, secret drinking, blackouts, trying to quit drinking, liver failure, trans...

Chelsea was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cirrhosis after nearly a decade of heavy alcohol use, but even being told she could die wasn’t enough to immediately make her stop drinking. She shares the progression of her alcohol addiction, liver failure, ascites and the moment she finally got sober on September 29, 2024. Chelsea eventually received a liver transplant and today shares what recovery, sob...

Have you ever promised yourself you would stop drinking tomorrow, only to find yourself doing the exact same thing the next day? For Shelby, weekend drinking eventually progressed into daily vodka, blackouts, hidden bottles, and trying desperately to control her relationship with alcohol. She knew she needed to quit drinking, but even after getting months of sobriety, she found herself returning t...

What happens when you know alcohol is hurting your family, but you still can’t stop drinking? Andy returns to the Sober Motivation Podcast to share his journey from years of secret drinking and failed attempts to quit alcohol to reaching 18 months sober. For nearly a decade, Andy knew his relationship with alcohol needed to change. He would wake up hungover, promise himself he was done, and eventu...

At 29 years old, Christine’s alcohol addiction led to liver and kidney failure. Her brain was swelling, she had lost the ability to walk, and doctors told her family she may have only 48 hours to live. Christine survived, but that still wasn’t the end of her drinking. In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Christine shares how drinking progressed from teenage experimentation to physical...

Mike never thought he had a drinking problem. He was working, providing for his family, and convinced himself he was still functioning. But behind closed doors, alcohol was quietly changing everything. In this powerful quit drinking story, Mike and his wife Kristen share both sides of their journey through alcohol addiction, denial, marriage struggles, and recovery. You’ll hear how daily drinking...

David Correy had reached the kind of success most people only dream about. He was performing around the world, creating music, and achieving goals he had worked toward for years. But behind the scenes, he was carrying unimaginable grief. After losing both of his parents within a short period of time, alcohol slowly became more than something to unwind with. What began as an occasional escape turne...

Trisha never thought alcohol would take over her life. She survived three brain surgeries, built a successful barber shop, and raised two daughters as a single mom. When life became overwhelming, alcohol started as a way to cope with stress. Within months, she was physically dependent—drinking before work just to stop her hands from shaking. In this honest conversation, Trisha shares how alcohol s...

Jason spent decades believing he had everything under control. He built a successful career, became known as the guy who could outdrink almost anyone, and convinced himself that because he was still functioning, he didn’t really have a problem. But behind the scenes, alcohol—and eventually cocaine—had quietly become the solution to every uncomfortable feeling. Anxiety. Loneliness. Shame. Divorce....

For the past several years, I’ve had one of the greatest privileges imaginable—sitting across from hundreds of people willing to tell the truth about addiction and recovery. As we approach 300 episodes of Sober Motivation, I wanted to step back and answer one question: What have all these conversations taught me? In this solo episode, I share 12+1 lessons that show up over and over again—from why...

Aaron never believed alcohol would nearly cost him his life. Like many people, drinking started as a way to fit in, cope with anxiety, and numb painful experiences. After losing his father at a young age, finding his brother after a fatal overdose, and carrying years of grief and trauma, alcohol slowly became his answer to everything. By his early 40s, he was drinking from the moment he woke up ju...

Jess never imagined alcohol would take her here. After years of trying to stop drinking, repeated relapses, multiple detoxes, inpatient treatment, and three-day blackouts, she found herself waking up to police after her truck became stranded on train tracks. She thought she had destroyed her life—and that she would never be able to stay sober. In this powerful episode of the Sober Motivation Podca...