The Way Out Podcast

In this edition of The Way Out I’m ecstatic to bring you my interview with Recovery Coach, Recovery Podcaster, and person in long term Recovery Matt Gardiner. Matt hosts the Beyond Recovery Podcast and it was a true honor to share my journey to and through recovery to this point on his podcast recently, so check that out if you are so inclined and to that end, I’ve included a handy link to that episode in the show notes. Every once in a great while, you meet someone where everything just seems to click, and this is precisely what happened with Matt and I right off the bat - we quickly hit it off and it truly felt as we were old friends. We found we have so much in common, from our mutual love of great 90’s music like Nirvana, to playing guitar and songwriting, and from being bullied in adolescence to having a close friend in Recovery provide that essential helping hand to get into and launch ourselves into recovery. Throw in each of us having multiple attempts at recovery prior to our most recent and with any

We had Darren Littlejohn on episode 176 two and half years ago to talk about his first book, The 12 Step Buddhist and he’s back to talk about his latest work Compassionate Recovery: Mindful Healing for Trauma and Addictions. The importance and need for the work contained in the aforementioned book by my friend Darren cannot be understated. To paraphrase Darren and to attempt to encapsulate his latest work, compassion and mindfulness is in so many ways the direction, it is the journey, it is the result, it is the manifestation, it is the fruition of much of what we’re trying to achieve in Recovery. Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACES, trauma, and addiction cause emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual dysregulation that are very often well outside our window of tolerance. When this occurs, we resort to counterproductive thoughts and behaviors, that turn into patterns, that cause a negative feedback loop of deepening counterproductive behaviors. Addiction then, is on a spectrum and recovery too, is on a s

In this edition of The Way Out we have a stellar interview with Hollywood Actress and person in long term recovery, Dedee Pfeiffer. Dedee has dawned both big screen and small and after a 10-year absence from Hollywood, Dedee Pfeiffer is back starring on the outstanding ABC drama "Big Sky." Which is about to drop its season 3 premier this Wednesday September 21st on ABC and Hulu. A single mother of two young men, Pfeiffer has been hard at work during her recent time away from Hollywood earning a bachelor's degree in psychology at Pierce College, Valley College and California State University Northridge. It was at UCLA where she earned a Master of Social Work. Her area of concentration includes mental illness, substance abuse and homelessness. Dedee shares her journey to and through recovery to this point with tremendous humor, disarming humility, true candor and the keen insight that can only come from the one and only Dedee Pfeiffer who’s greatest message just might be the extremely freeing and empowering fee

In this edition of The Way Out I’m pleased to bring you my interview with author of the new book High: Confessions of a Cannabis Addict, editor of The Addiction Recovery E-Bulletin, and Producer of the 14 year old Reel Recovery Festival, Leonard Lee Buschel. With 28 years of continuous sobriety, Leonard shares his journey to and through recovery to this point with extraordinary insight combined with great storytelling, as you might expect from a newly minted author who’s been sober as long as Leonard has been. One of the greatest pearls of wisdom Leonard bestows upon us is the phenomenon of slowbriety, which has been invoked on this podcast more than a few times, yet bears highlighting, nonetheless. As the term infers, slowbriety is a term that describes our slow but sure emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental evolution in Recovery that results in an increasingly sound mind, body, and soul and the sounder we are in these three areas of being, the more fulfilling and rewarding our recovery and ultimately o

In this edition of The Way Out, the raddest recovery podcast co-host in all the land brings us his interview with person in long term recovery Stancil Tootle. Tootle as most folks call him, shares his journey to and through recovery to this point with us, which includes a whole lot of experience, strength and hope. Tootle was born blind and grew up in the country in rural Georgia. He just celebrated 32 years of continuous sobriety and has an amazing recovery story. Tootle shares openly and honestly about the barriers that he and others with disabilities have had to, and still face which are all too common, and his recovery is proof recovery is available to all folks regardless of physical ability. We can all get engaged with Tootle's warm hearted and joyful spirit so listen up. Contact info for Tootle: 229-254-6630 Supporting Disabled People in Recovery Resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/938394900445342/ Best Piece of Recovery Advice: Keep Coming Back! Recovery Literature (Quit-Lit) Reccomendation: Lo

In this edition of The Way Out I am honored to bring you my interview with Person in long term recovery, Tedx Speaker, career and life coach, Creator of the Recovery Playbook and co-founder of StartUp Recovery Gregg Champion. Gregg shares with us his journey to and through recovery to this point in a way that inspires hope and conjures true relatability not so much through the specific events that highlight his coming of age or his highs or lows of active addiction and subsequent recovery – which I for one found quite relatable -  but very much through the exceedingly human emotions and feelings behind these experiences, which we all can very much relate to indeed. One of the overarching messages that comes through loud and clear in Gregg’s Recovery story are, number one – sobriety and physical abstinence are merely just the beginning. The true magic of recovery is when we begin to incorporate daily routines that build our personal recovery capital across as many of the key recovery capitol domains as po

In this rendition of the The Way Out I’m absolutely delighted to bring you a fascinating interview I had the pleasure of conducting with Moral Philosopher, Dr. of Philosophy and Author of the new book Higher and Friendly Powers: Transforming Addiction and Suffering, Peg O’Connor. Peg shares with us her extremely relatable journey to and through recovery with us with tremendous insight and self-awareness and how her self-described recovery journey experiment brought her to her important work on the varied nature and practical value of spirituality in recovery. At it’s very essence, spirituality has the profound ability to transform our suffering into a life of purpose and meaning, one that allows us to have right and rewarding relations with ourselves, our higher or friendly power or powers, and others. Peg and I have a wide ranging and amazing discussion on the history of the Higher Power concept in 12 Step recovery, the destructive myth of having to reach Rock Bottom in order to Recover – spoiler alert – you

In this rendition of The Way Out I’m beyond excited to bring you my interview with fellow Recovery podcaster and person in long term recovery, Matt J. Matt shares his journey to and through recovery to this point with a remarkable forthrightness and with the unmistakable tenor of someone that takes his program of recovery and his sobriety seriously and at the same time of a man that doesn’t take himself too seriously which in many respects is what we’re all after in recovery.  Matt and I had a fantastic time as he regaled his recovery story and we then launched into a lively discussion that traversed the proverbial sobriety waterfront, from 12-Step history to the value of multiple recovery pathways as well as the value of both in person and virtual recovery meetings and last but certainly not least the tremendous value of Recovery podcasts like The Way Out Podcast and the Sober Friends podcast so listen up. Check out the Sober Friends Podcast with Matt J: https://soberfriendspod.com/ Recovery literature

In this rendition of The Way Out I’m absolutely delighted to bring you my interview with Hollywood Actor and person in long term Recovery, Richie Stephens. Richie Stephens is an Irish actor and writer who lives in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for playing villains on TV and in films, including Blue Bloods, MacGyver, Criminal Minds, and Days of Our Lives, his appearances in multiple Florence and the Machine music videos, and his ability to do a broad range of accents. He has appeared in over one hundred stage and screen productions and is a member of Oscar-winner Bobby Moresco’s Actor’s Gym—an exclusive group of working actors and writers. He’s been a circuit speaker in recovery groups, and he actively works with the homeless at The Midnight Mission and The Center in Hollywood. Richie can now add Author to that impressive list of film, stage, and TV credits with his new book The Gangster’s guide to Sobriety: My Life in 12 Steps. Richie shares with us his journey to and through Recovery to this poin

In this edition of The Way Out we bring you my interview with author of the new book Fireflies - Finding Light on a Journey Through Addiction and person in long term recovery on the family side, Lea Lauks. Lea shares with us her journey to and through recovery and sheds important light on how addiction and alcoholism affects the lives of those who live with and love the person suffering from a substance use disorder. She shares that there’s help for those who find themselves in the throes of the chaos created by addiction, and Lea found that help in large part through the support and working the 12-Steps of Al-Anon. As you’ll soon hear for yourself Lea’s story, and thus her book, serves as a testament that recovery on the family side of addiction is possible and absolutely worth it so listen up. Contact Lea: fireflysobriety@gmail.com Learn more about Lea Lauk’s book: Fireflies: Finding Light on a Journey Through Addiction https://www.amazon.com/Fireflies-Finding-Journey-Through-Addiction/dp/B09RGQR3K3 Book -

In this edition of The Way Out, we bring you my interview with Author of the new Book “My Life with Karma”, Recovery Coach, and person in long term recovery Travis Sackett. Travis shares his journey to and through recovery to this point with true humility and genuine relatability. Travis’s story is ultimately one of survival of a tumultuous childhood and subsequent, rather wicked addiction to OxyContin which lead to nearly losing everything but his life, a life which Travis contemplated ending. Everything, including his job in law enforcement and indeed his freedom in having to spend time in jail as a former law enforcement officer. Everything, and Everything, except his rescue dog, aptly named Karma. Travis and Karma became constant companions in recovery, a recovery which led to successfully treating and addressing both his addiction and mental health, and that lead no longer merely surviving, but truly thriving in recovery and indeed life so listen up. Contact Travis: https://www.facebook.com/travis.sacket

In this installment of The Way Out, I’m absolutely thrilled to bring you my interview with Life Coach, Author, Speaker, and person in long term recovery Kellan Fluckiger. Kellan shares his journey to and through Recovery to this point with unmistakable transparency and with a clear and powerful message: You can recover, regardless of anything or anyone and then you can discover, develop, and serve yourself and others with purpose through your unique gifts in the spirit of genuine love. As Kellan reminds us, this kind of life is made possible if we’re willing to lean in and do the hard work, we’re being called to do in our personal recovery journeys. Indeed, we can work to heal our emotional injuries, shed counterproductive thought and behavior patterns, connect to a Higher Power or Higher Self, reconnect to and love ourselves, so that we can truly connect to and love others with our unique gifts and talents. This all may sound unattainable, but I assure you it’s not only possible it’s absolutely worth every b

In this edition of The Way Out I’m over the moon excited about bringing you my interview with Author, Poet, Teacher, and person in long-term Recovery Peter Murphy. Peter shares his journey to and through recovery to this point with a candor and wry humor that’s as compelling as it is enlightening. Anyone who is in recovery from addiction is by definition a truly remarkable human being, and Peter is no exception, especially considering his childhood trauma and chaotic family of origin. After years of struggling with the internal and external consequences of alcohol addiction, Peter has a fateful encounter with the Bahai Faith which offered much of what 12-Step Recovery offers us – spiritual connection, community, self-examination, amend making, and abstinence from drugs and alcohol and thus Peter’s recovery journey began in earnest and provided the fertile soil for Peter to uncover and unleash the Poet, Author, and Teacher within him. Far from being a happily ever after, peter experienced a sober bottom that p

I’m Charlie in this 300th rendition of the They Way Out we’re counting down our top ten recovery truths we’ve collectively learned up to this point from each of our individual recovery journeys as well as through the work we’ve done on this very podcast. Each and every person we’ve had the distinct honor of having on the show has taught us and reinforced universal recovery truths that have had a profound impact on our individual recoveries, and therefore our lives and we’ve been able to increasingly incorporate this collective truth into each episode for the sole purpose of aiding you, The Way Out Podcast listener in your journey to and through recovery. Regardless of where you are in that journey, our primary purpose is to Recover Out Loud with as much spiritual and recovery truth as possible so that others understand that Recovery is not only possible, it’s absolutely worth every ounce of effort we put toward it. What’s about to unfold before your very ears is our best effort in presenting a culmination of

In this edition of the The Way Out the finest recovery podcast co-host in all the land had the distinct pleasure of talking with Vince Garrett and as you all will soon find out they had a ton in common. This commonality is no more evident than when they delve into the depravity that intravenous drug use brought out of them in their respective active addictions, such as the insane, reckless things they were capable of just to feed the proverbial monkey on their backs. On the flip side Jason and Vince also discuss the tremendous blessings that came from finding a safe space to share, and how the God of their respective understanding works in the most unexpected ways! Without question this discussion goes unflinchingly deep into the dark spaces and unapologetically into all of the light places so listen up. Contact Vince- siwatugarrett@gmail.com Book recommendation: Narcotics Anonymous: How it works and Why https://www.amazon.com/Works-How-Why-Traditions-Narcotics/dp/1557762554/ref=sr_1_1?crid=MYP1LNSERG9E&k

In this rendition of The Way Out I’m absolutely thrilled to bring you what turned out to be a conversation that was at once extremely resonant and outright entertaining with Amanda White. Amanda is a licensed therapist, author of the new book Not Drinking Tonight – A Guide to Creating a Sober Life You Love, and person in long term recovery since 2015. Perhaps one of the most enlightening aspects of Amanda’s recovery is the immutable truth that our last bottom doesn’t have to be our lowest or worst bottom, that we don’t have to hit a proverbial rock bottom, and then ultimately our bottom is when we stop digging. Equally as instructive is the undeniable value of adding therapy to our program of recovery, especially if we have experienced trauma, adverse childhood experiences, or have a mental health issue. Finally, as you’ll soon hear, much of the work Amanda does professionally and writes about in her new book is centered on the truth that we are not stuck with our default thought and behavior reaction pattern

In this edition of The Way Out The best recovery cohost in the business has a tremendous conversation with new friend, Brett Morris, who created the Recovery Survey Podcast and Co-hosts the Recovery Revolution Live podcast! Brett is also a new Dad, a loving husband and an all-around fantastic human! His passion for spreading the message of recovery is only surpassed by his commitment to it! Brett shares so much of the good stuff in this episode, including how to maintain a healthy balance through it all, which may be the most elusive recovery goal of all so listen up. contact info: brett@recovery-revolution.org http://www.recoverysurvey.com https://m.facebook.com/recoverysurvey https://www.instagram.com/recoverysurvey/ https://mobile.twitter.com/recoverysurvey Book recommendation: NA Basic Text Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text 6th Edition Hardcover: Anonymous: https://www.amazon.com/Narcotics-World-Service-Office/dp/1557767343/ref=sr_1_1?crid=EUN22MQZTI4I&keywords=na+basic+text&qid=1650824418&sprefi

In this edition of The Way Out we have for you a phenomenal interview with addiction therapist, person in long term recovery, and author of The New Book “Resolving Spiritual Skepticism in Recovery: Putting the Universe to Work for You, Andrew Pierce. Perhaps one of greatest hurdles folks have in embarking on the 12-Step program of recovery or the compatible Minnesota Model of addiction treatment is the concept of adopting a Higher Power that can aid in our Recovery. Those of you Way Out faithful that have listened to this podcast for a hot minute know that prior to entering recovery I had deep seeded resentment, skepticism, and an unhealthy dose of ambivalence on the idea of God, especially one that could help me in any meaningful way. Andrew’s work in his new book centers squarely on this barrier that I and many others have faced in a particularly practical manner in that it focuses on what the problem is, which is the maladaptive thought and behavior patterns that make up addiction and precisely how spiritu

In this rendition of The Way Out, our extraordinary co-host Jason speaks with woman in long term recovery Honesty Liller. Honesty is the Author of the new memoir "Scattered Pink: A Diary of a Woman in Recovery" and she is the CEO of The McShin Foundation, a nationally recognized nonprofit Recovery Community Organization based in Richmond, Virginia. Truly living up to her name in her discussion with Jason, Honesty doesn't hold back the truth of how messy, difficult, and beautiful recovery can be as she shares her extremely relatable journey to and through recovery to this point. Out of her harrowing bout with addiction, Honesty began to truly connect to her peers in Recovery at McShin, got to work on her recovery, and began to work for The McShin Foundation, which she credits for saving her very life and his given her true purpose and a meaningful and enduring recovery so listen up. Contact Honesty: honestyliller@gmail.com Instagram: @diaryofawomaninrecovery FB: @honestyliller Recovery Resources and her book:

In this edition of The Way Out, our prodigious co-host with the most has an outstanding discussion with person in long term recovery, peer recovery specialist, mental health professional and recovery advocate Tom Jackson. Tom is a longtime and self-proclaimed "policy nerd" who has been doing recovery advocacy work on the national legislative level since the days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980's. Tom shares his decades long journey to and through recovery to this point with us along with his hard earned wisdom and experience, all of which is yours to relish in the interview that’s about to unfold before your very ears, so listen up. Contact Info: jacksonta@gmail.com Resource links: http://wsh.dbhds.virginia.gov/ https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaRecoveryAdvocacyProject http://recoveryvoices.com/ Book recommendation: The Urge: Our History of Addiction by Carl Erik Fisher: https://www.harvard.com/book/the_urge/ Listen to Carl Erik Fisher’s interview with Charlie in Episode 254: Flourishing After Addiction w