What happens when the people who were supposed to want you... don't?

Sky's story begins with childhood trauma, rejection, and a desperate search for somewhere to belong. That search led to alcohol, drugs, abusive relationships, foster care, unimaginable loss, and years of believing she was invisible.

But recovery had other plans.

With honesty, humour, and remarkable courage, Sky shares how sobriety became more than simply putting down the drink. It became a journey of finding her voice, embracing her creativity, and learning that healing isn't about becoming someone new. It's about finally becoming who you were all along.

Whether you're new to recovery or have years of sobriety behind you, Sky's message is both powerful and deeply reassuring:

"You're not too much. You've never been too much."

Join us for another moving conversation from An All Night Place, where recovery has no curfew, and no one has to walk the journey alone.

"Old skaters never die..."

Nate started drinking at thirteen, finding in alcohol an escape from anxiety, trauma, religious rigidity and questions about who he really was. What followed were years of escalating addiction, broken relationships, DUIs, hospitalisations, terrifying withdrawal and repeated attempts to get sober, while still searching for a way to belong in recovery without abandoning himself.

In this deeply candid share, Nate talks about coming to terms with his sexuality, the connection between hiding who he was and hiding his drinking, and his struggle with the spiritual language of traditional AA.

After trying to find every possible loophole out of the programme, Nate discovered that recovery didn’t have to demand conformity. Through AA, secular meetings, community and a more open understanding of what a higher power could mean, he began finding a recovery that worked for him.

371 days sober, Nate shares what changed when he stopped trying to do recovery “perfectly” and started learning how to make it his own.

An All Night Place is a meeting of secular AA. These are our stories.

Amanda shares a powerful and deeply personal story of recovery, reflecting on a childhood shaped by a parent's gambling addiction, the loss of her mother, abusive relationships, and years spent searching for acceptance in all the wrong places.

She speaks candidly about how alcohol became a way to cope with unresolved trauma, why getting sober was only the beginning of her healing, and how writing and creativity have become essential parts of rebuilding her life.

Rather than a story about hitting one dramatic rock bottom, Amanda's journey is about peeling back the layers, confronting old wounds, and discovering what it means to finally show up for herself.

From Dead Tour to Day One: Angelique's Story

Angelique spent years following the Grateful Dead across America, chasing music, freedom, and a life that felt limitless. But behind the adventure was an addiction that quietly evolved from party culture into isolation, grief, and survival.

In this episode, she shares a life shaped by childhood trauma, caring for two terminally ill parents, losing her home in a devastating fire, travelling the United States in search of meaning, and the heartbreaking loss of her brother. Through it all, alcohol remained a constant companion... until it couldn't anymore.

With honesty, warmth, and more than a little humour, Angelique tells the story of what finally brought her to AANP, why she chose sobriety, and what life looks like one day at a time.

Sometimes recovery doesn't begin with a dramatic moment. Sometimes it begins with a single decision to put the bottle down.

What happens when your primary addiction isn't just alcohol, but escape itself?

In this deeply honest, hilarious, and profoundly moving share, Tristen Michael ("TJ Starter the Third") explores growing up with impossible standards, learning to perform a version of yourself that everyone else could accept, and discovering that recovery isn't about becoming a better person, it's about finally becoming an actual person.

From hiding candy in the lining of a rehab bag and smuggling coffee grounds behind paintings, to unpacking gender identity, family expectations, trauma, rage, shame, and the exhausting pursuit of perfection, this episode is a masterclass in self-compassion without sentimentality.

This is a story about authority issues, emotional survival skills, queer identity, learning to live in your own body, and discovering that recovery isn't about fixing what's broken.

It's about learning that you were never broken in the first place.

What if sobriety wasn't something you achieved once, but something you tended every day?

In this deeply personal share, Raven takes us from a childhood marked by abandonment, through addiction, grief, abusive relationships, loss, chronic pain and repeated attempts to rebuild a life worth living. Along the way she discovers that recovery isn't about finding the perfect spell, but about tending a daily practice.

As a Pagan witch in a secular recovery community, Raven offers a unique and deeply human metaphor: sobriety is like a cauldron. It needs community, gratitude, patience, meetings, honesty, grace and constant attention. Left unattended, it spoils. Carefully tended, it becomes the very thing that keeps us alive.

Whether you're in recovery yourself or simply interested in resilience, this episode is a moving reminder that healing isn't magic. It's showing up, one day at a time, to stir the pot.

When He Withdrew, He Drew | Malcolm's Story

Long before he understood why, Malcolm learned to retreat into art. As he puts it, when he withdrew, he drew. What began as a childhood refuge would become one of the threads running through a life marked by trauma, addiction, resilience and recovery.

In this episode, Malcolm traces the path from an abusive home and undiagnosed ADHD to the club scene, cocaine addiction and, eventually, rehabilitation and sobriety. Along the way, he shares stories that are by turns funny, unsettling and unexpectedly profound.

There are memorable observations throughout: discovering that other people saw him very differently from the lonely outsider he believed himself to be; learning from a mentor that some people complain about problems while others solve them; and his wry conclusion that finding the right therapist can be difficult "when you're smarter than the therapist."

What emerges is not a neat redemption story, but the account of someone slowly making sense of himself. Malcolm speaks about reaching bottom, finding support where he least expected it, and finally confronting burdens that had been sitting in the dark for decades.

His favourite metaphor captures it best. Life had been like living in a house with all the lights switched off. Recovery wasn't about becoming somebody new. It was about finally finding the switch, seeing what had been there all along, and beginning the work of cleaning up room by room.

This is Malcolm's story.

From unimaginable trauma to the promise of recovery, Skye's story is one of survival, resilience, and hope.

In this profoundly moving episode of the An All Night Place Podcast, Skye shares her journey through childhood abuse, addiction, loss, violence, homelessness, mental health struggles, motherhood, relapse, and recovery. Through experiences that would have overwhelmed many, she discovered something remarkable: that healing is possible, and that no one is beyond hope.

Today, Skye is active in recovery, sponsors others, serves her fellowship, and continues learning how to live instead of merely survive.

This episode contains discussions of physical, emotional and sexual abuse, addiction, suicide attempts, and other potentially distressing topics.

Whether you are new to recovery, walking alongside someone who suffers, or wondering if life can get better after years of pain, Skye's message is simple and powerful:

"I don't have to drink today."

Join us for a story of courage, perseverance, and the miracle of one day at a time.

#AnAllNightPlace #AANPPodcast #Recovery #Sobriety #OneDayAtATime

Tony celebrates 365 days sober by telling the story that got him there.

Born into a chaotic and unconventional family, Tony grew up surrounded by addiction, poverty, violence, and contradictions. Determined not to become what he saw around him, he instead found himself following a path that led through cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, Burning Man, heartbreak, toxic relationships, grief, caregiving, and ultimately alcoholism.

What follows is a brutally honest, often hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking account of a life spent searching for belonging, identity, acceptance, and escape.

From Phoenix to San Francisco, from the desert playa to a jail cell, Tony shares the events that led him to his first year of sobriety and the lessons he learned along the way.

This is a story about survival, accountability, recovery, and what can happen when the person you finally stop running from is yourself.

One year sober. One extraordinary story.

Luke thought he was different.

Smarter. Tougher. The guy who could drink all day, surf all weekend, and somehow keep life together. Until alcohol stopped being part of the adventure and became the entire story.

In this candid and often funny share, Luke reflects on the years he spent chasing freedom through alcohol, only to discover that his world had become smaller, lonelier, and completely controlled by the next drink. From secret alleyway beers and failed attempts to quit, to finding a sponsor, building a recovery community, and learning how to ask for help, Luke's story is one of persistence, honesty, and hope.

With humility and humour, he shares how recovery gave him something alcohol never could: a chance to find out who he really is. Today, married and sober, Luke reminds us that a life beyond our wildest dreams isn't something that arrives overnight. It's something built one day, one meeting, and one honest conversation at a time.

PLEASE NOTE: Luke has shared at AANP twce before. You may want to check out both.

First share:

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/an-all-night-place/episodes/EPISODE-87---Luke-Z-e353028

Second share:

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/an-all-night-place/episodes/I-Couldnt-Outthink-Alcohol--Episode-117---Luke-Z-e3ic4d2