After speaking with Brad McLeod about his history, his addiction, his sobriety, his podcast and his community, I felt like I had a new best friend. Brad is a kind, likable, easygoing, generous, fun person to be around, which makes it even more shocking when you hear his story.
I’m looking at this lovely, Canadian young man with a sweet smile and a beautiful spirit talking about his three kids and I think, how did he get here after all that insanity? This represents the power of his recovery community and podcast, which is all about sharing a variety of sobriety stories so people can connect, identify and recover.
Brad’s mother was 16 years old when she gave birth to twins, and for the first six years of his life with his brother, they lived with their grandparents. He remembers this as a peaceful, connected time growing up around lots of extended family. He was very close to his grandfather, and one of his first disruptions of self came when his mom moved him and his brother to Texas. His mom had attended nursing school and moved to Texas for a job. This was a significant move because he suddenly was away from people he had felt safe with and loved. His mom was working full-time, and he felt lost and alone. He describes an addict’s issues starting way before the addict picks up their first drug, and this was the beginning.
As a young child, he was put on Ritalin and reported feeling like “a zombie.” He recalls lining up with many other young children at the nurse’s office to get his dose of ADHD meds and how detached he felt. He did feel like stimulants calmed him down, unlike his friends he met later in life that he sold his meds to. His mom got married, and he and his sister and brother moved to North Carolina.
This is where he describes becoming the class clown to try to find a way to connect and get the attention he craved. His introduction to opiates came after a hernia operation, when he fell in love with Percocets.
It was devastating to hear about his experience of being sent to a scared straight program in Tennessee at 16. His family thought he was out of control. He was having behavioral problems and had no way to communicate what he was feeling except by acting out. He describes this place as “…living in a dark basement for 12 months, and you could not communicate with your parents.” The amazing part of this story is that he felt like it helped him. He describes never feeling like he had any accountability for his behavior, so this was the moment of truth.
Unfortunately, his return was really the beginning of the progression of his substance use. One might hypothesize that this program was traumatic and substances were his way to cope with that experience. They have closed many of these places down due to allegations of abuse and inappropriate discipline practices. Brad’s journey of getting arrested, the progression of his drug use, getting kicked out of his home, living a double life and his attempts at normalcy eventually led to dropping out of school, losing an apartment, losing the girlfriend and ultimately, an arrest, concluding with him being banned from the United States for life. I can relate to his description of the delusion of living this dream of an exciting lifestyle when, in reality, we are just addicts and alcoholics trying to get by living in a fantasyland of our own making. In the end, he was sleeping on his brother’s floor, having progressed from Percocets to Oxys to heroin to methadone, while booze was a constant. He spent one year in jail after being arrested for drug trafficking because of selling drugs to an undercover cop. Meanwhile, participating in this event was all to impress somebody.
Recovery began when he arrived back in Canada after being in seven different jails before being deported from the US. The door being closed to return to the US gave him the desire to change his life. “It had to happen this way,” he said. He began attending various meetings, and his desire to help others began. He went back to school to become a counselor and worked at a residential treatment facility. He started his own community and a podcast after witnessing numerous clients die from fentanyl deaths. He wanted to offer something different and create a safe space for addicts to have a place to be heard. Thus, The Sober Motivation Community was created.
Brad has now been sober for 15 years. We discussed what challenges come up in recovery. He talked about his grandfather passing away and needing to process that grief, ongoing challenges with growing in relationships with his family, his children, and creating intimate friendships. We discuss the desire to escape that can still happen to any of us and what to do now instead of picking up. The biggest priority being the need to stay vulnerable, to be real, and to accept ourselves truly. The three final words he suggests to everyone is to “Love ourselves up.”
It was a pleasure and a gift to spend time with this authentic being. If you are an addict in need of love and support, please check out Brad’s community and podcast. It sounds like a magical place for folks to recover. “We aren’t about answers, we are just about support and love.”
Thank you, Brad.
Check out Dr. Sarah’s interview with Brad on the Sober Motivation Podcast!
In this episode of Sober Motivation, we have Dr. Sarah Michaud, who shares her deeply personal and transformative journey through addiction and codependency. Sarah opens up about her childhood marked by alcoholism, her struggles with substance abuse, and the life-altering moments that led her to seek help. She discusses the hardships of growing up in a chaotic environment, the role of denial in addiction, and the sobering reality of hitting rock bottom. Through her story, Sarah illuminates the often painful but ultimately rewarding path to recovery, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness, setting boundaries, and the life-changing benefits of sobriety. This is Sarah’s story on the sober motivation podcast.
Sober Motivation on YouTube
Recovery Podcastland Sobees Score: 4.5 out of 5
RECOVERY PODCASTLAND & NETWORK: Tune in and let your ears experience the audio haven for all things sobriety and recovery. Buzz into the sobriety soundscape at The Sober Curator. Here, we delve into the world of our favorite sober and recovery-based podcasts. Picture us as your bee-zy, sober podcast enthusiasts or the lively guardians of an alcohol-free audio oasis. Our digital archives are neatly categorized into TSC Recovery Podcastland & Network.
LEAVING CRAZYTOWN: Welcome to Leaving CrazyTown, a podcast by Dr. Sarah Michaud and Finn Allen. They help navigate life’s ups and downs, including codependency. With personal experiences and mental health expertise, they offer insights and strategies to overcome challenges and lead fulfilling lives. Episodes cover anxiety, depression, relationships, and self-improvement. This podcast is for anyone seeking guidance to improve their mental health and well-being. Join Leaving CrazyTown and start your journey to a happier, healthier life.
