Unbottled

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Unbottled , we break down the AA Promises in plain language—and talk about what they do and do not guarantee when you’re new to sobriety. The Promises aren’t about getting a perfect life. They’re about something much bigger: freedom from obsession, relief from regret, and hope that today doesn’t have to be forever. We talk about: • Where the AA Promises appear i...

Send us Fan Mail Big life hits me hard, and 38 years sober still doesn’t give me a force field. Sobriety gives me something better: the ability to stay present, feel everything, and get through a medical crisis without making it worse with alcohol.  • sobriety not protecting us from illness, loss, fear, and sudden change  • blacking out, emergency care, surgery, and living with a defibrillator  •...

Send us Fan Mail I’m recording from my hospital room after a scary cardiac episode, and I’m leaning hard on the same recovery tools that got me through early sobriety. Sobriety doesn’t prevent life from getting frightening, but it keeps me from drinking over it and helps me take the next right step.  • sharing what happened during a blackout and fall in Chicago  • processing fear without pretendin...

Send us Fan Mail After decades of sobriety, the hardest questions aren’t always about drinking, they’re about staying awake in your own life. I’m Marcy, 38 years sober, and I’m saying the quiet part out loud: do I still need AA the way I did when I was newly sober, or has recovery changed shape as my life changed too?  I talk through what early sobriety really needs: structure, steady support, and...

Send us Fan Mail Thirty-eight years sober should mean I have life all figured out, right? I don’t. What I do have is a clearer view of what sobriety really is after the early glow wears off: you quit drinking and you’re still you. Your fears, your relationships, your history, your unfinished business all show up, and now you have to face them without the old escape hatch. I talk candidly about the...

Send us Fan Mail We reach Step 12 and talk about how recovery becomes a way of living, not a summer project you complete and file away. We break down spiritual awakening, carrying the message, and practicing principles in all our affairs, with a clear-eyed look at what long-term sobriety actually feels like. • reframing “spiritual awakening” as ordinary daily change • seeing sobriety as what we st...

Send us Fan Mail Step 11 asks me to get quiet, create space from my loud thinking, and build a daily practice of prayer and meditation that actually works in real life. I talk through “God as we understood him,” how to stop chasing control, and a simple two-minute routine for guidance in the morning and gratitude at night.  • why Step 11 centers on prayer, meditation, and conscious contact  • maki...

Send us Fan Mail We talk about AA Step 10 as recovery maintenance that helps us stop creating new wreckage while we live sober day to day. We focus on awareness over perfection, including how to admit wrongs promptly without turning inventory into self-criticism.  • Step 10 as daily housekeeping rather than a huge excavation  • The truth that you can be sober and still be wrong  • Owning our part...

Send us Fan Mail I walk through AA Step 9 and why making amends is about responsibility and repair, not shame, forced forgiveness, or dumping guilt onto someone else. I share simple, practical ways to do direct amends safely, including when not to make contact and how changed behavior becomes the most meaningful kind of amends.  • Step 9 as action after Step 8 willingness  • Why amends are not hum...

Send us Fan Mail We break down AA Step Eight into something you can actually do: write the list, name the harm, and build willingness without drowning in shame. We talk about impact, boundaries, safety, and why you don’t rush into Step Nine just to get quick relief.   • Step Eight as preparation, not punishment   • The hardest name to write being your own   • Trust, boundaries, and why healing has...

Send us Fan Mail The sneakiest version of control is the one that looks like growth: asking for help, then handing over a rulebook on how to help you. I’m digging into AA Step 7, “humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings,” and why it’s not a spiritual formality but a real turning point in sobriety and recovery. When I stop trying to run the whole “self-improvement project,” I finally make room...

Send us Fan Mail We walk through Step Six and get honest about why “defects of character” aren’t proof we’re broken but proof we learned how to survive. We trade perfection for willingness and use simple questions to start letting go of the patterns that quietly run our lives.  • step six unpacked and why twelve words can take years  • redefining “God” as a higher power that works for you  • chara...

Send us Fan Mail I'm on vacation this week, so I'm bringing back one of my favorite episodes. If you missed it the first time—or if you need the reminder—this one's worth another listen. In this episode, we talk about one of the biggest surprises in sobriety: how your relationships change when you stop drinking. Recovery isn't just about putting down the alcohol. It changes fam...

Send us Fan Mail I'm taking a little time away to refill my cup on vacation, so this week I'm sharing one of my favorite repeat episodes. Whether it's your first time hearing it or you're listening again, I hope it meets you exactly where you are. In this episode, we're talking about relapse—without shame, without judgment, and with a whole lot of honesty. We explore why r...

Send us Fan Mail We talk through AA Step Five and why telling the truth to God, ourselves, and another person can feel terrifying while also being the most freeing move we make in sobriety. We connect the work of Step Four to the relief of Step Five, and we share practical ways to protect sobriety during holidays and high-pressure moments. • why Steps One through Five set a strong foundation • pro...

Send us Fan Mail We break down AA Step Four and replace the dread with a simple truth: an inventory is information, not condemnation. We walk through resentments, fears, and patterns so we can stop chasing relief and start building real freedom in sobriety.  • step four as a practical inventory rather than a report card  • why alcohol often functions as a solution to buried pain  • resentments as...

Send us Fan Mail The moment AA Step Three comes up, I can feel the tension rise, and I get it. “Turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him” can sound like a religious demand, a loss of autonomy, or a deal-breaker if you’ve been hurt by faith, you’re angry, or you don’t believe in God at all. So I slow it down and translate what Step Three is really asking for: willing...

Send us Fan Mail Step Two stops being a scary sentence when we treat it like a doorway to hope instead of a test of religion. I break down what “higher power” and “restore us to sanity” really mean, and why willingness is enough to start.  • why Step Two makes people freeze and how “came to believe” gives you time  • how a higher power can be God, the group, nature, honesty, or community  • what “...

Send us Fan Mail We kick off our summer 12-step series with Step One and tell the truth about why “powerless” feels so offensive. We reframe it as relief and strategy, name what unmanageability can look like in real life, and offer questions to help you decide what you already know.  • why the word powerless triggers our need for control  • powerlessness as “once I start, something changes”  • the...

Send us Fan Mail I break down the AA promises in plain English and talk about why they can sound impossible when you are new and hurting. I share how they unfold over time through honesty, support, and real life, not perfection.  • the AA promises coming from the Big Book after Step Nine  • why early sobriety makes the promises feel unrealistic  • freedom from obsession, hiding, and morning panic ...

Send us Fan Mail We break the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Steps down into plain English so they feel like a path instead of a threat. We trade perfection for honesty and explain how step work supports long-term sobriety by treating the thinking and pain under the drinking.  • why the 12 steps sound scary at first and how we soften the fear  • the steps as a framework for healing relationships and chan...

Send us Fan Mail Relapse is the topic most people in recovery whisper about, even though it’s one of the most common turning points in sobriety. I’m Marcy, and I’m going to say the quiet part out loud: relapse is usually not a random moment of chaos. It often starts weeks earlier with isolation, stress, resentment, exhaustion, and the slow drift away from support. When we understand that, relapse...

Send us Fan Mail We kick off our AA series by taking the fear out of the Big Book and talking about why it still helps people get sober and stay sober nearly 90 years after it was first published. We share how to approach the language, the stories, and the process without trying to be perfect, so you can focus on growth and real support.  • why we start the AA series with the Big Book  • what the...

Send us Fan Mail We start a new AA-focused chapter of Unbottled and get real about why “90 meetings in 90 days” keeps showing up in early sobriety. I share how daily meetings helped me survive the trigger-heavy first months, build a routine, and stay sober one day at a time for 38 years.  • why I’m shifting into AA-focused episodes and what AA offers  • what “90 meetings in 90 days” actually is an...

Send us Fan Mail Not everyone in our life will love the sober version of us, especially when our “no” forces other people to look at their own habits. We talk about why this pushback happens, how to set boundaries without a speech, and how to let go of relationships that only worked when we were drinking.  • why some people want the old version back  • how sobriety can feel like you become “the pr...