Circle of Chairs with Caroline Beidler

This might be my favorite episode of the whole series. For years, prevention has centered on one tiny two letter word. That word matters. But if it's the only thing we teach our kids, we're leaving out the part that actually protects them. I'm sharing what was missing in my own childhood, and the shift that I think changes how we parent, caregive, and show up for the youth in our li...

Recovery Strong Parenting: Why Connection Beats Fear Episode 2 in our series of How to Talk to Kids About Addition. For decades, we've been told the way to protect our kids is to scare them. I don't think that has worked the way we hoped. In this episode, I'm sharing what I've learned as a mom, a social worker, and someone in recovery about building the kind of trust that makes...

Season 3 Premiere: How to Talk to Kids About Addiction I'm back from a summer break, and I'm kicking off this new season with a topic close to my heart: how do we talk to our kids about addiction? And more than that, how do we reframe the whole conversation around substance use prevention? Here's what I get into in this episode: The question most parents are asking about drugs and a...

Book Club Week 4: Revival, Resources, Purpose, and Community Welcome to the final week of our walk through When You Love Someone in Recovery. If you've shown up every week, thank you. Showing up is a part of healing, and consistency matters. This week covers chapters 12 through the conclusion. Four themes from this week's reading: 🔹 Recovery can be a spiritual rebuild.  🔹 Change is a p...

Interview: Kate Parsons on Faith, Peer Support, and Showing Up for Recovery I've been hearing Kate Parsons' name everywhere I go in the recovery community here in Tennessee, and I'm so glad we finally got to sit down and talk. Kate is a woman in long-term recovery and a Faith-Based Coordinator with Tennessee's Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, and her story and her work are ju...

Book Club Week 3: Mental Health, Boundaries, and the Opposite of Addiction Welcome back to week three of our walk through of When You Love Someone in Recovery . This week covers chapters 8 through 11, and it's where we talk about what many families avoid until they're forced to face it. Four themes from this week's reading: 🔹 Mental health is central to recovery. Anxiety, depressio...

Book Club Week 2: Supporting Our Loved One Without Losing Ourselves Welcome back to week two of our walk through When You Love Someone in Recovery. This week covers chapters 4 through 7, and it's where things get practical. Because love can get confusing and tough when addiction is in the house. Four themes from this week's reading: 🔹 Support is not the same as rescuing. We are not the...

Book Club Week 1: When the Light Comes Back All month long, I'm walking through my new book, When You Love Someone in Recovery, with you. This week, we're starting where it all begins: when the light comes back. I kept hearing the same phrase at recovery meetings: "When someone is in recovery, it's like the light in their eyes comes back." Maybe you've seen it. Maybe...

In this special bonus episode, I sit down with my husband Matt for an honest, heartfelt conversation about what it's like to love someone in recovery - from his perspective.  We share the story of how we met, how he first learned about my recovery journey, and how we've navigated life's biggest changes together as a couple and as parents.  To celebrate the launch of my new book, Whe...

In this special episode of Circle of Chairs, I'm sharing key points from my new book, When You Love Someone in Recovery , and I created this one specifically for you to pass along to someone who loves you. Whether you're in recovery yourself or you're the family member or friend walking alongside someone who is, this episode is designed to help bridge that gap of understanding. I ta...

What if the very thing you’re trying hardest to hide is the doorway to healing? In this Circle of Chairs Conversation, I sit down with author and pastor John Ortberg to explore the surprising connection between spiritual formation and recovery. Drawing from his book Steps: Transforming Your Life When Willpower Isn’t Enough , Ortberg reflects on why change is so difficult—and why the path forward o...

In this Circle of Chairs conversation, I interview speaker, author, and podcaster Toni Collier about recovery, trauma, and the kind of community that helps people heal. Toni shares her “buckets” of work - traveling to speak on healing and redemption, writing books including Brave Enough to Be Broken and her new book Don’t Try This Alone , hosting the Still Coloring podcast , and raising her kids a...

What if some of the things you’ve believed about addiction recovery—about love, relapse, boundaries, even faith—aren’t fully true? In this episode, I gently challenge 10 common myths that quietly shape how we show up for the people we love. If you’ve ever wondered… Am I enabling? Is relapse proof they’re not trying? Shouldn’t my faith make this easier? Why does loving them feel so exhausting? This...

In this episode of Circle of Chairs, I sit down with Brandon Burley, Marine Corps veteran, former law enforcement officer, educator, and the founder of the Redemption Project - for a deeply hopeful conversation about addiction, incarceration, and what it really takes to help people rebuild their lives.  Brandon shares how his career in narcotics exposed him to the revolving door of recidivism: the...

In this episode of Circle of Chairs, I am deeply honored to have my mom, Diana Dalles, as a special guest . Together, we candidly discuss the profound impact addiction and recovery have had on our family, sharing personal experiences and the journey toward healing and hope. We touch on the challenges we faced, from the lack of resources in the early 2000s to the isolation my mom felt, and the tran...

In this episode, I discuss with Megan Perry the concept of harm reduction, a set of principles and practices that prioritize people's autonomy and dignity in substance use. Megan shares how harm reduction goes beyond just providing safe equipment and overdose prevention, emphasizing the importance of loving and supporting individuals regardless of their substance use choices. We also explore...

In this episode of Circle of Chairs, I have an inspiring conversation with Will Parker Anderson, a book editor at Penguin Random House Christian and founder of the Writer's Circle podcast and newsletter. We discuss how writing can be seen as a form of worship and a means to connect with God, especially for those in recovery. Will unpacks the powerful role of writing in processing thoughts and...

Join me in an inspiring conversation with Kelsey Gerhardt on Circle of Chairs, focusing on addiction, mental health, healing, and hope. Kelsey, a woman in recovery for nearly 12 years, shares her remarkable journey from early addiction and multiple treatments to becoming a sober living advocate and opening her women's home, Heart Recovery, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We discuss the importance of afte...

Ericka’s story will resonate with anyone who has ever juggled motherhood, work, faith, and the expectation to “hold it all together.” She talks about the quiet cycle of making promises to herself she couldn’t keep. The fear of telling anyone in her church community what was really happening. And the way alcohol noise often drowned out the very voice she wanted to hear most. She also names somethin...

In this solo episode, I’m talking honestly about why the season can be so tender and how you can step into it with intention instead of fear. Whether you’re brand new to recovery or, like me, many years into this journey, the holidays still require care.  The gifts and gatherings can be beautiful, but they can also be loud reminders of the people we were, the pain we walked through, or the coping...

This week on Circle of Chairs Conversations, I’m sitting down with someone whose work has been quietly transforming the lives of women for years.  Dr Zoe Shaw is an author, clinician, speaker, and powerful voice helping women discover their worth after seasons of hardship, trauma, or recovery. Her new book, Stronger in the Difficult Places , dives deep into the wounds most of us carry but rarely k...

This week on Circle of Chairs Conversations , I’m stepping into the circle myself to reflect on something that’s been on my heart this month: gratitude. In this intimate episode, I explore how gratitude is more than a fleeting feeling or a checklist item, a practice, a rhythm, and a lens through which we can approach recovery, mental health, and everyday life. Caroline Beidler, MSW , is an author,...

This week on Circle of Chairs Conversations , I had the privilege of sitting down with bestselling author Jonathon M. Seidl to talk about his brand-new book, Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic . Jon’s story is raw, messy, and radically vulnerable. For years, he lived a double life, faithful husband, father, Christian leader on the outside, while secretly battling alcoholism on the inside. But wh...

This week on Circle of Chairs Conversations , I had the joy of sitting down with Jessica Guerrieri —a proud sober mom of three, award-winning author, and powerful advocate for mental health and recovery. We got to talk about fiction (love), the temptation of trying substances (like cannabis), and motherhood in recovery. You all, I LOVE this conversation and can’t wait to share it with you. In this...

This week on Circle of Chairs Conversations , I’m diving into something that’s been on my heart as we celebrate Recovery Month, a topic that gets right to the soul of our healing journey. And I’m going to be real with you…this isn’t an easy conversation to have. But it is a necessary one. In this week’s episode, I debunk a myth that kept me trapped for a long time. Something harmful that was said...