In this raw and moving episode, Josh shares his unbelievable journey through addiction, violence, and grief — and how he found his way to sobriety. From being stabbed and shot, to losing his brother to fentanyl, to nearly ending his own life, Josh’s story is both heartbreaking and inspiring. 

Through therapy, music, gratitude, and the 12 steps, he’s learned how to take life “one day at a time.” This episode is really a story of survival, resilience, and hope.

Before we jump in, I have a big announcement! I am partnering with OpenRecovery, a free app designed to act as your 24/7 AI Recovery Coach. They are launching a new community feature where you can join online meetings to meet others just like you, who are on the path of recovery. I’ll be hosting meetings focused on doing 12 step work in a safe, compassionate and empowering space. The meeting is scheduled for later this month and if you’re interested in joining, just download the app for free! I’ll leave links to the Apple App Store and Google Play in the show notes. Just visit odaatchat.com

And in case you didn’t know, I have several free resources you can download on my main website at soberlifeschool.com

So without further delay, please enjoy this episode, and let me know what you think!

Apple App Store link : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/openrecovery-addiction-help/id6446251140

Google Play link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.twelve_steps.twelve_steps&hl=en_US

Guest Contact Info: https://joshdatant.com/

👊🏼Need help applying this information to your own life?

Here are 3 ways to get started:

🎁Free Guide: 30 Tips for Your First 30 Days - With a printable PDF checklist

Grab your copy here: https://www.soberlifeschool.com

🎁Free Journaling Exercise: How To Get Unstuck, Be Consistent & Reach Your Goals

Download Here: https://www.innercompassprogram.com

☎️Private Coaching: Make Sobriety Stick

https://www.makesobrietystick.com

Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music, or you can stream it from my website HERE. You can also watch the interview on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@theonedayatatimepodcast?sub_confirmation=1

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4I23r7DBTpT8XwUUwHRNpB

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8eb438c-5af1-493b-99c1-f218e5553aff/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast

👊🏼Need help applying this information to your own life?

Here are 3 ways to get started:

🎁Free Guide: 30 Tips for Your First 30 Days - With a printable PDF checklist

Grab your copy here: https://www.soberlifeschool.com

☎️Private Coaching: Make Sobriety Stick

https://www.makesobrietystick.com

Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music, or you can stream it from my website HERE. You can also watch the interview on YouTube.

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4I23r7DBTpT8XwUUwHRNpB

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8eb438c-5af1-493b-99c1-f218e5553aff/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast

Hey friend,

Thanks for downloading this episode! My name is Arlina and I’ll be your host.

And if you haven’t yet, check out our YouTube channel and subscribe! You’ll find it by searching “The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast”. Obviously. 

Y’all I don’t know what got into me when we recorded this episode. Maybe it was too much coffee, but I was having such a good day that I was a little loose shall we say??

Anyway I really enjoyed this conversation with psychotherapist and recovery coach Errol McCaffrey. We explore her journey of sobriety, the role of spirituality versus religion, building sustainable self-care practices, and practical tools to manage anxiety. Eryl shares what it was like growing up with an alcoholic parent, her own struggles with drinking, and the lessons she’s carried into her work helping others heal.

The discussion highlights the paradox of sobriety (freedom and overwhelm), the importance of simple daily rituals, why community matters, and body-based practices that help regulate anxiety and stress.

If you enjoy this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and share with a friend. Reviews are how we consistently rank in the top 1% and how you can help others to break free from addiction. Thank you so much for all your support!!

So without further delay, please enjoy this episode, and let me know what you think!

Guest Contact Info: 

https://www.erylmccaffrey.com/higherselfhappyhour

Instagram: @erylmccaffrey

👊🏼Need help applying this information to your own life?

Here are 3 ways to get started:

🎁Free Guide: 30 Tips for Your First 30 Days - With a printable PDF checklist

Grab your copy here: https://www.soberlifeschool.com

🎁Free Journaling Exercise: How To Get Unstuck, Be Consistent andamp; Reach Your Goals

Download Here: https://www.innercompassprogram.com

☎️Private Coaching: Make Sobriety Stick

https://www.makesobrietystick.com

Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music, or you can stream it from my website HERE. You can also watch the interview on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@theonedayatatimepodcast?sub_confirmation=1

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4I23r7DBTpT8XwUUwHRNpB

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8eb438c-5af1-493b-99c1-f218e5553aff/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast

Sobriety isn’t just about putting down the drink—it’s about building a life that supports staying sober. In this episode of Sobriety Reset, I broke down the three phases of getting sober: building a foundation, uncovering and discarding old patterns, and creating lasting change.

The first step in sobriety is setting yourself up for success. This begins with looking at your family history and early survival strategies, which often don’t serve us well in adulthood. From there, it’s about learning new skills:

• Setting boundaries: Learning what you can and can’t tolerate, and teaching others how to treat you.

• Clarifying your values and goals: Aligning your daily actions with what you truly care about.

• Preparing your environment: Removing alcohol, stocking healthy snacks (especially protein for willpower), and setting up positive supports like books, podcasts, and tools.

• Building a sober toolkit: This can include journaling, meditation (even just 12 breaths), supportive community, and strategies for managing emotions.

• Identifying triggers: Noticing what sparks the urge to drink and creating plans for how to respond.

This phase is about doing deeper inner work to clean house. Using journaling, inventories, or therapeutic methods, you uncover resentments, discover the root causes, and discard what’s no longer serving you.

• Make a list of resentments and the specific causes.

• Notice the patterns—especially how coping strategies like people-pleasing or anxious attachment may actually recreate the very situations you fear.

• Clarify what’s truly your responsibility and what isn’t.

• Get support from a sponsor, coach, or therapist for deeper trauma-related work.

Long-term sobriety rests on consistent self-care and connection. It’s about turning healthy practices into lifestyle habits.

• Morning practice: Gratitude lists, journaling, meditation, and movement.

• Physical self-care: Hydration, regular exercise (start small if needed), nourishing foods.

• Spiritual practice: Whether it’s prayer, meditation, or simply connecting with energy and love, find what sustains your spirit.

• Community: Surround yourself with sober people. Science shows we adopt the behaviors and beliefs of those closest to us.

Sobriety lasts when you layer tools, heal root causes, and stay connected. These three phases give you a roadmap not just to get sober—but to make sobriety stick.

1. Journal about your family history and early survival strategies.

2. Write down your top 5 values and compare them to how you actually spend your time.

3. Prepare your environment: remove alcohol, stock healthy snacks, and add sober resources.

4. Start a sober toolkit: include journaling, meditation (try 12 breaths), supportive podcasts, and people you can call.

5. Identify your triggers by looking back at your last few drinking episodes. Make a plan for how to respond.

6. Make a resentment list: name the person, the cause, and how it affected you.

7. Get clarity on what’s your responsibility and what isn’t. Seek professional support for trauma-related issues.

8. Begin a daily gratitude list (5–12 items).

9. Commit to consistent self-care: exercise, hydration, meditation, and journaling.

10. Join or re-engage with a sober community, online or in person.

In this powerful and thought-provoking conversation, meditation teacher and author Billy Winn shares his journey from heavy drinking to finding peace and fulfillment through Zen Buddhist practice. Billy talks about the pivotal moment that led him to stop drinking, the lessons he learned from opening (and later closing) an alcohol-free bar, and the transformative power of meditation in rewiring the brain. He opens up about childhood adversity, workaholism, burnout, and how he ultimately found freedom by realizing he was already enough—without needing to do more or be more. 

We also discuss his new book The Empty Path: Finding Fulfillment Through the Radical Art of Lessening and his work shaping psychedelic-assisted therapy policy in Colorado. This is a must-listen for anyone curious about sobriety, mindfulness, or how to find peace in a busy world.

Before we jump in, I wanted to let you know I am about to publish the second episode of “Sobriety Reset” which will be focused on what I think are the 3 phases of recovery, and this is after 31 years of personal research and experience. I’m going to cover everything from how to rebuild self-esteem and why that’s important, how to identify the root causes that may compel you to drink, and of course, emotion management to make sobriety stick.

Please be sure to subscribe to the YouTube Channel. There will be a link in the show notes at odaatchat.com, and if you enjoy this episode, it would mean the world to me if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It might surprise you to know that according to the analytics, less than 1% of our audience will actually leave a review. By leaving a review, it helps others who are suffering to find the podcast and get the life saving resources they need to get and stay sober. You can even think of leaving a review as an act of service! So thank you so much for your support!

And without further delay, please enjoy this episode, and let me know what you think!

Guest Contact Info: 

👊🏼Need help applying this information to your own life?

Here are 3 ways to get started:

🎁Free Guide: 30 Tips for Your First 30 Days - With a printable PDF checklist

Grab your copy here: https://www.soberlifeschool.com

🎁Free Journaling Exercise: How To Get Unstuck, Be Consistent andamp; Reach Your Goals

Download Here: https://www.innercompassprogram.com

☎️Private Coaching: Make Sobriety Stick

https://www.makesobrietystick.com

Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music, or you can stream it from my website HERE. You can also watch the interview on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@theonedayatatimepodcast?sub_confirmation=1

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4I23r7DBTpT8XwUUwHRNpB

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8eb438c-5af1-493b-99c1-f218e5553aff/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast

Today I’m speaking with Edward Latimore—author of “Sober Letters to My Drunken Self”. He’s a former professional boxer, and in this episode, we explore his powerful journey from growing up in the projects, his life of addiction, and how he is now living a life of sobriety, self-mastery, and success. 

Edward’s story is about resilience, personal accountability, and the power of writing and community as tools for healing.

Before we jump in, let’s talk a little bit about recovery resistance. It’s a term I use to describe that feeling of rebelliousness when we hear suggestions of things we could do for our recovery. It could be anything from journaling every morning, to spending 30 minutes meditating, letting go of toxic relationships, or even attending 12 step meetings, just to name a few.

I actually dedicated a whole chapter in my book “The 12 Step Guide For Skeptics: Clearing Up Common Misconceptions Of A Path To Sobriety”. The truth is, we experience internal resistance for a good reason, which is ultimately rooted in our subconscious need for safety. But there comes a point when we recognize that some of our habits actually threaten our safety, like addiction, and we need to take action to change that.

This is where it gets sticky. You might be aware that you need to change, so you seek answers, but actually taking action - like the exercise, meditation, self-reflection, step work, therapy etc - we balk. We get distracted. We procrastinate. 

To combat this resistance, I have a few solutions listed in the book, but here’s a quick 4 step process to help you close the gap between knowledge and action.

1. Recognize that resistance or procrastination is a stress response. Try to give yourself some compassion.
2. Practice a technique called “chunking”. Take the task at hand and break it down into tiny little steps.
3. Commit to taking action for 2 minutes at a time
4. Do a 3 second countdown and MOVE. Don’t think, just act on that first 2 minute chunk.

That’s it! And chances are, once you start taking action, momentum will carry you through.

If that feels helpful to you, please be sure to get a copy of my book through Amazon. It’s full of mindset shifts, little bits of wisdom I’ve picked up over the years, and some practical suggestions on how to get and stay sober. 

So without further delay, please enjoy this episode, and let me know what you think!

Guest Contact Info: 

👊🏼Need help applying this information to your own life?

Here are 3 ways to get started:

🎁Free Guide: 30 Tips for Your First 30 Days - With a printable PDF checklist

Grab your copy here: https://www.soberlifeschool.com

🎁Free Journaling Exercise: How To Get Unstuck, Be Consistent andamp; Reach Your Goals

Download Here: https://www.innercompassprogram.com

☎️Private Coaching: Make Sobriety Stick

https://www.makesobrietystick.com

Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music, or you can stream it from my website HERE. You can also watch the interview on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@theonedayatatimepodcast?sub_confirmation=1

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4I23r7DBTpT8XwUUwHRNpB

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8eb438c-5af1-493b-99c1-f218e5553aff/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast

✨ New Mini-Episode: Sobriety Reset ✨

If you’re starting (or restarting) your first 30 days of sobriety, this episode is for you. I share three powerful shifts that make the early days less overwhelming and a lot more doable.

Sobriety isn’t about perfection—it’s about simple strategies that keep you steady. 💛

🎧 Listen now on the One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast: https://www.odaatchat.com

Highlights:

1. A mindset trick that instantly takes the pressure off.

2. The hidden reason isolation makes recovery harder.

3. A surprising everyday factor that drains your willpower.

4. The real meaning behind “boredom” in early sobriety.

5. A simple shift that helps you build momentum instead of relapse.

👉 Tune in for the full episode and discover how these can change your first 30 days.

Contact Info: IG: @arlinaallen 

👊🏼Need help applying this information to your own life?

Here are 3 ways to get started:

🎁Free Guide: 30 Tips for Your First 30 Days - With a printable PDF checklist

Grab your copy here: https://www.soberlifeschool.com

🎁Free Journaling Exercise: How To Get Unstuck, Be Consistent & Reach Your Goals

Download Here: https://www.innercompassprogram.com

☎️Private Coaching: Make Sobriety Stick

https://www.makesobrietystick.com

Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music, or you can stream it from my website HERE. You can also watch the interview on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@theonedayatatimepodcast?sub_confirmation=1

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4I23r7DBTpT8XwUUwHRNpB

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8eb438c-5af1-493b-99c1-f218e5553aff/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast

Hi Friend, Thanks for downloading this episode, my name is Arlina and I’ll be your host.

To contribute to recovery awareness, I am going to be publishing a series of weekly mini episodes for those who are thinking about getting sober or those who need a little bit of a sobriety reset. In fact, that’s what I’m going to call it: Sobriety Reset. They will be short episodes focusing on the basics of sobriety. Everything from how to prepare for your first week sober, how to talk to family andamp; friends about it, and what to do when you feel overwhelmed by cravings. This idea is to present the mindset, tools, and practices that will help you reach 100 days and make sobriety stick! I’ll post these to Youtube as well, so be sure to subscribe andamp; share with a friend!

In this conversation, I’m speaking with Dr. Jason Giles, author of Outsmart Your Addiction. Dr Giles shares his powerful journey from fentanyl addiction to 25 years of recovery as a physician. 

What really struck me about his story is that you can be very smart, extremely ambitious, successful by all accounts, and still be vulnerable to addiction. 

He opens up about battling imposter syndrome, the belief that life without substances meant “the fun was over,” and the turning points that led him to seek help. Dr. Giles reflects on the role of spiritual awakening, the importance of asking for help, and the lessons he’s learned about recovery, neuroscience, and resilience. The discussion highlights how shifting our internal narrative can be the key to lasting change and why he remains hopeful about the future of recovery.

So without further delay, please enjoy this episode, and let me know what you think!

Contact Dr Giles:

Book: Learn the Powerful System Developed by a Doctor to Conquer his own Fentanyl Habit

👊🏼Need help applying this information to your own life?

Here are 3 ways to get started:

🎁Free Guide: 30 Tips for Your First 30 Days - With a printable PDF checklist

Grab your copy here: https://www.soberlifeschool.com

🎁Free Journaling Exercise: How To Get Unstuck, Be Consistent andamp; Reach Your Goals

Download Here: https://www.innercompassprogram.com

☎️Private Coaching: Make Sobriety Stick

https://www.makesobrietystick.com

Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music, or you can stream it from my website HERE. You can also watch the interview on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@theonedayatatimepodcast?sub_confirmation=1

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4I23r7DBTpT8XwUUwHRNpB

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8eb438c-5af1-493b-99c1-f218e5553aff/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast

Hi friend, welcome to another episode! If you’re new here, my name is Arlina, I’ve been sober for 31 years and I’m the author of the #1 best selling book “The 12 Step Guide for Skeptics: Clearing up common misconceptions of a path to sobriety”. 

And if you hear some snoring in the background, no thats not my husband Bob, its my english bulldog Teddy.

Today I’m so excited to share a powerful conversation with author and long-term sober writer, Kyla. She’s been sober for over a decade and has such a refreshing perspective on recovery, self-worth, and healing.

We talk about the challenges of growing up feeling “not enough,” how external validation can become its own addiction, and the freedom that comes from consistency in recovery practices. Kyla also opens up about her work with therapy and self-love practices, and how these tools continue to deepen her sobriety and sense of self.

This episode is packed with wisdom, humor, and honesty—and I think you’re going to walk away feeling both encouraged and inspired to keep showing up for yourself, one day at a time.

So without further delay, please enjoy this episode, and let me know what you think!

👊🏼Need help applying this information to your own life?

Here are 3 ways to get started:

🎁Free Guide: 30 Tips for Your First 30 Days - With a printable PDF checklist

Grab your copy here: https://www.soberlifeschool.com

🎁Free Journaling Exercise: How To Get Unstuck, Be Consistent andamp; Reach Your Goals

Download Here: https://www.innercompassprogram.com

☎️Private Coaching: Make Sobriety Stick

https://www.makesobrietystick.com

Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music, or you can stream it from my website HERE. You can also watch the interview on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@theonedayatatimepodcast?sub_confirmation=1

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4I23r7DBTpT8XwUUwHRNpB

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8eb438c-5af1-493b-99c1-f218e5553aff/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast

 “The degree of magic you experience in your life will be in direct proportion to the degree you surrender and let go.”

Hey friend,

My name is Arlina and I’ll be your host.

I actually have a quick story for you to tell you about today’s guest. You may have heard me say that I’ve been feeling burned out, so I decided to take time off to do a “self-care summer”. I had 3 months worth of amazing interviews pre recorded, I wasn’t taking on new clients and the plan was to focus on quieting my mind so that I could listen for God’s will for me and to pay attention to what brings me joy. Really, I have been in a state of surrender. 

This is where it gets interesting. Sometimes I have to book guests months in advance, and that’s what happened with today’s guest. So imagine my surprise when it’s finally time to interview today’s guest Kute Blackson, and guess what… his message is all about the magic of surrender!

He said so many things that have absolutely been haunting me, but like in a good way. For instance he said that sometimes our wants come from wounds, which struck me like a lightening bolt. I can see how we want certain things like success or love, but if it comes from a place of an unhealed wound, that it carries an energy of neediness, grasping, chasing, and dysfunction. So anything that we create from that place, is ultimately not going to feel fulfilling - because the wound still exists! Emotional wounds are like a black vortex. There is no amount of drugs, alcohol, romantic love or achievement that will fill that hole. It needs to be healed.

Such a powerful lesson!

To give you a little more background on today’s guest, Kute Blackson is a transformational teacher, inspirational speaker, and bestselling author of The Magic of Surrender and You.Are.The.One. Known for his deeply spiritual yet down-to-earth approach.. His work has been featured on Larry King Now, NPR, and Impact Theory. Kute empowers people to break free from the conditioning of the past, embrace their true nature, and live authentically—starting with the courage to surrender.

So without further delay, please enjoy this episode with Kute, and as always, let me know what you think!

👊🏼Need help applying this information to your own life?

Here are 3 ways to get started:

🎁Free Guide: 30 Tips for Your First 30 Days - With a printable PDF checklist

Grab your copy here: https://www.soberlifeschool.com

🎁Free Journaling Exercise: How To Get Unstuck, Be Consistent andamp; Reach Your Goals

Download Here: https://www.innercompassprogram.com

☎️Private Coaching: Make Sobriety Stick

https://www.makesobrietystick.com

Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music, or you can stream it from my website HERE. You can also watch the interview on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@theonedayatatimepodcast?sub_confirmation=1

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4I23r7DBTpT8XwUUwHRNpB

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8eb438c-5af1-493b-99c1-f218e5553aff/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast