The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast

Daniil Khorunzhiy AKA, Russian Danny, was born in Kiev, Ukraine and immigrated to Los Angeles, CA when he was a wee young lad. He hit the ground running and found himself immersed in the LA culture of crime, graffiti and drugs. After several close calls with death and bouts in the notorious LA County Jail—Russian Danny turned the page and started a new chapter in his life. He now produces and host...

ATE for Episode #'s 68 & 69:  Ashley and Christiana sit down to recap two  guest episodes this week (see links to their episodes below in the 'Resources' section of the show notes), along with deep diving into the important topics covered.  Tune in to hear more about adoption and it's connection to trauma and substance abuse, and how to reach and relate to someone who is struggling.   Subscribe to...

Born and raised in Mesa, AZ, Chuck O couldn’t explain why he kept getting into trouble as a young kid.  After his 70th separate felony, he became a ward of the state at the young age of 13. After living in a home with other convicted felons until 18, Chuck went on tour with the Grateful Dead where his drinking and substance use picked up significantly.  After an arduous journey with substance use...

As far as addiction is concerned, Preston found it difficult to accept the fact that he was a drug addict and alcoholic. He would think, “What do you mean you think I might have a problem? I’m just doing what everyone else is doing. I show up to work everyday, I pay my own bills, and I’m never sloppy or the one causing trouble. I really think I’m just unlucky.”  If it wasn’t for four arrests in th...

Arlina Allen is a Certified Life and Recovery Coach, Teacher, and Host of the award winning recovery podcast, The ODAAT Chat Podcast. She has been free of addiction from drugs and alcohol for more than 26 years and has dedicated her life to helping others do the same. She has been married for 20 years and is a mother of two. Arlina is a lifelong seeker of truth and she shares lessons learned in he...

Whitney grew up outside of Atlanta, GA and was adopted at birth along with her younger sister Hayden.  Her struggle with an eating disorder surfaced in middle school, around the same time her sister's struggle with substance use began.  Whitney shares her sister's painful and tumultuous path through addiction, which ultimately led to her unfair and untimely death at the young age of 19. She shares...

Welcome to our bonus episode about National Online Recovery Day!  Founded by Lionrock, National Online Recovery Day is a campaign to raise awareness for online treatment of substance abuse. It is the first national health awareness day focused on the benefits and advantages of telehealth services for any health issue. This year will welcome the very first National Online Recovery Day on September...

Brandon Crockett is a 32 year sober father, husband, brother, and son.  He began his business career in 2010 in the world of entertainment when he produced the indie-comedy feature film 'CornerStore' in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. On the heels of his success with producing several short and feature length films in Michigan, Brandon fulfilled his dream of moving to Los Angeles and opening a...

ATE for Episode #'s 62, 63, 65 & 66:  Ashley and Christiana sit down to recap four different guest episodes this week (see links to their episodes below in the 'Resources' section of the show notes), along with deep diving into the important topics covered.  Tune in to hear more about the importance of honoring personal rights and freedoms, the surprising (and not talked about) link between sugar...

Claudia Christian is the most recognized global advocate for the Sinclair Method, a treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD). In 2013 she started her nonprofit C Three Foundation to help raise awareness of the treatment, which saved her life in 2009. In 2020 she was the driving force behind C Three’s launch of  www.yoursinclairmethod.com to provide individuals on TSM with support from experienced...

NOTE: We had a few technical difficulties during the recording, so you may hear a few random technical glitches in the recording, but you'll still be able to hear the full story. Raised on a reservation in Montana, John Sidmore’s life drastically changed when his mother died suddenly at age five, which he later found out was a suicide.  Left with his younger brother and a man who wasn’t his biolog...

Introducing a new series - Therapy Talk! Therapy is such a helpful resource for healing trauma, and the brain is able to heal in amazing ways.  Both Ashley and Christiana have utilized therapy for healing trauma in their lives, and Christiana is embarking on the journey of EMDR in her therapy journey. Christiana has agreed to document her most recent therapy journey on air to show the healing powe...

NOTE: This podcast was recorded toward the beginning of lockdown for COVID (important for the beginning of the podcast!) Katherine Knapke was raised in a small, Mennonite community in Columbus, Ohio.  Taught to be peaceful, quiet and not ask for anything you want, Katherine’s upbringing stoked the fire for chronic depression, which ultimately led to a devastating struggle with multiple eating diso...

Michael Collins, founder of ​SugarAddiction.com​ and Board Chairman of ​Food Addiction Institute​, has been completely sugar-free for over 30 years and has worked closely with others to help them regain lives ravaged by this addictive product.  Mike has been in recovery from substance use disorder for over 34 years and can speak on recovery topics separate from sugar. He raised two children sugar-...

Taking care of our mental health and finding our purpose in life. ⁠This After the Episode dives into some deeper topics covered in Steve Grant and Kyle Dean Houston's episodes (#'s 59 & 60!) from these past few weeks.⁠ ⁠Join Ashley and Christiana for this brand new ATE!   Subscribe to The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify Stitcher | iHeart | TuneIn |...

Kyle Dean Houston is a speaker, author and coach who is committed to bringing hope into the world. In the mid-1990s, Kyle Houston developed a disturbingly poetic love affair with both needles and the alchemy of creating drugs. Far removed from his small-town values, the drug underground of Kansas City was a world that turned him into first a user and then a notorious meth cook. He prayed for an ov...

On a December day in 2010, Steve Grant lost his 24-year-old son, Kelly, to an overdose. Five years earlier, he lost his 21-year-old son, Christopher, in the same way. His only two boys: gone. After a downward spiral of losing his marriage, his only two children and dealing with the repercussions of such, Steve decided to take matters into his own hands and established the Chris and Kelly’s HOPE Fo...

Spirituality, alignment, self-healing and personal growth.⁠ ⁠This After the Episode dives into some deeper topics covered in Michael G Dash and Jodie Sweetin's episodes (#'s 56 & 57!) from these past few weeks.⁠ ⁠Join Ashley and Christiana for this brand new ATE!   Subscribe to The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify Stitcher | iHeart | TuneIn | Overcas...

Jodie Sweetin melted our hearts and made us laugh for eight years as cherub-faced, goody-two-shoes middle child Stephanie Tanner. Her ups and downs seemed not so different from our own, but more than a decade after the popular television show ended, the star publicly revealed her shocking recovery from drug addiction. Even then, she kept a painful secret--one that could not be solved in thirty min...

Michael Dash is a recovering addict and the best-selling author of Chasing The High, the Founder of FATE - (From Addict To Entrepreneur), a mentor, speaker and philanthropist.   He struggled with multiple addictions throughout the course of his life, with the main one being gambling, which he was introduced to at 11 years old.  Struck with an unrelenting drive to succeed in life, Michael’s addicti...

It's another After the Episode coming at you every other Thursday!  Don't have time to listen to every guest episode on Tuesdays?  Enjoy learning more about specific topics?  Do you also like to laugh?  Then these episodes are for you too! This week, Ashley and Christiana review and cover topics from Episode #53 (Co-Founder's Interview), and  Episode #54 (Caroline Strawson). Tune in to hear their...

Caroline Strawson is a multi- award winning EMDR & Rapid Transformational Therapist specializing in self-healing the trauma after narcissistic abuse. She is the author of the best-selling book Divorce Became My Superpower, and she is a leading international authority and expert in narcissistic abuse and trauma.  After going through her own devastating divorce from a narcissist where she had over £...

Today’s episode is very special, as Ashley gets to interview the other two Co-Founders of Lionrock Recovery - Iain Crabb and Peter Loeb. You may remember Peter from Season 1, Episode 8 where he and Ashley shared their journey together as father and daughter through Ashley's struggles in addiction.  When discussing other special episodes to produce, we thought it would be fun to do an episode that...

Jessica Buch is a model, student, volunteer and advocate, and she is also in recovery. She has been the face of Pantene, Covergirl and more. Jessica is currently an undergrad student studying pre-med at Santa Monica College, and she is planning on transferring to UCLA in 2021.  She recently came out publicly as Intersex, and she is now an Intersex advocate. Diagnosed with CAIS (Complete Androgen I...

Many of you may know that our very own Producer, Christiana Kimmich, is the Founder and Director of Haven Dance Company based in Orange County, CA.  She and the company have been working to  produce and release a dance concept video telling the story of the deep pain and struggle felt by someone stuck in the grips of addiction, and they've finally released that video this week. Join Ashley as she...