JUNKYLAND

Andy & Sam pop off about a wide array of recovery related subjects.

For instance, would Sam rather relapse or have sex with his dad.

Sam is the new cohost of Junkyland! He’s a good dude who is an early recovery. Sometimes I think people who are an early recovery actually work a better program than people who have 10 years clean and offer all kinds of great insights. He’s also a funny comedian. Plus, if he relapses and overdoses, I can leverage his death to make a heartwarming tribute episode, which is always great content. It’s a win-win!

Early in my recovery, I had resentment for anyone who’s definition of recovery wasn’t the same as my definition of recovery. After a while, it became clear that my opinions were fueled by nothing but resentment and that wasn’t helping me or anyone else. I went through hellacious withdrawals and wanted everyone else to experience the same, otherwise they didn’t deserve to call themselves “clean”.

Thankfully my opinions have evolved and the definition of recovery is becoming broader and the value of harm reduction is becoming obvious. Brandon and Shianne stop by to talk about how cannabis and pain management have helped them live improved lives that are less painful and more producive. They also talk about the backlash from some of their old friends in recovery.

Today, Brandon and Shianne run the Addicted We Stand Facebook group with 20k members. AWS serves as online resource offering support to people in recovery, as well as being a platform to have conversations about a variety of paths to recovery. The way you recover might not be the same as the way others recover – and that’s OK.

Randall was the lead anchor for channel 4 news in Salt Lake City. Before ubiquitous internet news and streaming services, network television news dominated the airways. Every night, hundreds of thousands of Utahans would tune in to hear Randall’s professional, objective takes on the happenings of the times. Randall was a trusted and well-liked source of information for years and years.

He also spent decades drinking until he blacked out…every. single. night. Randall justified his alcoholism because he was making a comfortable living and was a good provider. Despite the fact that his drinking cost him four marriages and countless memories, Randall continued to drink until passing out every night for decades. Give this episode a listen to hear about Randall‘s realization that no amount of money or prestige could make up for all the destroyed memories and relationships. He could no longer deny the extreme danger of his behavior, it was time for him to begin his journey back to sanity.

Today, Randall has nine years clean and sober. He is incredibly grateful that his drinking didn’t destroy his liver or cause him permanent brain damage; he is mindful of so many other alcoholics who were not so lucky. Randall now works at the Odyssey House in Salt Lake City, using his knowledge of the media to spread awareness and education about the disease of addiction. His new job doesn’t have the glamour or celebrity recognition of his old job, but the feeling he gets being of service to people in recovery brings him more joy than being the top news anchor in Salt Lake City ever could bring him.

In 2017, Jason was sitting in jail, kicking heroin when he had the idea for Addicts Fighting Back: a nonprofit organization of people in recovery, fighting back against the disease of addiction by organizing fun events for people in recovery, and building friendships and connections. Sean got out of jail in 2018, joined the AFB Facebook group and said, “let’s blow this thing up” and that’s exactly what they’re doing y’all.

Today, AFB is growing rapidly, with chapters in Utah County, Salt Lake County and plans to expand into Orange County.  Give this episode a listen to hear Jason and Sean’s stories and their belief in service. Andy and Sean also talk about the burdon of living with felonies while trying not to harbor poisonous resentment. Sean processes his anger by listening to uplifting music and Andy does it by talking about eating butts.

In 2017, Amy was homeless on the streets of Salt Lake City. Over the span of two years, she was arrested seven times and was selling meth to pay for her heroin use. Despite all of this, she still didn’t believe she was an addict. Only after checking her ego, processing her trauma and being vulnerable to enough to accept help from others did Amy begin to recover. Now she is a beacon of hope in the recovery community and devotes her work ethic and intelligence to be of service to others in recovery, working at the Odyssey House in Salt Lake City. Give this episode a listen to hear Amy’s amazing story of transformation and to once again hear Andy babble incoherently in another desperate attempt to say something interesting.

Jordan is another one of my homies I met in treatment and guess what folks, he’s doing well and started his own treatment center. Neat! Diamond Tree Recovery is very holistic and centered around proper nutrition. I’m not sure what holistic means but Jordan’s knowledge and enthusiasm saved the day. We also caught up on old times and wondered what hypothetical scenario could possibly drive us to turn back to active addiction. Also, I managed to shoehorn in a couple jokes about butts.

Jackson and Joshua are the alumni coordinators at Recovery Ways and they stopped by to chat about the challenges of organizing activities during a pandemic plus the differences between in-person and support and webcam support: Shocker: in-person support is much better. Plus Joshua talks a about the benefits of meditation, Jackson talks about the benefits of fitness and Andy talks about the benefits of eating a$$.

My friend Nicholas stopped by to talk about food addiction and life. Nicholas is one of the most beloved comedians in Salt Lake City and was nice enough to stop by to chat about his long struggle with food. Like drugs, food can offer a reprieve from life‘s challenges and hardships and Nicholas opens up about this with great honesty. My description isn’t really doing it justice but this is a really powerful episode, gang. Y’all are gonna love it.

My friend Nicholas stopped by to talk about food addiction and life. Nicholas is one of the most beloved comedians in Salt Lake City and was nice enough to stop by to chat about his long struggle with food. Like drugs, food can offer a reprieve from life‘s challenges and hardships and Nicholas opens up about this with great honesty. My description isn’t really doing it justice but this is a really powerful episode, gang. Y’all are gonna love it.