Mary Beth O'Connor went from running from the law as a methamphetamine abuser to handing down the law as a judge. Now twenty nine years in recovery, Mary Beth chronicles her incredible story in her new memoir,  From Junkie to Judge: One Woman's Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction.    In this episode, Mary Beth talks about her perspective on multiple pathways to recovery, her work for LifeRing Secular Recovery and She Recovers Foundation, why she claims "Junkie" as part of her identity, and the ultimate beauty of serving those in recovery.  

Making My Story Useful

SMART Recovery® Podcast, a library of talks on addiction from the leading self-empowering peer support recovery group in the world. Enjoy entertaining, thought-provoking discussion with experts in the field of science-based addiction treatment and recovery.

SMART Recovery provides services for those overcoming addictions of all types.

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DeeAnna Nichols is a Certified Peer Support Specialist at ChangePoint Behavioral Health in Lewiston Idaho. Her recovery journey changed significantly when she discovered SMART in 2015. After trying to attend a SMART meeting and finding no one there that day, DeeAnna decided to take the training to become a facilitator. In effect, she took charge of her own recovery by taking action and hasn't looked back since. DeeAnna now provides support and shares her lived experience with others seeking help. After a lifetime of challenging circumstances and trauma of all kinds, DeeAnna has embraced the fact that by changing her thinking, she can change her behavior. 

Learning to Change My Thinking

Michael Marcum is a licensed professional counselor at the VA, and a former Army sniper. By his own admission he changed "countries, continents, and careers" to try and escape the reality of his substance misuse which plagued him for decades. After multiple stints in rehab and other pathways to recovery, he found SMART and it transformed his life. In this podcast Michael shares his recovery journey and explains why the practical tools and future orientation of SMART finally allowed him to choose a different kind of life.

Taking Back Our Power of Choice

The Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness (USARA) is a statewide nonprofit agency that focuses on connection between people in recovery and the wider world. By sharing their lived experience, USARA staff educates, advocates, and inspires individuals and communities to live more hopeful lives.  In this podcast, USARA's Executive Director Mary Jo McMillen and Associate Director Evan Done talk about the agency's growth and development over time, their personal recovery journeys, and why Utah is a great place to recover.  

Meeting People as Individuals

The Minnesota Recovery Options Act has recently been introduced as a means to require courts to provide a secular alternative for individuals ordered to participate in substance use treatment and as a way to provide information and resources to counselors about secular recovery. Alison Gill is Vice President, Legal and Policy, for American Atheists, one of the organizations involved in the effort to get the bill passed in Minnesota (disclosure: SMART Recovery is also part of the coalition supporting the bill). In this conversation, she talks about the issues involved in advocating for individuals who object to religious-themed recovery treatment, why alternatives are a good thing for society at large, and how this specific bill can act as a nationwide model. Link to Minnesota bill summary and text Related court case: American Atheists Wins in West Virginia Religious Coercion Lawsuit

Because Recovery is Not One Size Fits All

 Compassion fatigue is real. It refers to circumstances where caregivers, professional or volunteer, become mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted and start to wear down. It can produce a downward spiral and lead to individual caregivers leaving the work that still means so much to them.     Fortunately, there are organizations who are trying to help the helpers avoid burnout, and one of those is CAPSA. Headquartered in Ottowa, Ontario, they offer all kinds of training and consulting on health related topics, offering courses such as Compassionate Care: Staying Well While Helping Others.  In this podcast we discuss compassion fatigue, substance use health, the danger of expectations, stigma, and more with Shawn Fisk, an educator and partnership lead with CAPSA. Shawn shares some of his personal story and belief in the possibilities of strong connections with others in mutually supportive relationships.  

Making My Story Useful

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