Steppin' Out Radio

Adam's mother was an alcoholic. At 13 he started manipulating her to buy alcohol for him. When Adam was 19 he had to make the most difficult decision of his life after his mother had an accident and went into a comma: he had to sole responsibility of taking her off of life-support. After his mother's death, Adam drank with even more intensity to bury his feelings. This type of drinking went on for several years. After encouragement from his mother in a dream, Adam was able to attend his first AA meeting at the age of 27 and has been sober for over a year now.

Sarah believes she was born an alcoholic because alcoholism runs in her family. The second time she drank she blacked out. Sarah says she was suicidal since she started drinking at the age of 16. Within 4 years of drinking, Sarah hit bottom and with the help of a school councilor she attended her very first AA meeting and has been sober for over 2 years.

Nancy McCann Vericker is the co-author with her son, JP, of their book, Unchained: Our Family's Addiction Mess Is Our Message, the true story of JP's descent into opioid and alcohol addiction, homelessness, violence and now long-term recovery as a co-founder of a Massachusetts treatment program. Their book recounts how through faith, tough love, and twelve-step program, the Vericker family helped their son return home to a renewed life. Unchained provides hope for families grappling with addiction.

Justin's drinking and drug use started increasing during college where he established himself as "the party guy". A week-long binge on LSD led him to his first psych ward and treatment center. Eventually Justin was arrested and kicked out of school three times, which led him to a 3-month outpatient treatment center and sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous. Justin is 25 years old and 3 years sober.

In this very special Roundtable Discussion, we hear from young people in recovery who have already spoken on Steppin' Out Radio, but now discussing such topics as what to expect when you first enter a 12-step meeting, getting a sponsor, the Twelve Steps, and having fun in sobriety.

Complete with feather boa, Nickoleta grew up idolizing glamorous actresses in older movies. Nickoleta's drinking didn't start until college, but looking back she can see how her characteristics led up to her becoming an alcoholic even before she started drinking. Within a few years of drinking, and just beginning to experience blackouts, she crashed and burned with alcohol rather quickly. Nickoleta has been sober since January 2007 and is an amazing example that there is life after alcohol!

Ahmed grew up in the streets of Washington, D.C., where he sometimes had to fight for his life. He started drinking "Cisco" at the age of 13 or 14 to escape both himself and his environment. Having blown his money on alcohol and various drugs including cocaine and Ecstasy, Ahmed filed for bankruptcy at the age of 29. Soon after, Ahmed was to become bankrupted mentally, physically and emotionally, until he found a Young Peoples' meeting in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Bethany started taking sips, or more, from her father's Gin & Tonic drinks when she was a little girl. Her parents divorced when she was 10 and her father committed suicide when she was 17. At the age of 19 Bethany started her road to recovery and has been sober for over 5 years now.

In this special segment of Steppin' Out Radio, a few of our previous guests sit down to discuss tips they've felt worked for them in maintaining sobriety during the winter holidays, a time of year which can be trying emotionally and when addicts can find themselves most tempted to use.

Growing up in Manhattan, in New York City, Alana went to all the best schools. She and her friends all came from affluent families residing on Park Avenue. Alana thinks her first drug was food; she ate to feel good about herself, but her weight gains caused her to binge-and-purge and try cigarettes to lose weight. Her drinking started with those friends during teenage years; despite being underage they were all able to get into bars. One night, she and her friend stopped at every bar they could find on one street in New York. Miles later, she was vomiting in the streets. Despite the gross feelings at first, Alana felt great after.