Good Words with Brandi Kelly

Today we're asking the question-why is alcohol a great connector? Why do we always drink with certain people (family/friends)? Have you ever been told you should slow down your drinking, or get your shit together but struggled to find what the magical acceptable/appropriate amount actually was? I know I did. Then when I would decided to take a break I'd be met with taunting, teasing and be...

In this episode we talk all things recovery with happiness coordinator and certified life coach Dane Walthers! Dane has been living a life full of adventure and personal development for well over 2 decades. During that time he has chosen to live a sober life while touching the lives of humans of all ages. With his love for teaching flourishing over the years, he has gone from coaching high school...

What can we cover in just over 30 minutes? ALOT! In episode 21 I provide an exciting life update-a new job, complete with a structured schedule and early hours. I read a meditation card out of the Gabby Bernstein-The Universe Has Your Back deck and it's spot on!! Surrender so the Universe can do it's thing is todays message. Let Go & Let God. I reiterate that others peoples opinions of...

This week we're asking the question-What's in your way? What does your ideal life look like? If your problem was completely solved, how would your world be different? What would you be doing different? Let's dive into this!! I also ask-where is your joy? Where do you find it? I give a few examples of where to look but the possibilities are endless!! Our mind can be a prison-or it can s...

This week I talk to y'all about quitting drinking. So many of us try, fail, start over, promise tomorrow, next time, next week, after this event, holiday-the list goes on and on. When I actually quit I WANTED to. A lot of us need to, but when you want to quit it makes the process far less painful. So, we have to make a decision-to get honest with ourselves about our relationship with alcohol (...

This week we talk to my dear friend Kawai Fountain on the podcast. Newly sober wife, bartender and bonus mom to 3 amazing littles, she tells us what life and recovery looks like from her lens. We dive into the why's and how's of her journey to quit drinking. She shares her take on parenting and navigating little people with big feelings. We talk about why she chose her own path to recovery...

I talk with local Corpus Christi lifestyle and garden coach Aislynn Campbell about recovery from life. She calls it recovery from her separation from God! What a beautiful concept. We talk 12 step recovery, Recovery Dharma, The Course in Miracles and the importance of knowing yourself and finding your thing. Aislynn is also the host of the Dinner Table Talks podcast and shares how farming, food an...

This week's guest is Dusty Burrows! Dusty is a former bartender who grew up in the rooms of AA. He knew where to turn when his own use turned into a life or death situation. He became a counselor to help lift up others who suffered as he had. But he didn't stop there...Dusty is now a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor with a demonstrated history of a...

Starla tried repeatedly to get sober. She would get away from her DOC, get some life back, but ultimately she would return to using. Until she didn't. It took tragic events for her to finally surrender and give recovery her full attention. This mother of 6 is now a thriving salon owner, Rotary Club member, super active in her community and over 8 years sober!! Listen to Starla's story of g...

What do teeth and taxes have to do with recovery?? They are things that I neglected and avoided. They are things I didn't deal with until I had no other choice. Let's be honest-they both can be really scary topics!! So is the idea of dealing with a drinking problem before it deals with you. In this episode I face my fear of using my voice and go SOLO. I have been going through an internal...

We're talking with Kelly Siegel this week! Kelly is the author of Harder Than Life: Overcoming Poverty, Addiction, and Violence, and he hosts the Harder Than Life podcast as well! In this episode we talk about early childhood exposure to drinking, struggles with trying to live life while alcohol ran the show and what it took for Kelly to put it down and cut it out completely. You'll hear t...

Today we talk with mom, fiance and entrepreneur Stacy Rapp. Hear her story of how she rose to the top of an MLM company and began to lose herself in the process. Battling depression and anxiety after surviving the tragic Route 91 tragedy, while encouraging, motivating and leading others in a very public way takes it's toll. She knew deep inside that it was time to leave the company that she&#3...

This week we talk with Leslie Kissling.  Recovering alcoholic, animal enthusiast, and currently working to attain her LCDC.  Leslie has walked quite a road leading up to living one day at a time.  Being the youngest of 12 in a Catholic family, she realized in high school that she's gay, followed by the tragic murder of her sister.  It's hard enough finding yourself in those tra...

What kind of curveballs has life thrown your way?  Unexpected divorce?  Falling in love?  Infertility?  What about illness?  This weeks guest is mother, wife and She's Brave Podcast host Kristina Driscoll and she's faced all of these and so much more.  In this episode she'll tell us how her divorce led to healing and a spiritual path that prepared for a life filled wi...

Today we talk with Rachel Kemplin, mother of 2, 7 months sober and currently fighting for her life.  After battling alcohol addiction much of her adult life Rachel had finally had enough.  Multiple visits to rehab weren't enough to keep her sober.  Family losses and the ending a marriage only fueled it's flames.  It wasn't until she got a diagnosis at 21 days sober that her dri...

In this episode we meet my dear friend Casey Burrows, owner and founder of Uncommon Soapery.  She tells how she broke free, not only from the corporate world, but from the need for medication due to the stressors of her high-demand career.  She started what she thought was a hobby project making "eggplant shaped soaps" and gifting the extra and fell in love with the process.  She en...

In this episode, Brandi talks with podcast host, creator of Gibbs Goodies Sticky Balls and fun enthusiast Diane Gibbs.  Diane explains what led her to surrender and quit drinking over 11 years ago.  She dives into the chaos, shame and embarrassment of blackout drinking.  She shares the fear of losing her memories.  She also shines a bright light onto what happened afterward!! &...

What needs to happen for enough to be enough?  What do we have to lose?  In todays episode, local Corpus Christi sober bartender Gwen tells us what it took for her to finally be ready to give up the insanity of drinking.  Spoiler alert-it took ALOT!!  In her story she talks about homelessness, losing custody of her daughter and countless detox and hospital visits.  Nothing...

This episode features firefighter & Buddhist Tony Skaug.  In this much needed male prospective, Tony talks about his own struggles with fire service related PTSD, late-life divorce, what he experienced and what he's done to overcome it.  He walks us through what his treatment journey looks like, how he learned to love himself again, and the exact tools he uses daily to be able to say...

In this episode we talk to therapist, author and coach Amanda JP Brown.  In part 2 of this 2 part series we discuss facing our fears, being brave and accessing your courage, shame resilience and our personal journeys in recovery.  We cover parental wounds, touch on the 4 agreements and integrating them in our daily lives as well as navigating endings-including divorce.  More importa...

In this episode we talk to therapist, author and coach Amanda JP Brown.  In part 1 of this 2 part series we discuss facing our fears, being brave and accessing your courage, shame resilience and our personal journeys in recovery.  We cover parental wounds, touch on the 4 agreements and integrating them in our daily lives and navigating endings-including divorce.  More importantly, w...

In this episode Brandi talks with her friend and sponsor Soranie-a fellow sober bartender.  They discuss the challenges of getting back to work after quitting drinking and how they stay sober in the alcohol industry.  They discuss faith and finding a higher power that works for them.  They also cover many of the challenges of early recovery and how they navigated them.  Listen...

Brandi's story of alcoholism:  what it was like, what happened, and what it's like now.  This episode tells my story, birth-present.  It covers early signs of seeking to escape, life events that led to heavier than social drinking and when I realized I couldn't stop.  I also explain the details of getting sober, the pain of relapse and the ultimate surrender that has kept me so...

Welcome to The Sober Bartender Podcast!  Learn a little about who I am, what this show is about, and why you should listen to it!  Episode #1 will be available Wednesday, January 4th, 2023 and new episodes will be released every Wednesday after that.