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.

Yvette's battle with bulimia and addiction began simple enough, with a desire to lose a few pounds, and led her to a life that included homelessness and hopelessness. Today she owns a fitness business in New Jersey and an online gym where she helps women empower themselves to lead their best lives. She invites listeners to visit her website at yvettesalva.com.

Yvette shares her story and shines a light on how helping others helps her stay sober and strong.

Gaby had it all...until it disappeared overnight. Alcohol was a comfort through the difficult years that followed...until it nearly took her life. You might think this would convince her to never drink again, yet she chose to try moderating after regaining her health and was soon back in care fighting to stay alive. Today she is thriving in sobriety and hopes her story will convince others to stay alcohol-free in recovery.

Jean answers your questions about everything from skin picking to song writing with so much honesty she makes herself cry, and shares the feedback from our recent episode about perfectionism and motherhood ("Karen's Story"). Also covered is the meaning of the words "sobriety" and "recovery" - at least what we mean here on The Bubble Hour.

Karen's story will resonate with anyone who has ever drank to numb feelings of inadequacy or depression. Karen was a hard-working high-achiever with everything  under control until she embarked on a challenge she didn't feel she could master to her usual standards: motherhood. What she believed should be the happiest time of her life instead spiralled in a very different direction. Karen looks back on these low times and reflects on how far she has since come as a woman in recovery.