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When you are new to sobriety, you may think life is now just sitting in church basements.  Early on, you'll see a lot of church basements, but as you grow in your new sobriety, the opportunity to enjoy your life presents itself.  John I and Steve C join in to talk about the debt of gratitude they owe to their 12 step program and how life has become better.

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Many alcoholics have had to deal with the effects of isolation both in active addition and after.  Especially during COVID-19, when you have to social distance, it's easy to hide away and isolate from everyone in the name of good health.  It's easy to stay home and be comfortable isolating in general and make excuses to not go to meetings or call people in the program.  Matt J, John I and Steve C talked about their own issues with isolation and the trap it can ensnare us in.

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It is easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of the moment.  Matt J had a storm come through his town of South Windsor, CT and it left him without power and without some siding.  It could have been worse as just feet from where he lives, trees were down damaging cars and homes.  Seeing his kids freaking out, Matt freaked out on the inside instead of calling people in the program or using his tool.

John I joins him and they talk about how to be prepared for the unexpected moment and how to get through tough moments.  It always passes and it always works out so why wouldn't it this time.

First, Matt talks about the end of a huge recovery podcast, Recovery Happy Hour by Trisha Lewis and what this means for the recovery community.

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Staying on the beam is about what we do everyday to ensure our sobriety.  It's about the little things to maintain our sanity and keep in touch with our higher power.  If left unchecked, little by little, cracks can show up until we get to the point of misery or a drink.

Steve C and John I join the show to talk about how they stay on the beam.

Join us on our website at https://notalonerecovery.com/

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Matt J has been diving into the world of Sober Instagram and where some other social media sites are cesspools, , The sober society on Instagram seems to be something totally different.  It is a place where you can find positive and inspirational messages of sobriety.  Matt found Morgan at https://www.instagram.com/single.40.sober.surviving/ and found a post about how she was "Sober Shamed" by a friend and how hurtful it was.  Morgan has been sober for years, but did not find 12 step groups to be her path to recovery.  She has focused on staying sober by surrounding herself with likeminded people, therapy and the positivity on Instagram.  Matt found recovery a different way and also believes that no one path has a monopoly on recovery.  In this show, Morgan talks about how she drank in secret and how she came from a long line of alcoholics.  She discusses the support her late father provided, what caused her to leave AA and how live has improved.  If Morgan can help one person, she feels her talk is worth it.

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Mark Gantt is the husband of our previous guest, Brianne Davis.  Mark is best known for co-creating, writing, producing, and starring in Crackle’s groundbreaking, Streamy award-winning series, The Bannen Way.  He's also an alcoholic in recovery for the last 32 years.  In this episode, we discuss a short but storied drinking career that ended at the age of 19.  The help he received from those closet and how Mark's Higher Power intervened in unbelievable ways.  Mark also talks about his other drugs of choice, including allure of spending money and how the IRS came coming, just when his Higher Power felt he was ready to handle it.

Check out more from Mark at his website, https://www.markgantt.com/

Mark Co-Produces his wife Brianne's podcast, https://secretlifepodcast.com/

Find more about Debtors Anonymous at https://debtorsanonymous.org/

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Part of working the steps in Alcoholics Anonymous is clearing away the wreckage of the past, clearing away the harms you've done to others and the mess you've made of your life because of your addiction.   Complacency can set in as life gets better with a recovery lifestyle and the threat of changes can cause anxiety.  Matt J is contemplating taking on new responsibilities in his day job and this is causing him great anxiety.  Steve C and John I join the show to talk about their experience of what could go wrong, or Living in the Wreckage of the Future.

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Brianne Davis is an actress that you've seen in Lucifer, Dawson's Creek, True Blood, CSI Miami, The History Channel's Six and so much more.  But Brianne was harboring a secret;  she was a sex and love addict.  After 16 years of sobriety in Sex and Love Addiction Anonymous, she made the decision to break her anonymity and share her journey with a fictionalized account of her life, "Secret Life of a Hollywood Sex & Love Addict." 

Regardless of your drug of choice, you will be able to identify with "Roxanne's" journey.  In this discussion, Matt and Brianne talk about what sex and love addiction is, why she wrote the book and how Brianne wants to help others through a topic that few want to discuss.

You can also catch Brianne on her podcast, The Secret Life podcast where Brianne pulls back the curtain on the deepest, darkest, heartbreaking, and even silly secrets from an eclectic group of guests.

You can buy Brianne's book, Secret Life of a Hollywood Sex & Love Addict here from Brianne's site at https://secretlifenovel.com/

Click here to listen to The Secret Life Podcast on Apple Podcasts

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The idea of Rock Bottom can be a misnomer and can be a hindrance to finding recovery.  It can be easy to compare someone else's bottom to your own and therefore decided I'm, "not that bad."  On this episode, Matt J, Steve C and John I talk about the concept of Rock Bottom and how everyone's bottom can be different.

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We conclude our pass through the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous with Step 12: 

Step 12 - Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to
carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our
affairs.

Step 12 is is a very broad step and can be looked to as the "Sponsorship Step," but it's so much more than that.  John I and Steve C join the show to tell us so much more.

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📫 Get more honest conversations about sobriety delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to The Sober Friends Dispatch, our weekly newsletter where we go beyond the podcast to share real strategies for alcohol-free living. Join our community by clicking here.