In this special episode, Ashley Loeb Blassingame sits down with her mother, Hillary Clayson Loeb, to understand a mother’s perspective on addiction. They discuss everything from how Hillary felt when Ashley would disappear, to what it was like attending family therapy sessions,  and why people are so uncomfortable talking about addiction, to how individuals can support family members of those who struggle with SUD. 

Hillary’s recollection of Ashley's battle against SUD is intimate, heartbreaking, and honest yet filled with inspiration. This episode beautifully captures the love of a mother for her daughter. 

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• Instagram |  @hillarydillary8

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Mary Beth O’Connor is a retired Administrative Law Judge who has been clean and sober for 27 years. Substance use disorder is only part of her story as she is also in recovery from abuse and trauma. Mary Beth currently serves as the Director and Secretary for She Recovers Foundation and is a Director for LifeRing Secular Recovery.

In August 2020, Mary Beth had an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, I Beat Addiction without God. And in November 2020 she had an op-ed published in the Philadelphia Inquirer in support of a safe injection site, I was a federal judge, and I support Safehouse. Here’s why.

Mary Beth’s memoir writings have been published in Memoir Magazine, Awakenings, The Noyo River Review, The Fault Zone, Carry the Light, and Ravens Perch. She is working on a full-length memoir with the working title From Junkie to Judge: Recovery without God.

Mary Beth can be reached at [email protected] and her website is junkietojudge.com.

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• Junkie to Judge Website |  junkietojudge.com

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Reema Zaman is an award-winning writer and speaker. She is the author of the memoir, I Am Yours, and the forthcoming dystopian novel, Paramita. She is the creator and lead writer of the TV show Snap. Born in Bangladesh and raised in Thailand, she now lives in Portland, Oregon with her rescue chihuahua, Fia the Fierce. You can find her @reemazaman and www.reemazaman.com.

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• S1 E2 of The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast | Bahan McDermott 

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Arlina Allen is a speaker, life coach, and host of Sobriety: The One Day at a Time Recovery Podcast. She has been free from drugs and alcohol for more than 27 years and originally shared her story in Season 2, Episode 71 of The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast. 

She’s joining us again today for an Ask the Expert where we discuss the power of the mind. In 2020 Arlina began learning about hypnotherapy. Today she dives into the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious mind.

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Tom Farley is a marketing and communications consultant, non-profit executive, and recovery advocate.  He was the Founder and President of The Chris Farley Foundation, named for his younger brother, the late actor and comedian who died in 1997 as a result of substance abuse. In 2008 he co-authored the New York Times bestselling book, The Chris Farley Show, a biography which received national media attention and wide critical acclaim.

Tom Farley was born in Madison, Wisconsin and graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in marketing. He has been featured in People Magazine and USA Today, and interviewed on Today, Good Morning America, The View, Fox News, Larry King Live, and featured in two CNN special reports on substance abuse.

Today, Tom lives in his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin where he works for Rosecrance, a leading provider of behavioral health services with nationally recognized addiction treatment programs.

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• Instagram | @tomfarley2

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Victoria Abel is a therapist, chef, and certified addiction nutritionist. She began her work in 1994 within inpatient treatment, being trained as a therapist working with trauma, family systems, and all types of addiction. During this time, Victoria received her first Master’s degree in counseling.

Being raised in a holistic family, Victoria was reintroduced to naturopathic medicine when her own daughter became ill and a dramatic change in diet changed the trajectory of her daughter’s life. Ever since, Victoria has been hooked on the healing power of food. She completed the Master Nutrition Therapist program through Nutrition Therapy Institute in Colorado and has been able to integrate nutrition therapy into her therapeutic work. She works with clients in a multitude of venues to provide support, encouragement, education, and hands-on skills to help people heal their relationship with food.

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Markisha Dryden’s story is one that truly shows that we do recover. Being born to parents who struggled with substance abuse, Markisha was the youngest of three kids raised primarily by her grandmother. 

After being introduced to crystal meth by a boyfriend, her story includes having multiple children, jail, check fraud, abuse, multiple cases with child protective services, losing parental rights, and placing a child for adoption. 

After attending 20 recovery programs, something finally changed for Markisha. Today she is happy, healthy, and sober, and she’s been able to begin restoring relationships with her children and her husband.

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Dr. Jason ZW Powers is the creator of the Positive Recovery© approach to treating addiction and serves as Chief Medical Officer of Positive Recovery Centers. Dr. Jason has a private addiction medicine practice in Houston, Texas, works as an interventionist, and is a published author of When the Servant Becomes the Master (2nd Edition) - the a A-to-Z guide of all things related to addiction, and The Positive Recovery© Daily Guide, a self-help guide full of positive interventions that are designed to intentionally boost what leads to human happiness: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement. 

Dr. Jason is board certified in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine. He received a Masters in Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Jason currently resides in Houston with his wife and 3 children.

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Samantha & Nicole Senia are a dynamic, passionate mother daughter duo supporting each other in sobriety. 

Samantha is a born entrepreneur. When her marriage fell apart, she drowned herself in chardonnay until she was no longer functioning. With sheer grit, she joined the road to recovery and started a new empire out of her garage, determined to teach her two kids, Nicole and Brandon, that they can do anything they set their mind to. 

Nicole is a creative soul with a mission to remove the stigma associated with sobriety Nicole was on a fast track to success on her artistic path when addiction to drugs and alcohol derailed her plans. After getting sober, Nicole is pursuing her passion for singing and songwriting and completing her college degree at Loyola Marymount University.

Today, Samantha is the CEO of Elite Home Staging and Elite Maison, a furniture collection, where she has garnered numerous accolades for being one of the most sought-after stagers in Southern California. She works with her daughter Nicole who is one of the top saleswomen at Elite Home Staging.

The mother daughter duo recently started THE POWER OF WE, a podcast that peels back the curtain on sobriety, sanity, and survival.

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Stephen Donnelly’s memoir, A Saint and a Sinner, details the rise and fall of a beloved Catholic priest living two lives. Having been enticed by a lifestyle that involved drinking and drugging in his 20’s, it may seem odd that Stephen entered seminary to become a priest in his 30’s. 

But at the age of 42, Stephen was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. He stood before God, the bishop, and the congregation, and made promises he struggled to keep. Three years into his priesthood Stephen descended deeper into a world of cocaine, alcohol abuse, and relationships with women.

When his drug use became known, fellow priests intervened, and after multiple stints in rehab, Stephen turned his life around and became well-known in Alcoholics Anonymous circles as the “Irish priest with a problem.” 

Stephen’s memoir includes many stories about repentance, regret, transformation, forgiveness, and redemption. His story is a brutally honest reminder that drug addiction can affect anyone - even a Roman catholic priest.

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• Website & Book | asaintandasinner.com

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