My Last Relapse: Addiction Recovery & Sobriety Stories

Seeing him on this podcast for the first time in 13 years, Matt admits to his old friend Austin York that he robbed him during the chaos of their using days in Southern California. Like Matt, Austin got into trouble very young, fighting in school and using drugs at a young age. His parents sent him away several times to try to get him back on track. He bounced around multiple high schools but neve...

After Cynthia was molested in childhood, she used food as a coping mechanism, developing bulimia and extreme body dysmorphia. As a teenager, vaccinations triggered hormonal and immune imbalances, causing mood changes and hives.  When she became pregnant as a young adult, it motivated her to stop smoking and make healthier choices. She later married someone struggling with alcohol addiction, leadin...

Chris grew up in Odessa, Texas, in a home where alcohol and drugs were part of everyday life. At 15, he altered his birth certificate to work in the oil fields. By 19, he was drilling, and by 25, he was running crews—building a successful career. Drug addiction resulted in four incarcerations, and by his last conviction he faced a potential life sentence. In prison, he began seeking faith and dire...

Kratom is a plant-based substance that’s easy to find in smoke shops, gas stations, and even health food stores. Marketed as a natural remedy for pain, energy, or opioid withdrawal, it’s gained a reputation as a “safe” alternative. But according to Houston addiction medicine specialist Dr. Kamal Shah, that couldn’t be further from the truth. He’s seen firsthand how quickly people can become depend...

Growing up in Spring, Texas, Jordan was a standout student and star athlete. Raised in a supportive, yet strict household, he excelled in sports and academics, graduated near the top of his class, and was inducted into his high school’s Hall of Fame for football. While attending Cornell University on a football scholarship, sports injuries shifted his focus from athletics to cocaine, ketamine, and...

At the age of 17, Robert entered treatment for the first time for heroin addiction, painkillers, and Dilaudid. Over the next few years, he cycled through nearly 60 detoxes and programs across the country, spending several years in and out of institutions.  At 19, he moved to California for a fresh start—attending trauma therapy, enrolling in college, and playing football at Santa Monica College—un...

Rachel grew up in Louisiana in a family marked by loss. Her older sister died of leukemia at age seven, leaving deep grief that shaped her childhood. At 13, she experienced sexual abuse, and by 21, she lost her mother to untreated hypertension and heart disease—the event that sent her drinking spiraling out of control. She developed depression and anxiety early on, and alcohol addiction quickly be...

Ted was sent to military school, later joined the Navy, and served during the Gulf War, stationed in Jacksonville and working drug interdiction missions off the coast of Venezuela. During his Navy service, he developed alcohol addiction, a habit he continued for years in New Orleans while working in the oil and gas industry, as drinking was embedded in the local social culture. After several faile...

Candice grew up surrounded by addiction and loss. Both parents drank heavily, and by 11, she had lost her mom. Her dad died soon after, and by 19, most of her family was gone, including her sister, who was killed in a murder-suicide.  She became a single mother at 16, and by 21, she had three kids. After her third child, heroin addiction and painkillers took over her life. She lost custody—her dau...

Brandon grew up in Houston with an abusive, alcoholic father and experienced trauma from sexual abuse at ages eight and 10. By 11, he had his first sip of alcohol, and by seventeen, he was charged with organized crime and began a seven-year prison sentence—learning basic life skills like shaving from other inmates. Over time, he spent a total of fifteen years incarcerated, carrying a street mental...

Karen married young and became a mom at 15. By 17, she had two children, and by 36 she was a grandmother. Her brother’s Xanax addiction and overdose involving alcohol at age 19 propelled her toward addiction recovery work, determined to help others find the support he never had. Jill lived in her car in the East Texas heat and humidity, calling treatment centers nonstop after losing her insurance....

From Jason’s first drink at 17, his alcohol addiction spiraled into prison, and homelessness. He tried AA, NA, and church, but staying in recovery was tough, and a string of DUIs and prison sentences made things harder. While homeless, Jason describes walking the streets of Pensacola, covering about 20 miles in June heat until his shoes were bloody and had to be discarded upon arrival at a mental...

Rune never directly struggled with substance abuse, but grew up surrounded by it and then married into it. His father battled alcohol addiction and eventually died. Later, his ex-wife also lost her life to addiction after multiple attempts at treatment and time in jail, leaving their two children without a mother.  For years, Rune kept his head down and worked quietly in IT to avoid the weight of...

Andy grew up in Houston and started drinking in high school, escalating in college.  After getting kicked out and switching schools, she eventually graduated while trying to keep her drinking under control. But when she entered the workforce, it got worse. In 2013, after a family ultimatum she went to AA for the first time and stayed sober for a month. She relapsed and repeated that pattern for se...

Raised in a solid, loving family, Danny was a standout athlete with a full ride to UCLA for golf. His future was golden, but the lure of partying and a fast lifestyle spiraled into meth and heroin addiction, multiple jail stints, and years of chaos.  Danny’s last relapse was the breaking point. Detoxing himself at his mother’s house after a dangerous encounter involving fentanyl, he  surrendered a...

Dr. Kamal Shah’s perspective on addiction recovery is both deeply personal and scientifically informed.  Addiction isn’t just behavior. It’s the brain, trauma, and the emotional patterns that keep people stuck.  Over a decade into sobriety himself, Dr. Shah combines his lived experience with a background in neurology, movement disorders, and addiction medicine to explore what really drives relapse...

Scott’s last relapse ended with him withdrawing in jail, where for the first time since age 13 he made it past five days sober.  Facing probation, restitution, treatment and childhood trauma, he found purpose through service work, community support, and helping others just starting their recovery. Ironically, a broken leg led him to a role supporting newcomers—work he excelled at and that launched...

My Last Relapse explores what everyone is thinking but no one is saying about addiction and recovery through conversations with those whose lives have changed. For anyone disillusioned by traditional recovery approaches and still feels left out, misunderstood, or burdened by unrealistic expectations, this podcast looks to the future – rejecting the lies and dogma that hold people back from seeing...