This week in Recovery Podcastland

This week, our podcast playlist has been tuned into three recovery podcasts: A Sober Girls Guide, Recovery Rocks, and Recovery Survey.

One of my weird obsessions in 2020 has been trying to cram as much recovery content into my schedule as possible. And trust me when I tell you I already consume a lot of content.

Whether consuming content professionally or recreationally, I have found lots of different pockets of time to sneak in a few podcasts and audiobooks. I find time to do this when I’m folding laundry, driving, walking my two dogs, Roxie and Bella, or working on a diamond painting project. You get a general idea.

Recovery Survey

When Brett Morris slid into our Instagram DM earlier this week, I was happy to tell him his podcast, Recovery Survey, was already on my to-do listen-to list. What I dig about this podcast is his intention to take a deep dive into the spiritual principles of people in recovery and explore their understanding of it.

Recovery Survey has consistently uploaded new episodes since April of this year, and we think he’s worth checking out because he interviews some interesting people in recovery. From featuring a Canadian hip-hop artist to a gambling addiction story to a sex-addicted Christian, Brett Morris will keep your podcast playlist interesting and have you thinking about ways you want to dig further into your own recovery and spiritual practice.

Get outside with Another Direction

The latest episode featured Brett Baker—yes, there are two Bretts—who told us about his company, Another Direction. Are you outdoorsy? Do you desire to be? Brett discusses the benefits that backpacking can have for ongoing recovery, using the power of the wilderness as the platform to combine all the tools you need to thrive.

His approach combines mental health exercises, physical exertion, stretching, nutritional supplementation, writing exercises, meditation, and knowledge for a comprehensive wellness boot camp. This program will give you the skills to not only fill your own bucket but to go beyond just being “okay ” and enter into a state of flourishing.

Are you worried you don’t have all of the gear?

Don’t have your own gear? Not a problem! Everything is provided for you. (Uh oh, now what’s your excuse?) You have to show up with a positive attitude and some clothes, and they’ll take care of the rest. Don’t get too excited; you must carry your gear throughout your entire outdoorsy adventure.

A Sober Girls Guide

This isn’t our first time writing about A Sober Girls Guide podcast (and it probably won’t be our last either). In today’s episode (#101), Jessica Jeboult, author of Save Your Own Damn Life, interviews Tawny Lara, a vibrant member of the recovery community who loves to talk about sex, sobriety, and rock-n-roll.

The two chatted easily as I drove down I-5 toward my hometown for the weekend. It was like I was listening in on a conversation with two of my own friends. Naturally, they talked about ditching booze—hello, it’s a recovery podcast—but they also talked about how removing alcohol from their lives created the space to create the life of their dreams.

Read it for the articles…

You might just be familiar with Tawny’s written work, featured in Playboy, Huffington Post, The Temper, and more. Tawny dreams of writing for Rolling Stone, and we’re pretty sure she will do just that one day. Tawny also has her podcast, Recovery Rocks, that she collabs on with her bestie and mentor friend Lisa Smith, author of Girl Walks Out of a Bar, which is in my top 10 favorite memoirs lists of all time. (Seriously, I’ve read it like at least 10 times)

Cardi B?!?!?!

The podcast takes an interesting turn when they discuss Cardi B’s latest hit song, and I know you’ll listen to it from start to finish.

Recovery Rocks

While it’s not a requirement to have brown, naturally curly hair to listen to these two, we won’t blame you if you start googling home perms and rock-n-roll t-shirts on Amazon. Listening to Tawny Lara and Lisa Smith of the Recovery Rocks podcast will make you wish you had big ass, curly brown manes that blow in the wind as you drive fast with the windows down, listening to “Ghost Song” by Jim Morrison, one of Tawny’s fav musicians since she was age 8.

In episode 21, which came out on July 30th, these two banter about adjusting to WFH (work-from-home) life. They talk about grieving their old ways of life while also looking for glimmers of the positive that the future might bring.

As they talked, I thought about the first time I went into Walgreens after being in lockdown for several weeks, only leaving my house to walk my dogs. Wearing a homemade mask sewn by my mom, I remember walking the empty aisles and not knowing exactly what I was looking for. I know it wasn’t toilet paper or Lysol because those shelves were legit empty. I exited the pharmacy and made sure not to touch anything, especially my face. I left without even purchasing due to the overwhelming feeling of fear creeping in.

Do I have agoraphobia?

As the two continued to talk about their fears of developing agoraphobia, I felt relieved. Haven’t you heard of it? Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. It was reassuring to hear I’m not the only one worrying that I’m well on my way to a full-blown case of it. Taking deep breaths, I turned up the volume of the podcast to drown out the sound of my running thoughts.

As I listened further into the episode, I was delighted to hear these ladies talk about how they have been filling their COVID-19 downtime. Both have been doing writing projects outside of their norms, and they went on to talk about how rewarding that has been. These two ladies are known as nonfiction writers, and it was interesting to hear how they are currently drawn to fiction projects as a way of escaping.

That’s a wrap on this week.

So that’s my week in podcast-land, and the time invested was well worth it for all three. I encourage you to take a listen to each and follow them on social media. When we all recover loudly, it helps those suffering alone silently.

“When we all recover loudly, it helps those suffering alone silently.”

A Disco Ball is Hundreds of Pieces of Broken Glass, Put Together to Make a Magical Ball of Light. You are NOT Broken, Friend. You are a DISCO BALL!

Resources Are Available

If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.