The Way Out Podcast

In this installment of The Way Out, I’m absolutely thrilled to bring you my interview with Life Coach, Author, Speaker, and person in long term recovery Kellan Fluckiger. Kellan shares his journey to and through Recovery to this point with unmistakable transparency and with a clear and powerful message: You can recover, regardless of anything or anyone and then you can discover, develop, and serve yourself and others with purpose through your unique gifts in the spirit of genuine love. As Kellan reminds us, this kind of life is made possible if we’re willing to lean in and do the hard work, we’re being called to do in our personal recovery journeys. Indeed, we can work to heal our emotional injuries, shed counterproductive thought and behavior patterns, connect to a Higher Power or Higher Self, reconnect to and love ourselves, so that we can truly connect to and love others with our unique gifts and talents. This all may sound unattainable, but I assure you it’s not only possible it’s absolutely worth every b

In this edition of The Way Out I’m over the moon excited about bringing you my interview with Author, Poet, Teacher, and person in long-term Recovery Peter Murphy. Peter shares his journey to and through recovery to this point with a candor and wry humor that’s as compelling as it is enlightening. Anyone who is in recovery from addiction is by definition a truly remarkable human being, and Peter is no exception, especially considering his childhood trauma and chaotic family of origin. After years of struggling with the internal and external consequences of alcohol addiction, Peter has a fateful encounter with the Bahai Faith which offered much of what 12-Step Recovery offers us – spiritual connection, community, self-examination, amend making, and abstinence from drugs and alcohol and thus Peter’s recovery journey began in earnest and provided the fertile soil for Peter to uncover and unleash the Poet, Author, and Teacher within him. Far from being a happily ever after, peter experienced a sober bottom that p

I’m Charlie in this 300th rendition of the They Way Out we’re counting down our top ten recovery truths we’ve collectively learned up to this point from each of our individual recovery journeys as well as through the work we’ve done on this very podcast. Each and every person we’ve had the distinct honor of having on the show has taught us and reinforced universal recovery truths that have had a profound impact on our individual recoveries, and therefore our lives and we’ve been able to increasingly incorporate this collective truth into each episode for the sole purpose of aiding you, The Way Out Podcast listener in your journey to and through recovery. Regardless of where you are in that journey, our primary purpose is to Recover Out Loud with as much spiritual and recovery truth as possible so that others understand that Recovery is not only possible, it’s absolutely worth every ounce of effort we put toward it. What’s about to unfold before your very ears is our best effort in presenting a culmination of

In this edition of the The Way Out the finest recovery podcast co-host in all the land had the distinct pleasure of talking with Vince Garrett and as you all will soon find out they had a ton in common. This commonality is no more evident than when they delve into the depravity that intravenous drug use brought out of them in their respective active addictions, such as the insane, reckless things they were capable of just to feed the proverbial monkey on their backs. On the flip side Jason and Vince also discuss the tremendous blessings that came from finding a safe space to share, and how the God of their respective understanding works in the most unexpected ways! Without question this discussion goes unflinchingly deep into the dark spaces and unapologetically into all of the light places so listen up. Contact Vince- siwatugarrett@gmail.com Book recommendation: Narcotics Anonymous: How it works and Why https://www.amazon.com/Works-How-Why-Traditions-Narcotics/dp/1557762554/ref=sr_1_1?crid=MYP1LNSERG9E&k

In this rendition of The Way Out I’m absolutely thrilled to bring you what turned out to be a conversation that was at once extremely resonant and outright entertaining with Amanda White. Amanda is a licensed therapist, author of the new book Not Drinking Tonight – A Guide to Creating a Sober Life You Love, and person in long term recovery since 2015. Perhaps one of the most enlightening aspects of Amanda’s recovery is the immutable truth that our last bottom doesn’t have to be our lowest or worst bottom, that we don’t have to hit a proverbial rock bottom, and then ultimately our bottom is when we stop digging. Equally as instructive is the undeniable value of adding therapy to our program of recovery, especially if we have experienced trauma, adverse childhood experiences, or have a mental health issue. Finally, as you’ll soon hear, much of the work Amanda does professionally and writes about in her new book is centered on the truth that we are not stuck with our default thought and behavior reaction pattern

In this edition of The Way Out The best recovery cohost in the business has a tremendous conversation with new friend, Brett Morris, who created the Recovery Survey Podcast and Co-hosts the Recovery Revolution Live podcast! Brett is also a new Dad, a loving husband and an all-around fantastic human! His passion for spreading the message of recovery is only surpassed by his commitment to it! Brett shares so much of the good stuff in this episode, including how to maintain a healthy balance through it all, which may be the most elusive recovery goal of all so listen up. contact info: brett@recovery-revolution.org http://www.recoverysurvey.com https://m.facebook.com/recoverysurvey https://www.instagram.com/recoverysurvey/ https://mobile.twitter.com/recoverysurvey Book recommendation: NA Basic Text Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text 6th Edition Hardcover: Anonymous: https://www.amazon.com/Narcotics-World-Service-Office/dp/1557767343/ref=sr_1_1?crid=EUN22MQZTI4I&keywords=na+basic+text&qid=1650824418&sprefi

In this edition of The Way Out we have for you a phenomenal interview with addiction therapist, person in long term recovery, and author of The New Book “Resolving Spiritual Skepticism in Recovery: Putting the Universe to Work for You, Andrew Pierce. Perhaps one of greatest hurdles folks have in embarking on the 12-Step program of recovery or the compatible Minnesota Model of addiction treatment is the concept of adopting a Higher Power that can aid in our Recovery. Those of you Way Out faithful that have listened to this podcast for a hot minute know that prior to entering recovery I had deep seeded resentment, skepticism, and an unhealthy dose of ambivalence on the idea of God, especially one that could help me in any meaningful way. Andrew’s work in his new book centers squarely on this barrier that I and many others have faced in a particularly practical manner in that it focuses on what the problem is, which is the maladaptive thought and behavior patterns that make up addiction and precisely how spiritu

In this rendition of The Way Out, our extraordinary co-host Jason speaks with woman in long term recovery Honesty Liller. Honesty is the Author of the new memoir "Scattered Pink: A Diary of a Woman in Recovery" and she is the CEO of The McShin Foundation, a nationally recognized nonprofit Recovery Community Organization based in Richmond, Virginia. Truly living up to her name in her discussion with Jason, Honesty doesn't hold back the truth of how messy, difficult, and beautiful recovery can be as she shares her extremely relatable journey to and through recovery to this point. Out of her harrowing bout with addiction, Honesty began to truly connect to her peers in Recovery at McShin, got to work on her recovery, and began to work for The McShin Foundation, which she credits for saving her very life and his given her true purpose and a meaningful and enduring recovery so listen up. Contact Honesty: honestyliller@gmail.com Instagram: @diaryofawomaninrecovery FB: @honestyliller Recovery Resources and her book:

In this edition of The Way Out, our prodigious co-host with the most has an outstanding discussion with person in long term recovery, peer recovery specialist, mental health professional and recovery advocate Tom Jackson. Tom is a longtime and self-proclaimed "policy nerd" who has been doing recovery advocacy work on the national legislative level since the days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980's. Tom shares his decades long journey to and through recovery to this point with us along with his hard earned wisdom and experience, all of which is yours to relish in the interview that’s about to unfold before your very ears, so listen up. Contact Info: jacksonta@gmail.com Resource links: http://wsh.dbhds.virginia.gov/ https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaRecoveryAdvocacyProject http://recoveryvoices.com/ Book recommendation: The Urge: Our History of Addiction by Carl Erik Fisher: https://www.harvard.com/book/the_urge/ Listen to Carl Erik Fisher’s interview with Charlie in Episode 254: Flourishing After Addiction w

In this rendition of The Way Out I’m beyond excited to bring you an exceptional interview with person in long term recovery on the family side and author of The Connected Leader: 7 Strategies to Empower Your True Self and Inspire Others, Karen Hardwick. Karen shares with us her journey to and through recovery to this point and embodied with it an empowering message of the power of connection. Karen shares how only authentic connection to our true selves and inner truth can result in genuine connection to others which is in many ways the antidote to addiction. The Way Out faithful will recall the familiar refrain of what the 12-Steps remedy on a macro level, and in a word it’s relationships. First, we address our problematic relationship with substances, behaviors, or people. That’s Step One. Next, we address our relationship with a power greater than ourselves. That’s the 2nd and 3rd Steps. In Steps 4 through 7, we address our relationship with ourselves. Then and only then, can we repair and build genuine re

In this edition of The Way Out, our spectacular recovery co-host Jason brings us a must listen interview with a tireless, passionate, and humble servant in the Minnesota Recovery community, Bridge May Sky! Bridge has had a long hard road, especially with her recovery. Service turned out to be the magic ingredient that she needed to achieve meaningful and enduring recovery. Bridge shares her journey to and through recovery to this point and how being of service has completely changed the game for her. A single mother of 5, Bridge is an absolute superstar - a true champion for the recovery community and a fantastic mom to boot! Bridge is also the creator and host of her own live interactive podcast called K.I.S.S. Recovery 101 where both Jason and I had the honor of being guests to share our stories and talk Recovery. In addition, Bridge is also a recovery coach at Minnesota Recovery Connection and true to her M.O. she has some other exciting things in the ‘ol works! You’ll definitely want to stay tuned to hear

In this edition of The Way Out I’m beyond thrilled to bring you an outstanding interview with person in recovery, loyal listener of The Way Out, and now our special guest to share his journey to and through recovery to this point, Ryan Kemmers. I just know all you all will find Ryan’s story super relatable just like I did, from a chaotic childhood, to the impact of alcoholism and addiction in the family to self-medicating mental health symptoms and perhaps most universal the inevitable progression of use to abuse, and ultimately ever deepening addiction and alcoholism. Ryan shares how “Ryan’s Way” as he refers to it didn’t work in attempting to manage his drinking and what it took to finally surrender and ask a Higher Power he had no relationship with and didn’t even understand for help. What happens next, and by next, I mean quite literally the next day, which I refuse to spoil in this here intro, is nothing short of an act of providence and launches Ryan into a 12-Step centered recovery that until that mome

On this edition of The Way Out our tremendous co-host Jason brings us an interview with the Director of a New York based nonprofit organization Hope on a Mission, Cara Mia Bacchiochi. This woman is a true warrior for her community. Her street outreach started and grew on one street corner, simply by loving on the people in the neighborhood by providing those in need with meals and personal hygiene products. Cara shares her journey to and through recovery to this point, how all of her community service came to be, and how it has continued to evolve. Cara’s recovery story is one of redemption and the transformative power of the God of Her Understanding working wonders in her life and as a result the lives of many others so listen up. Contact Cara Mia at hopeonamission@gmail.com Recovery resources and related links: https://www.hopeonamission.org/ https://for-ny.org/ https://www.samhsa.gov/ https://oasas.ny.gov/ https://www.asapnys.org/ Best Piece of Advice: "Stay in your square" Book recommendation: The Four

In this rendition of The Way Out we’ve got an outstanding interview with Interventionist, Recovery Coach, Author, Podcaster, speaker and person in long-term recovery, Rob Lohman. As Rob shares with us in our interview, all the amazing aforementioned titles attached to Rob’s name are the result of his anything but linear journey to and through recovery to this point which is precisely why Rob’s story is so incredibly relatable, enlightening, and moving. After years of sobriety Rob experienced a personal crisis due to what in retrospect amounted to failing to continue to progress and stay connected to his recovery. A crisis, that landed him in prison, and out of that Rob began a renewed journey to a fuller, more enduring and rewarding Recovery that was the result of leaning in and doing the hard work true recovery requires. The results have been nothing short of remarkable for Rob, his family, and for the people his amazing work in Recovery coaching, Podcasting, Speaking, and writing touches and truly helps, al

In this edition of The Way Out Our spectacular co-host Jason has a fantastic interview with person in long term recovery, Edward Charpentier. Edward shares his rollercoaster ride of a journey to and through recovery to this point with us which is jam packed with practical advice and sage recovery wisdom. This undeniable wealth of wisdom Ed shares is no doubt the result of many ups, plenty of downs and years in and out of recovery and proof positive that success is often the end result of repeated failures. Indeed, these failures served as lessons that only strengthened Ed on his path to meaningful and enduring recovery. Our hope is each and every one of you get as much out of this interview as we did, so listen up. Contact Edward at Ejcllc7@gmail.com Book Recommendation: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878424319/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0 Best Advice: Be a man of integrity and do the right thing when no-one is looking. Song that symbolizes recovery to Ed: Easy on

In this edition of The Way Out we have a fantastic interview with public speaker and author in Recovery, Brendon Watt. As a lead facilitator with Access Consciousness, Brendon empowers others to know they are not wrong, that anything is possible, and that they are just one choice away from change. Brendon shares with us his journey to and through recovery to this point as well as a wealth of recovery and wellness wisdom and how his recovery has turned into a superpower in his work in empowering others in their own journeys of personal growth. Recovery affords us the opportunity to lean into the tools of our recovery program of choice and embrace a path to increasingly greater wellness which leads to a state of emotional sobriety and that results in rewarding and enduring recovery and an unmistakable sense of wellbeing. Brendon’s story is proof positive that when we prioritize getting well ourselves first, we can be of far greater service to others as a direct result so listen up. Contact Brendon Watt: https:/

In this rendition of The Way Out Ashley Grimes sits down with Recovery Podcast co-host and all around recovery superstar Jason and, as happens so often here on The Way Out Podcast blows our collective minds at the power of recovery. As you’ll soon hear, Ashely is a true recovery powerhouse. Ashley shares with us her seemingly hopeless journey to and through recovery to this point and how she ended up becoming the President of Florida chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, an organizer with the Florida Recovery Advocacy Project, co-host of the Recovery Revolution Podcast, and perhaps most importantly, she got to be a mother again! There's so much hope and wisdom in this episode so listen up. Contact Ashley: www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-grimes-pmp https://www.facebook.com/aopibull84/ Recovery Resources: www.recoveryvoices.com www.namiflorida.org www.volusiarecoveryalliance.org Book Recommendation: Addiction Manifesto by JR Weaver https://www.amazon.com/Addiction-Manifesto-Weaver-Jr/ Best Pie

In this edition of The Way Out I’m incredibly honored to bring you an exceptionally powerful, illuminating, relatable, and inspiring interview with person in long term recovery and co-founder of Workit Health, Lisa McLaughlin. Lisa and I had a lot in common coming of age in the same era in the Midwest of the U.S., albeit in different cities proper, which made for one of the most entertaining interviews I’ve personally done, and for that matter one of the best we’ve ever had on The Way Out in quite some time. Lisa shares with us her journey to and through recovery to this point with remarkable insight, introspection, and relatability that’s at once revealing and instructive to our own individual recovery journeys. What’s more, Lisa shares the collective experiences that motivated her to found Workit Health along with co-founder Robin McIntosh, which is a tele-medicine care service focused on treating Substance Use Disorder that offers a wide range of services including harm reduction, medication assisted recov

In this edition of The Way Out, recovery podcast co-host Jason has a tremendous interview with two persons in long term recovery and a true power couple in the recovery community, Aleksandra Bembnista and Tony Cassese. Aleksandra is the founder of the nonprofit organization Glorious Recovery, and Tony is an addiction recovery professional. We get to hear their individual stories and talk about how they met. We'll also learn what Glorious Recovery is all about, how they bring joy to people in recovery, and explore what the future looks like for each of them! There's a whole lot of passion for Recovery and Recovery wisdom shared in the enlightening Recovery centric discussion that’s about to unfold right before your very ears so listen up. Best piece of advice: Alex = "Open your eyes! The recovery world is so BIG! Recovery can be whatever you want it to be!" Tony = "Identify and maintain your own balance" and "You can't save your ass and your face at the same time." Book Recommendations: Alex= American Fix by R

In this edition of The Way Out, we have a tremendously insightful and beneficial interview with therapist and accomplished Author of numerous books, including The Proactive 12-Steps: A Mindful Program for Lasting Change, Serge Prengel. At the center of the work in Serge’s new book is two fundamental truths; the first is that in Recovery, indeed fundamentally as humans we will encounter counterproductive thought and behavior patterns that will interfere with our ability to experience moments of peace and happiness and a life that is marked with joy and serenity to the exact extent and proportion to the severity of our existing maladaptive coping mechanisms. The second, and perhaps more important, is that the 12-Steps can truly be a design for living when we apply them to our lives in a proactive fashion resulting in concrete and enduring behavior change, a formula that we can use to address any counterproductive thought or behavior pattern that is causing the universally human experience of suffering and getti