Why Listen?
Welcome to the Confident Sober Women podcast, your go-to source for real-life talk on healing trauma, building confidence, and thriving beyond recovery. Hosted by a witty middle-aged woman balancing the chaos of parenting young adults, marriage, and business, each episode feels like a coffee chat with your best friend who’s also a therapist and coach. Since July 1, 2002, our host has been on a journey of sobriety, dedicating her life to helping other sober women.
Tune in for personal stories, teenage mishaps, and professional insights into natural wellness and clinical practices. Join us as we share practical tools for managing emotions and living a life you no longer want to escape from, inspired by the spirit of Stevie Nicks, Carrie Underwood, and Sheryl Crow. Let’s thrive in long-term recovery together!
Confident Sober Women
Join Shelby John, sober since July 1, 2002, for empowering conversations on the Confident Sober Women podcast with women who’ve found joy and confidence in their alcohol and drug-free lives.
This show is a rally cry for empathetic, resilient, and wisdom-seeking women dedicated to building a life you don’t want to escape from after that crucial first year of a sober lifestyle.
Discover how to:
· Build unshakable confidence in your sober life
· Break free from societal drinking norms
· Overcome the shame cycle and emotional numbing
· Resist the glamorized, over-hyped social influences around alcohol
· Create a pure and joyful life beyond recovery
Hear inspiring stories and practical advice on:
· Healing trauma
· Mindful parenting in recovery
· Optimizing physical and mental health
· Building a new, empowered identity
· Transforming your life beyond substance abuse recovery
We dive deep into questions like “Who am I now?” and “How do I pursue my heart’s desires?”, taking the intimidation out of sobriety and showcasing how to thrive in long-term recovery. This is truly a space for women supporting women in this modern recovery era.
New episodes every Tuesday. Subscribe now for weekly inspiration on your journey to becoming one of the happiest sober women, free from the cool crowd’s pressure to drink.
Please leave a review if you love the show, it helps us on the mission to make the Confident Sober Women community a household name.
The Hidden Scandal in America’s Rehab System with Shoshana Walter
In this eye-opening episode of The Confident Sober Women podcast, host Shelby John sits down with award-winning investigative journalist Shoshana Walter, author of Rehab: An American Scandal. Together, they uncover the shocking realities of America’s addiction treatment industry—where compassion and healing sometimes collide with corruption, exploitation, and profit.
Shoshana shares the powerful stories behind her groundbreaking reporting for The Marshall Project and Reveal, which exposed how some court-ordered rehab programs forced people struggling with addiction into unpaid labor—working in factories, warehouses, and even processing plants under the guise of “treatment.” Her work sheds light on the systemic failures in the U.S. recovery landscape and the human cost of unregulated programs that prey on the most vulnerable.
Shelby and Shoshana explore:
- How the opioid epidemic reshaped America’s rehab industry—and where it went wrong
- The dark history of “tough love” recovery programs rooted in Synanon and behavioral modification
- Why unregulated and for-profit treatment centers continue to thrive today
- The legal and ethical gray zones surrounding work-based rehab programs
- The critical role of “recovery capital”—the internal and external supports that make lasting sobriety possible
- The devastating gap in treatment options for mothers and families, and what real reform could look like
This conversation is a must-listen for anyone in recovery, professionals in the mental health and addiction fields, and families seeking treatment for a loved one. It’s a raw, informed, and deeply compassionate discussion about what’s broken—and what hope still exists for creating an addiction recovery system that truly heals.
📘 Learn more about Shoshana Walter and her book on her website https://www.shoshanawalter.com/
🌿 Want to take control of your anxiety and build emotional resilience in recovery?
Download Shelby’s free guide, Is Neurofeedback Right for You? at www.shelbyjohn.com
Discover how remote neurofeedback can help you regulate your emotions, sleep better, and feel confident in your sober l
Don’t forget to subscribe, rate & share this episode with a sober woman or someone suffering from anxiety, depression, ADHD, sleep problems and negative thought patterns who needs to hear she is not alone.
Oh, and by the way, if you didn’t know, my remote Neurofeedback Therapy program is up and running. Learn more here! Learn more about EMDR therapy, EMDR Intensives and Remote Neurofeedback.
If you aren't part of the Confident Sober Women Facebook group, it's a great place to be. There are over a thousand other sober women there building lives they don't want to escape from. Come on over and join us.
And if you haven't read my memoir, grab a copy today and maybe a second one for a friend. There is so much hope in recovery, and I shared my story so raw and vulnerable so that others would know they aren't alone and that there is a way to live well, manage relationships, parent your kids, and have a healthy body, all while staying sober. Grab a copy of Recovering in Recovery: The Life-Changing Joy of Sobriety wherever books are sold.
November 11, 2025
September 4, 2025
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Meet Your Host - Shelby John
Shelby is a licensed clinical social worker with a private practice where she specializes in trauma, addiction, and anxiety. With years of experience in the field, she founded Shelby John Coaching and is the happy host of the Confident Sober Women podcast. After getting sober she became a fresh, authentic voice in the sobriety space, showing women how to build confidence and love their lives beyond recovery. Shelby is the mother to three, the wife to one loving man, and has been sober since July 1, 2002.
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