An All Night Place - Secular AA

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

If AANP speaks to you, ⁠⁠⁠follow the show⁠⁠⁠ and never miss an episode.

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?

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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.

Long before he understood why, Malcolm learned to retreat into art.

If AANP speaks to you, ⁠⁠⁠follow the show⁠⁠⁠ and never miss an episode.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.

If AANP speaks to you, ⁠⁠⁠follow the show⁠⁠⁠ and never miss an episode.

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

From Phoenix to San Francisco, from the desert playa to a jail cell.If AANP speaks to you, ⁠⁠⁠⁠follow the show⁠⁠⁠⁠ and never miss an episode.

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.

If AANP speaks to you, ⁠⁠⁠⁠follow the show⁠⁠⁠⁠ and never miss an episode.

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

Three years ago, Bunnie woke up on the floor of a padded jail cell convinced that her life had finally hit bottom.

If AANP speaks to you, ⁠⁠⁠⁠follow the show⁠⁠⁠⁠ and never miss an episode.

Her car was disappearing. Her home was disappearing. Her career was slipping through her fingers. Yet somehow, when the fog lifted, she felt something she hadn't felt in a very long time: hope.

In this raw and deeply honest conversation, Bunnie reflects on 1,127 days of sobriety, the surprising joy she found in AA, surviving pregnancy, domestic violence, health scares, and learning that recovery isn't about becoming perfect. It's about becoming willing.

This is a story about surrender, accountability, forgiveness, and discovering that the miracle isn't waiting somewhere in the future. Sometimes the miracle is simply staying long enough to see the light come back on.

Bunnie's previous share is here:

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/an-all-night-place/episodes/Episode-43---Bunnie-Z-e2j6mfd

Sarcasm and Vodka.

Josh shares a brutally honest, darkly funny, and deeply human story of alcoholism, relapse, trauma, identity, recovery, and rebuilding a life from the ashes of self-destruction.

From growing up in a small conservative town in Indiana, to years spent surviving on “sarcasm and vodka,” Josh reflects on chronic relapse, toxic relationships, therapy, AA, LGBTQ+ identity, shame, survival, and the slow, stubborn process of learning how to live sober.

What emerges is not a polished recovery fairytale, but something far more powerful: a raw account of somebody learning, imperfectly and often begrudgingly, how to stop running from themselves.

Equal parts hilarious, heartbreaking, self-aware, and hopeful, this is a conversation about what happens when survival mode finally stops being enough.

This episode contains discussions around addiction, trauma, abuse, relapse, mental health, and recovery.

What happens when someone who openly admits he’s “full of shit” decides to build a life around honesty, recovery, and gratitude?In this deeply personal and unexpectedly funny share, corded during a "Grati-Thursday Meeting, Dave unpacks the word GRATITUDE by turning it into a backronym:Growing Recovery Around Trust, Integrity, Tolerance, Understanding, and Daily Effort.From growing up in South Africa, military service, commercial radio, and alcoholism, to rehab, secular AA, and finding community in An All Night Place, this is a raw and thoughtful share about learning how to trust yourself after years of letting yourself down.Dave explores recovery as a process that never stands still, comparing it to a hot air balloon that either rises or falls depending on the work we put in. Along the way, he reflects on tolerance, grief, cultural understanding, daily effort, and the strange, beautiful reality of discovering peace without alcohol.Equal parts humour, insight, irreverence, and sincerity, this episode is a reminder that recovery doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and that growth often begins with simply being willing to learn.“Those weights don’t get lighter. We get stronger.”

Almost four decades sober, one sponsor-turned-wife, a secular approach to recovery, and a lifetime of lessons earned the hard way.

Ernie shares his journey from a seven-day-a-week drunk and bar fighter to a man living a calm, grounded life in long-term recovery. With humour, grit, vulnerability, and zero sugar-coating, he speaks about atheism in AA, PTSD, Vietnam, relationships, emotional honesty, science-based recovery, and why newcomers still matter most.

From “go to meetings and don’t drink in between” to “how old will you be if you don’t start?”, this is a conversation filled with lived wisdom rather than slogans.

Whether you’re newly sober, questioning your path, or decades into recovery yourself, Ernie’s share is a reminder that recovery is less about perfection and more about staying present, staying honest, and staying alive.

“Trust your experience. Stay busy. Be easy on yourself. Life happens when you make other plans.”