The Way Out | A Sobriety and Recovery Podcast

This week we’re driving toward the conclusion of our series on the 12 Steps with our focus turned singularly on Step 11. Much seems to be asked of us in this particular Step, and many whom first encounter it may indeed feel initially overwhelmed and ill equipped to undertake what appears to be an endeavor reserved strictly for high priests, monks and nuns. Thankfully, this most assuredly is not th...

This week we’re interviewing Joshua Shea and we’re talking about a subject that is cloaked in shame and marred by a social stigma reminiscent of the leapers of bygone millennia. Joshua Shea is a recovering pornography addict, recovering alcoholic and author. Joshua has appeared on over 50 podcasts, television and radio shows using his personal story to promote the ideas that porn addiction spans a...

This week we’ve got a very different perspective on Addiction & Recovery in an interview with Mark Scheeren. Mark is the co-author of The Freedom Model of Addiction, the first non  12 Step methodology to treat addiction and alcoholism. A word of caution; this approach may sound like heresy to 12 Step enthusiasts and advocates and to some extent it very well may be. Indeed I count myself as a stron...

This week we’re bringing you a captivating discussion with Jeremiah Campbell. Jeremiah is many things; an entrepreneur, Father, Husband, volunteer, and indeed a person on long term recovery from alcoholism and addiction. Jeremiah’s anything but picture-perfect trek to Recovery is at once enlightening and inspirational.  You’ll no doubt be doing so much head-nodding as you relate to his experience,...

This week Jason brings us a powerful & insightful interview with Jeff Powell. Jeff’s story will bring you to the depths of addiction, and the stark reality of what it’s like to battle addiction in the unfriendly environs of the streets of Chicago, to the deceptively unforgiving suburbs of Minneapolis & St. Paul. Jeff’s unadulterated honesty and candor reveal that one can indeed go through the prov...

This week we’re continuing our series on the 12 Steps with our focus now turning squarely to Step 10. In many ways, this Step is the litmus test in identifying if we’re truly willing to put the principles of the 12 Steps to daily, continual practice within ourselves and those around us. Are we willing to take a regular self-inventory? Are we willing to take responsibility for our actions no matter...

This week we’ve got a very special interview for you with Eric Zimmer, a person in long term recovery from alcoholism and addiction as well as the Host and Co-Founder of The One You Feed Podcast. The namesake of the aforementioned podcast comes from a Cherokee Parable. The parable, for those of you whom are unfamiliar, goes as follows. An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life......

Along with Jason and count ‘em 31 special guests, I’m Charlie and this week we have an incredibly special episode in store for you. Jason and I were humbled to be a part of an extraordinary event a short time ago, the 9th annual Walk for Recovery which is organized by Minnesota Recovery Connection – a non-profit organization committed to building recovery capital in individuals, families, and comm...

This week we’re continuing our series on the 12 Steps with a singular focus on Step 9. There’s plenty of reason why Step 9 occurs in the 12 Steps in the order it does. We’re attempting to straighten out our relationships with others, many of whom we’ve hurt, some in the most damaging of ways. Fear is a likely companion when facing these often daunting amends; but if we follow the simple instructio...

This week we’re continuing our series on the 12 Steps and turning our focus squarely on Step 8. Step 8 is simple; make a list of folks we wronged and become willing to make it right – but for many of us spiritual work, even if it’s simple, just ain’t easy. The reality is; when emotions like fear, anger, resentment, and righteous indignation get stirred up when we think of some of these individuals...

This week The Way Out Podcast is going Sugar-Free with Mike Collins – Founder of SugarAddiction.com and chairman of Food Addiction Institute. Mike is in long-term recovery from addiction and alcoholism; 34 years long and 30 of those years have been free from both caffeine and sugar. Mike shares why eliminating sugar and caffeine was a part of his journey and we discover how much both of these subs...

This week we’ve got a very special interview with Jacob Jones, the Author of Recovered and a person in long term recovery from addiction. Jacob shared his story, which is the inspiration behind his book, with my fellow co-host Jason and you’ll be immediately drawn to Jacob’s disarming candor and unabashed authenticity as he shares his battle with opiate addiction and subsequent recovery and what m...

This week we’re continuing our series on the 12 Steps with a seriously righteous breakdown of the 7th Step. Simple in it’s phraseology, the 7th Step represents a crucial “First” in our working of the 12 Steps. It’s the first time we’re making an ask of our higher power we connected with in Steps 2 & 3 and utilized in 4, 5, and 6. Step 7 centers around a key and fundamental element of all 12 Steps,...

This week we’re taking a moment to celebrate our 150th episode of The Way Out Podcast. We reflect on why this amazing project got started, what continues to drive and inspire us, and what we we’re seeking to accomplish when we bring you powerful recovery stories and recovery power topics in a weekly downloadable format. The simple truth is we’re simply a couple of folks in long term recovery who l...

This week we’re stepping away from our series on the 12 Steps to bring you a refreshingly different perspective on Recovery through a truly compelling interview with JF Benoist, Author of “Addicted to the Monkey Mind – Change the Programming That Sabotages Your Life”. JF and I explore what the “Monkey Mind” is, why so many of us reside in this state of mind as often as we do; and how we can transf...

This week we’re continuing our series on the 12 Steps by breaking down the often overlooked Step 6. Step 6 is in part a preparation Step, and because we addicts and alcoholics are a stubborn lot, a quite necessary one at that. We must prepare before we can take transformative actions. The balance of this Step is all about the spiritual practice of acceptance and humility. This episode will prepare...

We’re talking all about perhaps the most feared Step of all 12 we work in 12-Step recovery. Nary a soul that has ever been in existence has had an overwhelming desire and willingness to reveal not only our past transgressions and wrongs, but quite literally the worst of themselves to their higher power, themselves and another human being. Many of us have gone to great lengths to tuck our darker se...

This week we have two firsts in the History of The Way Out Podcast. Co-host Jason did his first ever solo interview with first time guest Casey Ryan. Casey relates her journey to long term recovery with an easy transparency and brings forth an near endless supply of spiritual truth & recovery wisdom along the way. Casey grew up torn between two worlds, leaving her doubting her own self-worth b...

This week we’re continuing our series on the 12 Steps. We’re taking on perhaps the most feared, conceivably the most misunderstood, and quite likely the most practically useful Step of the 12 that make up the 12 Step Recovery Program. We’ll discuss in simple terms what the purpose of Step 4 is, how to work this crucial step, and what you can expect after completing this all-important self-inventor...

This week we’re continuing our series on the 12 Steps with our focus turning squarely to Step 3. Step 3 is the point in the 12 Steps in which we make a fateful decision that will be quickly followed by a series of actions specifically designed and purpose intended to produce a profound change that brings about our recovery from addiction and alcoholism. However we arrive at the decision, whether t...

We have a recovery story for the ages to share with you this week. From a wicked bad childhood riddled with abuse and abject abandonment to a binge drinking young man with a penchant for Grand Theft Auto, Timothy quite literally endured jails, institutions, and after one alcohol fueled nightmare wished for death due to the grave and eternal consequences that resulted. At it’s core, this story teac...

This week we’ve got an incredible interview on tap for you with Arlina – host and founder of the ODAAT Chat Podcast and the brains behind SoberLifeSchool.com. Arlina is a 12 Step recovery powerhouse and her incredible Recovery journey is nothing short of pure inspiration. Arlina’s story is a case study in why we don’t have to use or drink for decades to be a certified Alcoholic or Addict and a mod...

This week is all about Step 2 as we continue our series on the 12 Steps. We break down in practical terms what Step 2 means and how to work what can seem to be an impossibly abstract spiritual concept. Plus we share feedback from the sober and serious community and take your calls. Listen Up.

This week we’re beginning our series on the 12 Steps. We begin, naturally, with Step One which reads “We Admitted We Were Powerless Over Alcohol, that our Lives Had Become Unmanageable”. Critical to overcoming any problem is recognizing & accepting there is a problem in the first place. Step one at it’s very core, is a surrender to our powerlessness and the unmanageability that manifests in ou...

This week we’re discussing action -  the chief activator of Recovery and the gifts that come to us as a result of the activities we carry out in our programs of recovery and on a daily basis. Action is more important that desire, willingness, and knowledge combined. The truth is, willingness is extremely helpful but not required to recover. The reality is knowledge is beneficial, but not nece...