I’m 1,049 days into what I like to call my “alcohol retirement,” and this episode is really a bit of housekeeping. After a year of podcasting through Spreaker, I finally decided it no longer made sense to keep paying for a platform that wasn’t really giving me much back. So, I’ve moved everything over to Substack, and in the process, I decided it was time to retire the name “Call Me Donovan” and officially rename the show The Book of Donovan. I’m hoping the podcast feed mess is finally sorted out and that the new show will actually update properly everywhere it’s supposed to.

The reason for the new name (aside from trying to fix the RSS feed issue) is that this show has grown beyond just talking about my sobriety. As I get closer to three years without alcohol, I find myself wanting to talk more about getting older, spirituality, life, technology, and figuring out what really matters. I may be an atheist, but I still believe there’s value in living by good principles and looking for something bigger than yourself without buying into all the baggage that comes with organized religion. The Book of Donovan feels like the right name because this podcast is really just me, page by page, trying to figure life out as I go.

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For episode 81, I talk about approaching my three-year anniversary of “alcohol retirement” and how proud I am that this is the longest I’ve ever gone without drinking. I reflect on the many times in my life that I swore off alcohol, only to convince myself I could handle it differently, and I share a couple of embarrassing and dangerous stories from my drinking years—including drunkenly peeing in a closet and once passing out and hitting my head in my office. I discuss how, even though the end of 2025 and beginning of 2026 have been rough professionally as I face losing a major client, I’m grateful I’m facing it sober rather than making things worse by drinking. I talk about missing the taste and romanticized idea of alcohol, but not the chaos and damage that came with it, and how being sober has improved my health, my outlook, and my ability to weather difficult times. I close by encouraging anyone on a similar journey to reach out, because while I may not have used a formal support group, maybe this podcast—and the people listening—have become mine.

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In this episode, recorded on March 11, I’m grappling with a stinging realization about the nature of business and personal loyalty. After a decade of bending over backwards to provide the very best service for a long-term client, I found out yesterday that I’m being “rewarded” by losing them as a client. I dive deep […]

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Hey, it’s Donovan. Today’s episode is a bit raw — a snapshot of where my head’s been lately. I talk about hitting 928 days sober, but still fighting the noise in my own brain — that restless, scatterbrained feeling that makes me start too many projects and finish too few. Between running my IT business, juggling […]

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In this episode of Call Me Donovan, I dusted off the mic after a bit of a break to catch up and unload about life, health, and the ridiculous state of healthcare in America. I kicked things off talking about guest-hosting on Grumpy Old Geeks with Jason DeFilippo while his usual co-host was living it up at Disneyland

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit donovanadkisson.substack.com

In this episode of Call Me Donovan, I dusted off the mic after a bit of a break to catch up and unload about life, health, and the ridiculous state of healthcare in America. I kicked things off talking about guest-hosting on Grumpy Old Geeks with Jason DeFilippo while his usual co-host was living it up at Disneyland Paris — a fun detour before diving into the not-so-fun topic of health insurance sticker shock.I talked about how I’ve been feeling drained lately — tired all the time despite good sleep and a clean lifestyle — but joked that going to the doctor here in the “land of the free and the uninsured” isn’t exactly affordable. That rolled into a hard look at my own insurance costs as a self-employed small business owner: over $21,000 a year in premiums for a bronze plan with a $16,000+ deductible. Yeah, that’s not a typo — twenty-one grand for the privilege of still paying out of pocket.I ran the numbers (because I’m a glutton for punishment): my family’s health insurance costs are jumping by over 1,000% once the subsidies disappear next year. So, like a lot of Americans, we’ll probably have no coverage in 2026. I made my usual case for universal healthcare — not because it’s perfect elsewhere, but because the current “you’re on your own” model is insane.I wrapped things up asking listeners to share their own marketplace horror stories at callmedonovan.com/voicemail, signed off hoping everyone’s holding up, and reminded y’all — if surviving in this economy doesn’t give you high blood pressure, your next premium notice will.

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I’ll be honest—I don’t know if anything I said in this episode will make a difference, but I had to get it off my chest. The murder of Charlie Kirk has thrown the country into another firestorm, and what frustrates me most isn’t just the tragedy itself, but how the political right is weaponizing it […]

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This one’s a walk down memory lane—literally and figuratively. I was just standing at the office door, staring outside, when a flood of memories hit me. March 2026 will mark 20 years in this house—our first real “house-house,” not a mobile home, not an apartment, but an actual piece of stick-built real estate with roots. […]

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Hey y’all — Donovan here, and in this episode of Call Me Donovan, I go full tilt into the joys (read: hell) of homeownership. What started as a normal Sunday with laundry turned into a plumbing nightmare: backed-up sinks, overflowing washing machine lines, and a trip—or three—to Lowe’s. I recount how my daughter and I […]

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Hey, it’s Donovan — and welcome back to another episode of Call Me Donovan! Today marks 761 days alcohol-free, and I’m reflecting on what it means to get older — not just for us as people, but for the stuff we rely on every day. Namely: our aging vehicles. In this episode, I dive into […]

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