Recovery Stories Have Power

Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, my name is Oliver Books. On today's episode, our host, Tyler Brandon chats with Jonathan Westfall, the Executive Director of ROCovery Fitness. ROCovery Fitness in an RCO in Rochester, NY that provides free peer led fitness services for folks in recovery. Jonathan talks about the parallels of fitness and recovery as it has manifested in his lif...

Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, my name is Oliver Books. On today's episode I had the privilege of chatting with Kevin Rumley of the Buncombe County, MC Veteran's Treatment Court. Kevin is a person in recovery and a combat wounded veteran who now works in a veteran specific treatment court in Asheville, NC. His journey is harrowing and inspirational, and has guided him...

Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, my name is Oliver Books. On today's episode our host, Psalm Bingham, chats with Lori Mellinger and Amanda Cassidy-Trejo. Lori and Amanda are staff here at Faves & Voices of Recovery, but they are also part of the Texas-Based Advocacy Initiative, Lioness: Justice Impacted Women's Alliance. Lioness is an organization led by currently an...

Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, my name is Oliver Books. Today's episode features Bill Sweeney, founder of The Livability Initiative. Bill is a person in recovery, a T4 paraplegic, and a fierce advocate for accessibility. In our conversation, Bill and I chat about Bill's outlook on life and how that informs his work. Visit The Livability initiative online at https://tea...

Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, my name is Oliver Books. On today’s episode, our host, Tyler Brandon chats with Yo' Sis. Yo' Sis is a prolific spoken word artist whose works have been heard around the country, and whose video reading of her poem, Gwendolyn ( https://youtu.be/-f1w25sjHwU ) was featured at our Recovery Month Luncheon last September in Washington DC.  In t...

Hello and welcome to a special bonus episode recovery stories have power. On today's episode, our marking manager, Nicole Woodward speaks with the Co-Founder, Senior Peer, and Board and President Emeritus of the McShin Foundation, John Shinholser. John began the McShin Foundation with Carol McDaid in 2004, and entered into recovery in 1982.  In today's conversation John shares his wealth...

Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, my name is Oliver Books. On today’s episode, our host, Psalm Bingham converses with Mark Sanders. In addition to being a LCSW, and CADC, Mark Sanders is the founder of The Online Museum of African American Addictions, Treatment, and Recovery. The museum website ( https://www.museumofafricanamericanaddictionsrecovery.org/ ) is host to dozens of arti...

Host(s): Oliver Books, Psalm Bingham, Tyler Brandon Welcome to Season 2 of Recovery Stories Have Power, a Faces & Voices of Recovery podcast. This season, we explore diverse stories in recovery, the role community plays, and shed light on positive recovery experiences. To set the table for the upcoming season 2 conversations, pod producer Oliver Books introduces Faces & Voices' two ne...

On this bonus episode of Recovery Stories Have Power, we’re joined by Phil Rutherford, outgoing Chief Operating Officer at Faces & Voices of Recovery, and newly-appointed Strategy Lead for Substance Abuse at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing He reflects on his time with our organization and what lies ahead in both his career and the recovery space. Season 2 premiers January 25, 2024, t...

Welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, a Faces & Voices of Recovery Podcast. My name is Oliver Books. Throughout the rest of 2023, we’ll be releasing bonus episodes of our podcast. In today’s episode I had the opportunity to speak with Chris Tait, a rock musician with the band Electric Six, and Director of a musician-focused RCO in Detroit, MI called Passenger Recovery. Passenger Recovery aim...

Welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, a Faces & Voices of Recovery podcast, my name is Chelsey Cusimano. In the final episode of season 1, Oliver is joined by Emanuel Sferios, Founder of DanceSafe. Founded on social justice principles, DanceSafe is a party servicing nonprofit that started the only publicly accessible drug checking laboratory in North America in 1998. They offer drug checking...

Guest: Sarah Laurel, Savage Sisters   Welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, a Faces & Voices of Recovery podcast, my name is Chelsey Cusimano. For episode 5, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Laurel, founder and executive director of Savage Sisters Recovery. Based in Philadelphia, Savage Sisters provides housing and street-based outreach for anyone struggling with or recovering from s...

Host(s): Krissi Jacob  Guest(s): Amanda Muller & Laura Pegram, NASTAD (National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors)  Description: Welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, a Faces & Voices of Recovery podcast, my name is Chelsey Cusimano. In episode 4, my friend & guest host Krissi Jacob had the opportunity to connect with Amanda Muller and Laura Pegram. Amanda and Laura bo...

Host(s): Oliver Books & Chelsey Cusimano  Guest(s): Colin Askey & Amy Evans, Love in the Time of Fentanyl   Description: Welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, a Faces & Voices of Recovery podcast, my name is Chelsey Cusimano. Oliver and I had the great pleasure of talking with Colin Askey and Amy Evans this week. Colin directed Love in the Time of Fentanyl , a moving documentary that...

Host(s): Chelsey Cusimano  Guest(s): Maia Szalavitz, Author of Undoing Drugs   Description: Welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, a Faces & Voices of Recovery podcast, my name is Chelsey Cusimano. This season we’re focusing on Harm Reduction, and in episode 2 I had the chance to interview New York Times bestselling author Maia Szalavitz. Her book Unbroken Brain won the 2018 media award from...

Host(s): Oliver Books & Chelsey Cusimano  Guest(s): Phil Rutherford  Description: Welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, a Faces & Voices of Recovery podcast, my name is Chelsey Cusimano. In season one, we’re exploring the topic of Harm Reduction. We’ve interviewed several guests and experts from key areas of the Harm Reduction community to discuss the history of the movement, its grassro...

Life after addiction isn't just possible - it's the norm . Studies show 3 out of 4 people who experience addiction eventually recover. The Recovery Stories Have Power podcast aims to center that hopeful message through authentic conversations that bring together people from all pathways of recovery and recovery allies. Join co-hosts Chelsey Cusimano and Oliver Books and interview guests...