Robert Apple a recovery blogger and the founder of the Sober Apple Blog joins us today on The SHAIR Podcast.
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Robert (Bob) Apple, currently lives in Santa Maria California, but lived in the Silicon Valley for forty years. He was married twice, had two great kids, a boy and a girl. He worked many years for UPS. He also owned several businesses; video store, video production, a bar (not as much fun as you think), and had a partner in four Quizno’s franchises.
Several years ago, at the age of 55 years old, he became addicted to alcohol, and prescription drugs. His life began to unravel and was forced to retire from his job at UPS after 27 years as a driver. He became an absolute mess and had become someone he could barely recognize. His behavior was erratic, a chronic liar, undependable, aimless, and lonely. His family and friends could no longer take what he was doing to himself and stayed away.
A month after he retired from UPS, he entered his first of three rehabs. He couldn’t seem to understand why he couldn’t stay sober. When he got out of the last rehab, he knew if he drank again or took drugs he would die. The problem was, he didn’t know how to stop. He always had the best intentions when he would leave rehab, but as soon as life got tough he would start the cycle over again.
Finally out of desperation, Bob made the decision to live in a Sober Living Home. He lived with 16 other people in a Sober Living Home for over two years. He worked very hard to stay sober and change his life. Living in a Sober Living Home saved his life. Being sequestered away from all things familiar to him was key to my recovery. He began to thrive again as a person instead of being stuck and hopeless.
He went from a client to the House Manager after about five months. The house had an unexpected change in management and Bob was asked to take over as house manager. He reveled in my new position as house manager and loved helping others. It was these two years of managing a Sober Living Home that gave him a unique perspective about addiction. In his time as a manger, he had the opportunity to live with many other people (over 60).
This experience has brought Bob to where he is today, blogging about sobriety and sober living. His goal is to be able to share his experiences of addiction, recovery, rehab, and Sober Living Homes, in the hopes that it may help others.
Join us Now as Bob takes us through his amazing journey of recovery!
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J.A. Wright the author How to Grow an Addict joins us today on The SHAIR Podcast.
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Jodi grew up in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and moved to New Zealand in 1990 with her young family. She’s been crafting this novel since she stopped using drugs and alcohol in 1985.
Jodi has been clean and sober since February 1985, and has worked in the entertainment industry since 1992. Her many jobs have included festival director, concert promoter, and show producer. She is also familiar with just about every type of production job related to staging...
J.A. Wright’s How to Grow an Addict, is a novelization about Randall Grange, a young girl who is trying to navigate the testy waters of her family life and come out unscathed despite growing up in a house full of addicts and abusers. It reads like a memoir, a sort of “come clean” string of consciousness that chronicles her rise (or rather, fall) from a young girl to a young woman.
The novel is literally what the title implies, a sort of explanation of a series of factors both genetic and environmental that lead to the rise of a small, precocious, and anxious child becoming a full blown addict. Randall has an abusive father and a mother who has a hard time defending her as it is clear that she’s terrified of losing him (going so far as to get breast implants in a failed attempt to stop him from sleeping around). He behaves like he hates Randall, and she chews her fingernails to nubs as a result – and has a hard time functioning in a normal world without fidgeting.
Randall is immensely likable, and though the reader begins to see her make a series of missteps as she gets older in an attempt to seek out love in “all the wrong places,” the novel never takes on a judgmental tone. Randall is just a girl who’s trying to navigate a very difficult situation that gets increasingly more difficult as life takes away some of her fiercest protectors and supporters. She is selfish, but only in a way that an addict is – someone who cannot see past their impulsive decisions into what the consequences may mean. It doesn’t matter to her as she’s just trying to get by in the only way she knows how. Her family resembles a million families, and some readers might even see some parallels between her family and their own in an alcoholic, abusive father who prioritizes a son above a daughter and creates another monster in the process; her brother who comes to hate her and lack empathy as much as her father does; her mother who is not perfect, but sad and unable to manage an angry and abusive husband, and who turns to anti-anxiety pills and alcohol as a way to cope.
The novel ends with Randall beginning to accept help from those who have to foist it onto her and ends with an uplifting message: people can make a choice to recover and do the right thing. There may be mistakes and trip-ups in the process, but it’s a process worth doing. This is a great book, and even if readers don’t have first-hand experience with addicts or dysfunctional families, Randall feels real-life enough to turn to when it comes to trying to deal with real-life addiction. Readers should definitely give this one a shot.
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Join us now as Jodi takes us though battle with Drugs and Alcohol, the wreckage it caused in her life, when she hit rock bottom and her journey into recovery up until today.
Jim Downs of Big Jim's Walk joins us today on The SHAIR Podcast.
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Big Jim’s Walk, Inc is a non-profit organization bringing awareness to the world of the addiction epidemic. Through this foundation, Big Jim’s Walk has plans to build an addiction recovery center, Camp Redemption, with the help from its’ donors and other community members.
Join us as Jim takes us through here battle with Drugs and Alcohol, the wreckage it caused in her life, when he hit rock bottom and his amazing journey into recovery up until today.
Listen to Jim’s story now!
Clean Date: October 13, 2015
Jim Downs, was born in Fallbrook, California, which is in San Diego County, on January 22, 1969. He was adopted by a very loving family at the age of 3 months. His father passed away when he was three years old. His mother passed away in 2012 from a battle with Alzheimer’s. After the death of his mother, he totally lost it and attempted suicide, including trying to drive his truck into the Arkansas River.
Jim was around 12 years old when he first became involved with drugs and alcohol. Anything he could get his hands on, including beer, wine, pills, pot, cigarettes. When he was 15, he was introduced to meth, which became his drug of choice. Jim’s teenage years were filled with lots of partying, music, and building cars, specifically VW Bugs, or any type of hot rod. After high school, Jim attended Southwestern Junior College, where he was studying jazz, but dropped out. He even attempted the military and joined the Army. Three days later, he was booted out for failing a drug test. He started Haney Technical School’s welding program and dropped out as well. Jim had been building a pattern of not finishing anything, and didn’t realize it at the time.
Jim has never had a high opinion of himself. His self-destruction through drugs and alcohol has not permitted him to know what true happiness. He truly feels that he has wasted most of his life. His biggest fear as an adult is that his children will follow in his footsteps. Life before sobriety made him a mean, twisted, bully.
About a year ago, Jim entered a program of recovery at Panama City Rescue Mission. In July of 2015, he states, “God started knocking at my door”! Every day the knock grew louder and louder. In the month of September, it was so loud that he went to a small community church near his house. That day, he dedicated his life to God. The next day he was back at the bar. A month later, to the exact day, he drank all day in the bar, consumed meth, pills, and smoked weed. He had his first blackout. He didn’t know where he was, who he was, or what he was doing. He was told the next day that he took a baseball bat after his girlfriend and her daughter. He has no recollection. He thanks God that no one was hurt and that he didn’t end up in jail. He immediately admitted himself into a detox program. After five days in detox, he went to the Panama City Rescue Mission and joined the Men’s Long Term Addiction Recovery Program.
Jim is currently on a journey like no other in his life. He is sober and has a mission in life to help others battling addiction. He states, “Jesus saved me, and now HE is my everything, my entire being”. “I am leading by example and know that regardless of the fact that I am a sinner, I will go to Heaven, praise, the Lord, and will continue to be God’s servant”!
The WALK isn’t a story about Big Jim, this is a story of a man, who was saved from addiction, by the healing power of Jesus Christ. Jim is preparing for a spiritual journey, a WALK, sanctioned by God, while bringing a message of HOPE, to all of those affected by addiction. There is LIFE after addiction, there is LIFE after recovery. Please join Big Jim for the WALK.
Sarah Roberts of Sarah Talks Food joins us on The SHAIR Podcast.
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Sarah is 10 years sober from alcohol, and ever since then has been passionate about discovering ways to live a healthier lifestyle. Her book, "The 28 Day Kick the Sugar Challenge," guides you on a 28 day journey towards better health and wellness, while helping you develop greater self-trust, self-respect, and self-love.
Through her research, and by trial and error, she has figured out a formula that allows her to enjoy a healthy weight and maintain good energy, and she wants to share what she has learned with you!
Join us as Sarah takes us through here battle with Alcohol, the wreckage it caused in her life, when she hit rock bottom and her journey into recovery up until today.
Listen to Sarah’s story now!
Clean Date: January 2, 2007