Louise worked in health care and saw devasting effects of liver disease from alcoholism first-hand. She saw herself as different from low-bottom alcoholics, but eventually, she realized she was in the grip of addiction and needed to quit. Now she uses her medical background to inform others about alcohol risks and to help people make important changes in their lives. In addition to her blog "A Hangover Free Life", Louise was written an ebook and an online course, and many other recovery-related pursuits.

The first guest of 2017 is THE person you've all been wondering about - series creator Ellie Strong. Ellie returns with an update of what has been happening with her life and recovery, and chats with Jean about The Bubble Hour and its impact.

Cory first wrote to Jean (via unpickledblog.com) when she was just 14 days sober. The two stayed in touch over the months that followed, encouraging one another and checking in with updates. When Cory wrote to say she was celebrating one year of sobriety, Jean invited her to share her story with listeners of The Bubble Hour.

Still waters run deep. Kirsten was a quiet, thoughtful child who kept a lot in. She learned to be an outgoing, independent woman who moved through the world with competence and yet, the feelings and thoughts she kept to herself were eating away at her from the inside. Here is her story of pausing to turn inward and heal herself from the inside out.

Courtney is someone you wouldn't expect to struggle, but she has. Born with a malformation of her right hand, she always felt flawed and tried to compensate with exacting standards and high levels of acheivement. Her inner pain crept out in other ways, though. This episode is a solid reminder about comparing our insides to others' outsides.

The mother and daughter relationship can be complicated under the best of circumstances. Many times more so when addiciton comes into play. Mom Leslie recently celebrated one year of sobriety. She and her daughter Amy share their individual perspectives on life before and after Leslie quit drinking.

Many of us spend our time in active addiction keeping secrets and staying silent. We feel like the WORST thing that could happen would be to tell someone, only to find in recovery that it feels GREAT to talk to others about the things we kept locked away. Guest Julie has been recovering on her own and recently connected with a group of other sober women. She has also discovered the joys of writing funny pieces about her experiences and observations.

It can feel awful when someone we care about returns to drinking. How to respond? How to be supportive? What about feeling rejected and diminished? How do we protect our own sobriety while helping others? Jean discusses these questions with a special guest whose voice you may have been missing!

An Olympic hopeful whose dreams were cut short by addiction, Karlyn explains how sobriety gave her a second chance at athletic success and at personal happiness. But neither of those achievements came quickly or easily.    Karlyn speaks frankly about her addiction to alcohol, and the many ways that affected her life. Her book, "The Do-Over" will have readers moving from tears to cheers to nods of understanding, and is a great read for people in recovery as well as those who long to understand addiction from the inside.

If we define ourselves by what we do, it can be hard to remain stable when a big change comes along. For Margaret, retirement could have left her searching for meaning and purpose. Instead, she is looking forward to the freedom to fully be herself.  Join us for a discussion about knowing ourselves from within, instead of that which others say we are.