Confident Sober Women

This conversation with Dr. Dawnmarie Risley-Childs stays with you. Not because it’s easy to hear, but because it’s real. Dawnmarie shares her story of growing up in severe abuse and how that shaped her path into psychiatry, and eventually into a much deeper kind of healing. What stands out isn’t just what she’s been through, it’s how she talks about responsibility, boundaries, and what it actually...

Some stories stay with you, not because they’re dramatic, but because they’re honest. In this conversation, Shelby sits down with Vivian Moyo, a trauma-informed life coach, to talk about what it really means to heal after deep loss. Vivian shares her experience of losing her mother at a young age, growing up without her father, and navigating layers of grief that followed her into adulthood. What...

What if sobriety is less about labels and more about how you live, think, and feel each day? In this episode, Shelby sits down with transformation coach Heather Simco to talk about a more honest and grounded approach to recovery. With over a decade of sobriety and more than 20 years in entrepreneurship, Heather shares how high-achieving women can move beyond burnout, alcohol, and self-sabotage by...

In this episode of Confident Sober Women, Shelby sits down with Colette Baron-Reid for an honest conversation about what long-term sobriety really looks like in real life. With more than 40 years of sobriety, Colette shares her experience with addiction, recovery, and the deeper emotional work that followed. This conversation moves beyond quitting alcohol and focuses on what it takes to stay well...

In this episode of Confident Sober Women , Shelby sits down with entrepreneur, podcast host, and author Sarah Barnes Humphrey for a conversation about identity, resilience, and rebuilding life after everything falls apart. Sarah shares the story of what she calls the worst day of her life. Just days before her 37th birthday, her family’s logistics company suddenly closed, leaving her without the c...

In this episode of Confident Sober Women , Shelby sits down with recovery advocate and mindfulness teacher Lane Kennedy for an honest conversation about long-term sobriety, nervous system regulation, and what it really takes to build a stable life after alcohol. Lane shares her journey of 29 years in recovery and reflects on the unexpected lessons that come with staying sober across decades. From...

In this episode of Confident Sober Women, Shelby sits down with writer and journalist Carly Schwartz to talk about addiction, emotional sobriety, and the complicated path to recovery. Carly is a former editor in chief of the San Francisco Examiner and a founding editor of HuffPost San Francisco. Her upcoming memoir, I’ll Try Anything Twice: Misadventures of a Self-Medicated Life , shares the hones...

In this solo episode of Confident Sober Women , Shelby John returns after a period of personal and professional growth to share what’s evolving in her life, her work, and the direction of the podcast. Shelby opens up about a season of transition—navigating motherhood, major life changes, and expanding her therapy practice—while reflecting on how these experiences deepen her understanding of healin...

In this episode of the Confident Sober Women podcast, Shelby John sits down with Beth McDonough, a former television crime reporter with more than 30 years of experience covering major news stories across the United States. Beth shares her powerful and deeply personal recovery story. She speaks openly about addiction, trauma, shame, incarceration, and the long process of rebuilding her life after...

In this eye-opening episode of The Confident Sober Women podcast, host Shelby John sits down with award-winning investigative journalist Shoshana Walter , author of Rehab: An American Scandal . Together, they uncover the shocking realities of America’s addiction treatment industry—where compassion and healing sometimes collide with corruption, exploitation, and profit. Shoshana shares the powerful...

Today, I sit down with Renae Van Roekel , founder of Connecting to Cope , to explore the journey from childhood trauma and people-pleasing to accountability, healing, and helping others. If you’ve ever felt stuck under shame, guilt, or perfectionism, you’re not alone. What You’ll Learn  How early trauma and being told “you’re bad” became Renae’s internal narrative  The cost of people-pleasing addi...

Join host Shelby John as she sits down with Meg Gluth, a confident sober woman, successful business owner, and advocate for long-term recovery. In this inspiring episode, Meg shares her transformative journey from struggling with alcohol as a coping mechanism to building a thriving life rooted in sobriety, purpose, and authentic living. Episode Highlights: Meg discusses her recovery story, from he...

Join host Shelby John as she shares powerful strategies for navigating transition times in sobriety. Whether you're dealing with back-to-school stress, seasonal changes, or major life shifts, this episode provides actionable tools to help you thrive instead of just survive. What You'll Learn: 5 Essential Transition Tools for Women in Recovery:   Transition Rituals - How to intentionally...

In this episode of the Confident Sober Women Podcast, host Shelby sits down with Emily Sayre Smith, author of "Smartass Memoir of a Mouthy Girl," for an honest conversation about hitting rock bottom and finding redemption through sobriety. The Breaking Point That Changed Everything Emily shares the moment that saved her life, sitting on her bedroom floor in West Hollywood at 42, with a g...

You’ve been sober for a while now, maybe a year, maybe several, but emotionally, mentally, even physically, you still don’t quite feel like yourself. You’ve done the therapy. You’ve worked the steps. You know all the tools. And yet…   You still feel anxious or overwhelmed    You can’t sleep or wake up exhausted    You overthink everything or spiral into negative thought loops    You wonder why you...

Dr. Vanessa Klugman shares her powerful 10-year recovery story, revealing how perfectionism and people-pleasing led to prescription drug addiction that cost her medical license. Discover the evidence-based tools she used to transform her inner critic into self-compassion and build a thriving life coaching practice. What You'll Learn • Why perfectionism can be a dangerous form of self-sabotage...

Episode Highlights: Paulette Kengg, 67, shares her powerful transformation from a "take it or leave it" drinker to alcohol addiction in her mid-50s, and her ultimate freedom through faith-based recovery. After battling chronic insomnia for 8.5 years and following and old friend's advice to drink wine as a sleep aid, Paulette found herself addicted to alcohol—keeping a wine bottle by...

Feeling Drained Even in Sobriety? Here's Why (And What to Do About It) You got sober. You did the hard work. So why do you still feel completely emotionally exhausted ? In this powerful episode of Confident Sober Women , host Shelby John dives deep into the silent struggle many sober women face— emotional dysregulation and nervous system burnout . If you're walking through life in a fog...

In this transformative episode of the Confident Sober Women podcast, Dr. Ginny Trierweiler unveils a deeply personal and scientifically-backed journey of health transformation that will challenge everything you thought you knew about dieting, nutrition, and wellness. Dr. Trierweiler shares her powerful personal story of hitting rock bottom at 55 - struggling with chronic pain, pre-diabetes, and fe...

In this powerful episode of Confident Sober Women, host Shelby welcomes Julie Bloom, a recovery coach and mental health trainer who shares her inspiring 7-year sobriety journey that began with an unexpected "gift of illness." Episode Highlights: Julie reveals how severe burnout, PTSD, and vertigo became catalysts for her sobriety journey after 20 years as a college Spanish teacher. As a...

Why You're Always Anxious (And How To Regulate Your Nervous System)  Welcome back to The Confident Sober Women Podcast ! I’m your host, Shelby John , sober therapist, EMDR therapist, and fellow woman in recovery. In today’s solo episode, we’re diving into a topic that comes up constantly with my clients, friends, and even in my own life: nervous system regulation . You might say, “Why am I al...

In this insightful conversation, Shelby welcomes Amanda Kuda, author of "Unbottled Potential," to discuss different pathways to sobriety and the importance of finding what resonates with you personally. Amanda shares her journey to sobriety, which began when she realized her weekend drinking habits were counteracting her weekday personal development work. Despite not hitting "rock b...

Rebuilding What Addiction Broke: A Conversation with Janice Johnson Dowd In this powerful episode of the Confident Sober Women podcast, we're joined by Janice Johnson Dowd, author of "Rebuilding Relationships in Recovery." As a retired social worker with 12 years of sobriety and a mother of four, Janice shares her journey from functioning alcoholic to recovery advocate with remarkab...

Maura Casey opens a window into her 39-year sobriety journey with raw honesty and gentle wisdom. As a journalist who worked for prestigious publications like The New York Times and Hartford Courant, Maura's story reveals how professional success intertwined with her recovery from growing up in what she calls a "tumultuous" Irish family where "alcohol was the seventh member.&quo...

What happens when we finally stop hiding and embrace our authentic selves? For Margie Schaller, living with secret sobriety for 18.5 years came at a significant personal cost—until one transformative moment changed everything. Margie's journey begins with childhood curiosity about her mother's ever-present glass of scotch and water, evolves through becoming the "chug champ" of...