The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast

Hi friend, welcome to this week's episode, my name is Arlina and I'll be your host. Before we jump in, I am excited to announce the launch of my new app, ReInvent.  If you've ever felt like you're stuck, like no matter how hard you work, your bank account never quite catches up to your effort, it's not a strategy problem. It's a belief problem. One of my favorite quotes is from Dr. David R. Hawkin...

My name is Arlina, I'm a best-selling author of the 12 step guide for skeptics, I've been sober for 32 years myself, and I'll be your host. Before we jump in, I just want to share that I have a few coaching spots opening up. There seems to be a lot of people who are sober and building businesses, which in this economy, is really smart! The biggest challenge I see is people who are under earning Du...

Relapsing is such a common experience for people early in recovery. This episode is going to be really important for those who are exploring all the nuances of how people find recovery and the predictors of long-term recovery.  Before we jump in, if you haven't yet, please consider supporting the podcast by joining the YouTube members only content for just $1.99 per month. It's ad free content and...

Before we jump in, I have a couple of programming notes for you. The first is that since this month is the 10th anniversary of the show, I'll be publishing a back to basics series for those who are either allergic to the 12 steps, who are sober curious or otherwise needing support for early recovery. The second is to let you know that there are lots of free resources on the podcast website at odaa...

Today I sit down with Adam Vibe Gunton - bestselling author, founder of the nonprofit Recovered on Purpose, and owner of a 68-bed treatment center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Adam went from being given cocaine at age 12 and starring as the defensive captain of Columbine High School's state championship football team, to a homeless heroin addict who overdosed in 2015 - and has the police body cam footag...

Hi friend, welcome to the podcast, my name is Arlina, I've been sober for 32 years, and it's my life's mission to carry a message of hope for recovery. Here's a question we all need to consider, No matter where you are in your recovery journey: What if the survival skills that you develop in childhood - the performing, the achieving, and the self-abandonment for the sake of appeasing others- are t...

What happens when the thing that was supposed to save you - the mission, the badge, the identity - becomes the very thing addiction destroys? And what do you do when you are a trained Navy SEAL, built to be a hero, and you cannot even save your own son from a pandemic scare because you are too deep in a three-day meth binge to pick up the phone? Today I sit down with Dr. Tony Dice - Navy SEAL, PhD...

Today's guest has been sober for 17 years. But her sobriety didn't start with a surrender. It started with a dare. Kat Courtney is a shamanic practitioner with over 20 years of experience working with ayahuasca and ibogaine, a lineage-trained facilitator who completed an 8.5-year apprenticeship, and the co-founder of Base, an ibogaine treatment center in Mexico. Before we jump in, I wanted to anno...

In this episode of the One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast, Arlina sits down with Joe Gallagher - entrepreneur, author, and two-year sober miracle. Joe shares his journey from childhood trauma and 20 years of failed recovery attempts to launching a spaghetti sauce company 60 days sober and landing interest from 1,100 grocery stores. You'll hear how Joe finally surrendered after his fifth arrest and...

This is the second episode in the step work series with Sonia Kahlon. Co host of the sisters in sobriety podcast and a woman in long term recovery. And I'm tellin you, she is coming in HOT about Step 2! Before we dive in, a quick announcement. The show notes of every episode contain a summary, all the action steps and all the books mentioned in the episode. There is also a resources tab you'll wan...

Today I sit down with Peter Bailey, author of Be Epic: Reframe Your Past to Navigate Your Future , president of the Prouty Project, and a man with 43 years of sobriety. Peter started drinking at 13, got sober at 22 on Block Island, Rhode Island, and has spent decades since helping people in recovery and corporate leadership see their stories through a completely different lens — one rooted in Jose...

What do you do when you've had a $28 million business exit — and then watch nearly all of it disappear? If you're Diane Prince, you eventually find Al-Anon, do the work, and rebuild a life and business that's more fulfilling than anything you had before. In this episode, Arlina sits down with Diane — entrepreneur, business strategist, and Al-Anon member of 17 years — for one of the most honest con...

What if the biggest obstacle to your success isn't your skill set, your circumstances, or even your past — but your addiction to staying stuck? That's the central thread of my conversation with Peter Moulton, a 35-year recovery veteran, entrepreneur, and author of  UP: A Journey of Intention, Focus, and Execution . Peter has spent nearly three decades coaching entrepreneurs and leaders, and what h...

You Don't Have to Lose Everything First: What Step One Really Teaches Us If you've ever looked at the 12 steps and thought that's not for me, you're not alone. I thought the same thing for years. The God stuff felt like a barrier. The word "powerless" felt insulting. And the idea that my life had to look like a wreck before I qualified? That kept me stuck longer than anything else. This week on th...

What if the secret to lasting change isn't a single powerful moment, but thousands of tiny, unremarkable ones? That's the central idea behind Eric Zimmer's powerful new book,  How a Little Becomes a Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life . Eric is the host of  The One You Feed  podcast and a long-time figure in the recovery community with 26 years of sobriety. In Episode 424, he...

When Nothing Goes According to Plan — and That's the Point Andrew Lassise didn't get sober because he wanted to. He got sober because a judge gave him a choice: jail or rehab. He chose rehab. And as he'll tell you, that was the best decision he never really made. Andrew's story is the kind that makes you laugh out loud and then quietly reassess your own life. At 16, he was blacking out at parties....

What if your energy was like a bag of Skittles? That's the metaphor Anne uses in this conversation, and once you hear it, you can't unsee it. Every day you wake up with a limited number of Skittles. Each one represents your energy — mentally, emotionally, and physically. The problem? Most of us are throwing our Skittles away without even realizing it. We spend them worrying about things we can't c...

The Beliefs That Shape Our Behavior One of the most frustrating experiences in life is knowing exactly what to do, but still not doing it. If you've ever tried to quit drinking, build a new habit, improve your health, or pursue a goal and found yourself slipping back into old patterns, you're not alone. In this episode, I talk with behavioral design expert and bestselling author Nir Eyal about why...

The Root Cause of Emotional Eating In Sobriety There's something we don't talk about enough. You quit drinking. You do the work. You go to meetings. You build a life you're proud of. And then… You find yourself standing in the kitchen at 9pm. Again. Maybe it's sugar. Maybe it's "just a little snack." Maybe it's eating in secret. Maybe it's feeling out of control around food in a way that feels eer...

The Best Worst Thing That Ever Happened A conversation on sobriety, entrepreneurship, and rebuilding a life that actually works There's a certain kind of person who can build something from nothing. They're driven. Intense. Creative. Restless. They work hard. They push. They win. And sometimes… they self-destruct. In this conversation, Tim shares what it looked like to be both a high-achieving ent...

The Respectable Addiction: When Work Becomes the Coping Mechanism A reflection on burnout, identity, and recovery — plus practical action steps There's an addiction we rarely talk about because it looks like ambition. It earns praise. Promotions. Respect. It hides behind phrases like "driven," "productive," and "hard-working." But for many high achievers, work isn't just effort — it's a coping mec...

Can I Moderate? Why This Question Matters More Than We Talk About For most of my recovery journey, I held a pretty firm belief: If you're questioning your drinking, the answer is probably abstinence. That belief came from both lived experience, as well as observing other people who struggle with alcohol. Personally, I never drank normally. From the very first drink, the switch flipped on—and it st...

There's a point in many recovery journeys where insight stops being the problem. You know what to do. You understand your patterns. And yet… change still feels hard. In this episode, I talk with Paula Robbins, author of Hitchhiking Into Recovery, who has over 37 years of sobriety, about why that happens—and what actually sustains healing over the long haul.     The Ride That Opened the Door Paula'...

Quitting Drinking Was Easy. Learning How to Parent Angry Kids Was Not. One of the things I loved about my conversation with Zach Brittle is how honest he was about what recovery really looks like—especially for parents. Zach said something that stopped me in my tracks: "Quitting drinking was the easiest part." For him, the real work began when alcohol was gone and anger, resentment, and emotional...

One of the most powerful moments in this conversation came when Amber said: "I didn't want to do what I was doing… but it became my comfort zone." If you've ever struggled with food, alcohol, or any compulsive behavior, you know exactly what she means. This episode isn't about dieting. It's about why the body holds on — to weight, habits, protection, and survival patterns — even when we desperatel...