Sober Motivation: Sharing Sobriety Stories

Feel like you’ll never get sober? Maybe you’ve tried again and again, but nothing seems to stick. Mike knows that feeling well.

Mike’s alcohol addiction eventually cost him his marriage, his business, his relationship with his kids, and nearly everything he had. He went through treatment multiple times, tried AA, and even put together years of sobriety, only to find himself drinking again.

Mike knew a lot about recovery. The problem wasn’t knowing what to do. It was putting what he knew into action.

In this episode, Mike shares what fin...

Amanda built much of her identity around partying. Drinking, drugs, festivals, relationships, and a large social circle weren’t just things she did—they had become part of who she believed she was.

Even when a doctor warned her that continuing to use drugs could kill her, Amanda couldn’t imagine stopping. In her mind, getting sober meant losing her friends, her relationship, her social life, and everything she considered fun.

As things progressed, Amanda began experiencing seizures. Then, after taking 30 days away from alcohol and drugs, she suffered another seizure while driving, crashed into a ligh...

No one knew how much Kori was really drinking. From the outside, she was a wife, mom, and hard worker who seemed to have everything together. Behind the scenes, she was secretly taking shots, hiding her alcohol use, and questioning whether she had a drinking problem.

After years working in the bar and restaurant industry, drinking had become part of Kori’s everyday life. She could still show up for work and her family, but privately she was struggling with anxiety, shame, secret drinking, and a growing dependence on alcohol.

At just 29, a doctor warned Ko...

After more than seven years sober, Anthony never imagined he would find himself back in active addiction.

In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Anthony shares his powerful story of drug addiction, cocaine addiction, sobriety, relapse, and addiction recovery. He opens up about his early struggles with cocaine, going to treatment, getting sober, and eventually building a life he was proud of in long-term sobriety.

But as life got better, Anthony began letting go of some of the things that had helped him stay sober. Secrets, ego, and small justifications eventually opened the door...

Will returns for Part 2 of his story.

After 125 days sober, Will returned to drinking. His alcohol addiction progressed until he was facing end-stage liver cirrhosis, kidney failure, and doctors telling his family he could have just weeks left to live.

Will shares what it was like receiving a liver transplant, nearly dying again after his colon ruptured and his family was given a 4% chance that he would survive the night, and eventually receiving a kidney transplant as well.

But this story is about much more than survival. Will talks about relapse, shame, self-forgiveness...

David Wilson, better known as Sober Dave, spent decades drinking before alcohol slowly took over nearly every part of his life. What began with drinking socially eventually progressed from beer to cider, wine and finally vodka — at his worst, Dave was drinking around a litre of vodka every night.

He would wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning still drunk, go to work hours later, spend entire weekends drinking alone and regularly black out. Looking back, Dave says he remembers very little of his 40s.

But on January 7, 2019, something changed.

A friend reached ou...

Will Gordon’s alcohol addiction progressed to drinking as much as 1.75 liters of vodka every two days. His health deteriorated, he was diagnosed with alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis, and eventually his organs began shutting down.

In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Will shares the reality of alcohol addiction, secret drinking, blackouts, trying to quit drinking, liver failure, transplant, and the moment doctors told him he may have only weeks to live.

Now more than 1,200 days sober, Will reflects on what finally changed, the fight to survive, and what recovery and sobriety look like to...

Chelsea was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cirrhosis after nearly a decade of heavy alcohol use, but even being told she could die wasn’t enough to immediately make her stop drinking. She shares the progression of her alcohol addiction, liver failure, ascites and the moment she finally got sober on September 29, 2024. Chelsea eventually received a liver transplant and today shares what recovery, sobriety and a second chance at life look like.

Chelsea on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chelseablake_85/

Sober Motivation Mobile App: https://apps.apple.com/app/sober-motivation-app/id6759266291

Sober Motivation We...

Have you ever promised yourself you would stop drinking tomorrow, only to find yourself doing the exact same thing the next day?

For Shelby, weekend drinking eventually progressed into daily vodka, blackouts, hidden bottles, and trying desperately to control her relationship with alcohol. She knew she needed to quit drinking, but even after getting months of sobriety, she found herself returning to alcohol and quickly ending up back where she started.

In this episode, Shelby shares the experiences that shaped her relationship with alcohol, the reality of being a mom struggling with drinking, and...

What happens when you know alcohol is hurting your family, but you still can’t stop drinking?

Andy returns to the Sober Motivation Podcast to share his journey from years of secret drinking and failed attempts to quit alcohol to reaching 18 months sober.

For nearly a decade, Andy knew his relationship with alcohol needed to change. He would wake up hungover, promise himself he was done, and eventually find himself drinking again. As his drinking progressed, he began hiding alcohol from his wife and family. When his son found one of the bottles, Andy realized he...

At 29 years old, Christine’s alcohol addiction led to liver and kidney failure. Her brain was swelling, she had lost the ability to walk, and doctors told her family she may have only 48 hours to live.

Christine survived, but that still wasn’t the end of her drinking.

In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Christine shares how drinking progressed from teenage experimentation to physical alcohol dependence, withdrawal and eventually drinking nearly a bottle of vodka a day. She opens up about the denial that kept her stuck, the devastating health consequences of a...

Mike never thought he had a drinking problem. He was working, providing for his family, and convinced himself he was still functioning. But behind closed doors, alcohol was quietly changing everything.

In this powerful quit drinking story, Mike and his wife Kristen share both sides of their journey through alcohol addiction, denial, marriage struggles, and recovery. You’ll hear how daily drinking slowly took over their lives, the difficult decisions that followed, and how they rebuilt trust after choosing sobriety.

If you’ve ever questioned your own drinking, wondered whether you’re a “function...

David Correy had reached the kind of success most people only dream about. He was performing around the world, creating music, and achieving goals he had worked toward for years. But behind the scenes, he was carrying unimaginable grief.

After losing both of his parents within a short period of time, alcohol slowly became more than something to unwind with. What began as an occasional escape turned into a daily battle that eventually led to rehab, jail, failed attempts at sobriety, and nearly losing everything.

In this episode, David shares the moments that...

Trisha never thought alcohol would take over her life.

She survived three brain surgeries, built a successful barber shop, and raised two daughters as a single mom. When life became overwhelming, alcohol started as a way to cope with stress. Within months, she was physically dependent—drinking before work just to stop her hands from shaking.

In this honest conversation, Trisha shares how alcohol slowly took control, the guilt of losing her daughters’ trust, rehab, relapse, and the moment she realized there was no such thing as moderation for her.

Today, she’...

Jason spent decades believing he had everything under control.

He built a successful career, became known as the guy who could outdrink almost anyone, and convinced himself that because he was still functioning, he didn’t really have a problem.

But behind the scenes, alcohol—and eventually cocaine—had quietly become the solution to every uncomfortable feeling. Anxiety. Loneliness. Shame. Divorce. The pressure to keep it all together.

After watching his mother die from alcohol-related liver failure, Jason knew he had to change. He quit drinking… but discovered that removing alcohol alone wasn’t enough...

For the past several years, I’ve had one of the greatest privileges imaginable—sitting across from hundreds of people willing to tell the truth about addiction and recovery.

As we approach 300 episodes of Sober Motivation, I wanted to step back and answer one question:

What have all these conversations taught me?

In this solo episode, I share 12+1 lessons that show up over and over again—from why shame keeps people stuck to why motivation is overrated, and why the people who stay sober aren’t necessarily stronger than everyone else.

Aaron never believed alcohol would nearly cost him his life.

Like many people, drinking started as a way to fit in, cope with anxiety, and numb painful experiences. After losing his father at a young age, finding his brother after a fatal overdose, and carrying years of grief and trauma, alcohol slowly became his answer to everything.

By his early 40s, he was drinking from the moment he woke up just to stop the withdrawals. His skin turned yellow, his body began shutting down, and after collapsing at home he was rushed to...

Jess never imagined alcohol would take her here.

After years of trying to stop drinking, repeated relapses, multiple detoxes, inpatient treatment, and three-day blackouts, she found herself waking up to police after her truck became stranded on train tracks. She thought she had destroyed her life—and that she would never be able to stay sober.

In this powerful episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Jess shares how alcohol slowly took over, the shame of living a double life while working alongside law enforcement, how addiction impacted her relationship with her son, and wh...

Many people believe they have to lose everything before they quit drinking.

Matt’s story proves otherwise.

From the outside, he looked like he had it all—a successful career, a loving wife, three boys, and a normal suburban life. But behind the scenes, alcohol slowly became the center of everything. Weekend binge drinking turned into nightly drinking, blackouts became more common, and he found himself living at only 40% of the husband and father he wanted to be.

In this conversation, Matt shares how anxiety, social drinking, parenting, and years of just...

Alcohol didn’t almost take Marty’s life overnight—it happened one drink at a time.

What started as partying with friends slowly became drinking alone, daily alcohol use, multiple ER visits, and eventually liver damage so severe his skin turned yellow.

Doctors warned him that another drink could send him back into liver failure.

In this powerful conversation, Marty shares:

What is alcohol really costing you?

In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Mike shares how alcohol slowly became part of his daily life without obvious warning signs. He kept his job, raised a family, and looked successful on the outside—but after quitting drinking, he realized alcohol had quietly taken far more from him than he ever imagined.

We talk about growing up as a preacher’s kid, chasing acceptance, becoming a functioning daily drinker, and why you don’t have to hit rock bottom to question your relationship with alcohol. Mike also o...

At 28 years old, Mailinn was preparing to die.

She was drinking up to 4 liters of vodka a day, vomiting blood daily, and losing the ability to walk. Doctors had run out of answers. Her family was bracing for the worst.

Then her body shut down.

In 2020, Mailinn was placed into a coma with multi-organ failure and given little chance of survival. What happened next would completely change the course of her life.

Today, Mailinn is six years sober.

In this episode of Sober Motivation...

Elisa drank alcohol for 30 years.

What started as relief from childhood trauma slowly turned into alcohol addiction, DUIs, broken relationships, and a life she says she barely remembers.

At eight years old, Elisa testified in court against someone in her own family. Growing up afraid and feeling like she didn’t belong, alcohol became the thing that finally quieted the fear.

In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Elisa shares her recovery story—how childhood trauma shaped her addiction, why alcohol felt like the answer, her struggles with alcoholism, and...

“I genuinely thought I was a hopeless alcoholic addict with no chance of return.”

That’s where Gio found himself.

After years of success as a hockey player—including a Division I scholarship and a professional career—addiction slowly took over. What started as drinking and partying became something much darker, leading Gio to a gas station parking lot where he finally called his dad and admitted:

“I can’t stop using.”

In this episode, Gio shares his journey through hockey culture, addiction, opiates, losing his identity after hockey, mu...

Manny grew up in New Orleans surrounded by alcohol, but after watching the damage drinking caused in his own family, he wanted nothing to do with it.

That changed later in life.

After marriage, business success, cocaine, alcohol, Hurricane Katrina, divorce, depression, day drinking, and eventually drinking four to five bottles of wine a day, Manny found himself isolated, physically broken, and barely able to walk. What started as social drinking became full-blown alcohol addiction.

In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Manny shares his powerful story of addiction...

He had a loving family, a private school education, great friends, and every opportunity in front of him. Yet by age 33, Gary was drinking in 7 a.m. bars in Spain, waking up in hostels with no money, and wondering how his life had fallen apart.

In this episode of Sober Motivation, Gary Mairs shares how alcohol slowly took over despite what many would consider the perfect childhood. From teenage binge drinking in England to years of anxiety, financial chaos, broken relationships, and undiagnosed ADHD, Gary opens up about the reality of alcohol addiction and the moment...

Todd looked like he had it all together. He had a good job, a family, a home, and no major public consequences from drinking. But inside, alcohol was taking up more space than he wanted to admit.

In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Todd shares how weekend drinking, binge drinking, hangxiety, shame, and constantly thinking about the next drink made him question his relationship with alcohol. He talks about trying to moderate, why quitting felt extreme at first, and the moment his son asked if they needed an Uber home from a baseball game.

“I never got a DUI. I never got arrested. I never lost my job. So how could I possibly have a problem with alcohol?”

Mateja didn’t drink until she was 21. She had a successful career, a good family, and from the outside looked like someone who had it all together. But behind the scenes, alcohol was becoming harder to ignore.

In this episode, Mateja shares her journey through college drinking, restaurant culture, blackouts, anxiety, and the realization that you don’t have to hit rock bottom to quit drinking.

We discu...

For years, JB thought he could manage his drinking.

What started as binge drinking slowly turned into drinking every day, hiding alcohol, drinking on the way home, anxiety, shame, and feeling completely trapped inside the cycle.

In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, JB shares his full sobriety story — growing up in chaos, starting alcohol and cigarettes at a young age, struggling with addiction, daily drinking, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts, and what finally pushed him to quit drinking alcohol for good.

This is an honest conversation about alcohol addiction, re...

From the outside, Jessica looked like she had it all together. But behind closed doors, she was drinking 3 bottles of wine every night, blacking out, throwing up before work, and quietly falling apart while trying to convince herself everything was fine.

In this episode of The Sober Motivation Podcast, Jessica shares her journey through hidden alcoholism, mommy wine culture, trauma, undiagnosed ADHD, addiction in motherhood, and the moment she finally realized she couldn’t keep living that way anymore.

We talk about:

• using alcohol to finally feel accepted

• the loneli...

Luke spent 14 years selling alcohol while it was slowly killing him. Three rounds of rehab. Hospital visits. Drinking in the morning. On December 30, 2018, he had his last drink.

In this follow-up, Luke walks Brad through what changed in the seven years since. The scene with his daughter screaming "Dad, don't go" as he drove away in tears.

The AA foundation that carried him through year three. The therapist who leaned in and asked the one question nobody had ever asked him: what about you?

You'll hear about: working in the liquor...

Jimmy used to drive his car around the corner, sit alone, and drink vodka all day instead of going to work. At home, he hid bottles behind the sink and inside the toilet cistern, sneaking off mid conversation to top up.

He started drinking at 14. By his mid twenties he was going through three bottles of wine a night. A miscarriage, lost jobs, and a spontaneous flight to Mallorca all came and went. Nothing stuck until he hit a hospital detox at 40, during COVID lockdown, and decided he was done.

Six years later...

Stephanie never thought she had a serious drinking problem. She was successful, working in healthcare, maintaining relationships, and doing everything she could to keep life together on the outside. But behind closed doors, alcohol slowly became the way she coped with anxiety, depression, grief, loneliness, and major life changes.

What started as gray area drinking eventually turned into hiding alcohol, drinking alone in parking lots, blackouts, hospital visits, rehab, and feeling completely trapped inside her own mind.

In this episode, Stephanie shares her powerful sobriety story, including growing up around alcohol, trying to moderate her...

Ian Madsen grew up in Australia around heavy drinking and alcoholism, Ian shares how alcohol became normalized early in life after losing his mother and how that pattern followed him into professional sprint car racing in America. What started as partying and fitting in slowly turned into isolation, hiding alcohol use, treatment stays, losing relationships, and nearly losing himself completely.

In this episode, Ian opens up about the reality of high-functioning alcoholism, trying to moderate drinking, the fear of quitting alcohol, and the moment he realized he had to get sober for himself.

Support...

You don't need a rock bottom to quit drinking. No DUI. No lost job. No moment where everything blows up. For Paula, life looked great from the outside, a beautiful home in South Florida, two kids, a marriage built in the alcohol industry, and a career soaked in alcohol. Nothing was falling apart on the outside or so she thought. She made every soccer practice. She was the homeroom mom. But the hangovers were getting worse, the blackouts had started, and her kids were beginning to see two different versions of her.

In this episode of...

From the outside everything looked perfect. Behind the scenes alcohol addiction was taking over and one night it nearly ended everything.

In this episode Lauren shares her sobriety story from having her first drink at just 10 years old to years of hiding alcohol addiction behind a life that looked put together.

Her drinking escalates over time leading to serious consequences and a life changing moment that forces everything into the open.

After quitting drinking and starting her recovery journey things begin to improve. But a legal substance called kratom unexpectedly...

Bri is almost one year sober. For the year before that she tried to quit drinking over and over, racking up day ones nobody knew about. Two months sober, then a slip. Two months again, another slip. From the outside she was the picture perfect mom. Accountant, wife, two little boys, a pool in the backyard. Behind closed doors it was shots from the freezer on Christmas, weekend blackouts at her own pool parties, and crying in the shower when everyone went home. Then on Easter she pulled her one year old son aside and told him he'd never...

Dr. Donald Crowe was telling patients they needed to stop drinking. Then he'd go home, open two bottles of wine, and pass out. Every single night.

A physician with 40 years in medicine, Donald started drinking in college and spent the next two decades convincing himself it couldn't be that bad because his career was still moving forward.

A possible ALS diagnosis at 40 gave him the excuse to drink harder. He lost his first marriage. He chose alcohol over her. When legal consequences finally forced him into treatment, three months of sobriety cracked open a...

On New Year's Eve 2003, Martin Lockett ran a red light drunk and killed two women, and severely injured a third. They where all long-time members of Portland's recovery community, one 16 years sober, one 17. They were returning home from a clean and sober New Year's Eve party. Martin served 17 and a half years in prison. Today he's 22 years sober, a certified substance abuse counselor, and a national speaker who's devoted his life to preventing the tragedy he caused.

In this raw, unforgettable episode, Martin takes us back to his first drink at 14, the identity struggles that drove...

Quit drinking is not about willpower. It is about the moment you realize you cannot keep living like this anymore.

For over 25 years, alcohol was part of Paul’s life. From the outside, everything looked fine.

But inside, the anxiety was building, the anger was growing, and he was slowly becoming someone he didn’t recognize.

There was no rock bottom.

Just a quiet realization that something had to change.

In this episode, Paul shares what it really looks like to live that way for deca...