The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast

Join Ashley, Christiana, and Ashley Jo for this bonus After the Episode where they unpack all of the details shared by the Loeb sisters. They'll cover everything from making amends and restoring relationships to using personal experience to help others.  In this special episode, Ashley Loeb Blassingame shares how she has restored her relationship with Marina through a living amends and discusses s...

In this special episode, Ashley Loeb Blassingame sits down with her sisters Victoria (Tory) and Marina to discuss what it was like growing up with a sibling struggling with substance use disorder.  This is a 'no holds barred' episode where Marina and Tory tell-all and share intimate details about growing up with Ashley. They discuss participating in family therapy sessions, watching Ashley overcom...

Welcome to Season 3 of The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast! Ashley Loeb Blassingame and Christiana Kimmich are back at recording, and they’ve been joined by the team’s new Production Coordinator, Ashley Jo Brewer. Throughout the Season 3 Intro, they’ll discuss all of the exciting things coming up including lots of laughter about bad hair, where are they now, special guests, and important top...

It's a wrap on Season 2!!  Join Ashley & Christiana for a nostalgic look-back on all the guests and happenings of Season 2 on The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast.  From changing our podcast branding and music to figuring out how to survive and thrive during the pandemic and everything 2020 brought, Ashley & Christiana  talk about all the behind-the-scenes happenings throughout this last seas...

Episode Short for Kendra Allen's Episode (#35):  Introducing a new type of episode - the "Episode Short"!  In this bite-sized episode format, tune in to hear an audio snippet from one of our favorite episodes of the season. For this next featured Episode Short, we are pleased to feature a snippet from Kendra Allen's episode (#35).  You'll hear Kendra talk about how helpful Al-Anon has been in her...

Introducing a new type of episode - the "Episode Short"!  In this bite-sized episode format, tune in to hear an audio snippet from one of our favorite episodes of the season. For this next featured Episode Short, we are pleased to feature a snippet from Chuck O's episode (#73).  You'll hear Chuck talk about his experience right after his relapse, and how his family helped him transition once and f...

Episode Short for Caroline Strawson's Episode (#54):  Introducing a new type of episode - the "Episode Short"!  In this bite-sized episode format, tune in to hear an audio snippet from one of our favorite episodes of the season. For this next featured Episode Short, we are pleased to feature a snippet from Caroline Strawson's episode (#54).  You'll hear Caroline talk about her journey to self-heal...

Episode Short for Andre Roberts' Special Bonus Episode:  Introducing a new type of episode - the "Episode Short"!  In this bite-sized episode format, tune in to hear an audio snippet from one of our favorite episodes of the season. For this first featured Episode Short, we are pleased to feature a snippet from Andre Roberts' Special Bonus Episode in honor of the Black Lives Matter movement.  You'l...

Norman Curtiss has been a practicing pharmacist for about 8 years.  He grew up always playing sports as a child and throughout high school.  Norman struggled with substance use disorder with either alcohol, Adderall or both throughout most of his 20's and early 30's.  His journey to recovery started with a phone call to Lionrock.  That was June 2, 2018, and he has been sober from alcohol since tha...

Pete Caraher is a stay-at-home-dad of two boys - one a senior in college and the other in a high school transition program for special needs kids.  After years of working to support his family, he and his wife decided to do the untraditional role reversal for 22+ years (him staying at home, her working to support the family).  Pete struggled to find his new identity as a stay-at-home-dad, and his...

Bonus Episode:  It's the holidays FINALLY the end of 2020!!  Join Ashley and Christiana as they talk about what 2020 meant to them, say how they're ushering in the holidays and list resources to help support sobriety and recovery through this season.   Subscribe to The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast Apple Podcasts |  Google Podcasts | Spotify Stitcher | iHeart | TuneIn | Overcast | SoundClo...

Brock Bevell is a well-regarded family man with 7 children, six daughters and one son. He is a retired Police Officer who was run over on duty and ultimately retired from the injuries.  The injuries caused him to endure numerous knee surgeries and constant rehabilitation. To deal with the pain, he was prescribed opioids. After months and months of therapy, the department and doctors made the deter...

ATE for Episode #'s 85 & 86:  Today brings another exciting After the Episode! Ashley and Christiana sit down to recap two more 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 Danielle Gregorich and Kevin Barhydt's stories, along with discussing what it l...

Kevin Barhydt is a YouTube creator, and the author of Dear Stephen Michael’s Mother. His YouTube channel creates a safe space for survirors of addiction, abandonment, adoption and child sexual abuse, and to explore the healing process. Abandoned by his mother at birth, Kevin was enveloped in a labyrinth of adoption, addiction, and child sexual abuse. By age 20, a shell of the boy he once was, Kevi...

ATE for Episode #'s 82 & 83:  Today is an exciting After the Episode with a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT in the beginning! Ashley and Christiana sit down to recap two more 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 Brendan McDonough's incredible story that w...

Danielle Gregorich is an Arizona native, an Air Force wife and a sober Mom of two amazing children.  She is a multiple suicide attempt survivor, a kidney cancer survivor and a stroke survivor.  In short, she is a living miracle! Danielle started writing about her sobriety daily.  She wrote raw and  authentically about her struggles with sobriety, marriage and motherhood.  Writing quickly became th...

Christina Kimbrough was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio.  She is a childhood survivor of abuse, and grew up in a very strict evangelical Christian environment with no tv, radio or any sources of media.  She struggled with anxiety as long as she could remember, but didn’t pick up a drink until she was about 21 years old.  Once she started, her drinking started progressing very quickly.  After be...

Brendan was on the verge of becoming a hopeless, inveterate heroin addict when he, for the sake of his young daughter, decided to turn his life around. He enlisted in the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a crew of elite hotshot firefighters based in Prescott, Arizona. Their superintendent, Eric Marsh, was in a desperate crunch after four hotshots left the crew, and seeing a glimmer of promise in the ski...

ATE for Episode #'s 79 & 80:  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 the amazing power and bond that exists within the recovery community, along with dealing with processing grief and loss and how heal...

A native of Orange County, California, Randy grew up surfing, skateboarding and slam dancing.  After his parents divorce, the heavy weight of anxiety and uncertainty fell and started increasing.  At the age of 13, he gravitated toward the kids who were drinking and smoking pot - feeling the instant release from his constant anxiety.  Having grown up with an alcoholic father, he thought it was the...

Eileen could have never imagined how her life would change in the course of one wintery night. Authorities confirmed that the plane her husband was piloting on his way home to celebrate Christmas with the family had crashed, and he had not survived. With three young children and an entire lifetime ahead of her, Eileen’s journey through the valleys of grief and the peaks of hope brought her to a pl...

ATE for Episode #'s 76 & 77:  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 compulsive behaviors (including compulsive shopping - a newer topic highlighted recently on our podcast), and some in-depth insight...

Chris Paulson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over fifteen years of experience working within the field of behavioral health. He holds a masters degree in clinical psychology and has a wealth of clinical experience and expertise, having previously served as a clinical director, clinical supervisor, director of admissions, program director, etc at a number of behavioral health orga...

Betsy Ames is the owner of Mindful Style. She's a Closet Curator turned Social Worker and is currently working toward earning her clinical license to become an addiction focused therapist. She's also a recovering compulsive shopper and alcoholic. She currently teaches others sustainable and mindful shopping practices and decluttering tips. She walks her talk and practices what she teaches. You can...

ATE for Episode #'s 71, 72, 73 & 74:  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.   Subs...