Keep Coming Back: Real Stories of Sobriety & Recovery
Mike S
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Experience, strength, and hope:
Welcome to “Keep Coming Back” a series of inspiring and powerful conversations focused around the paths to sobriety and recovery. Each episode explores an individual’s unique story, their relationship with drugs and alcohol, and explains how each navigates life today without a drink, a powder, or a pill.
Email: keepcomingbackpodcast@gmail.com
Twitter: @kcbpodcast
Hosted by Mike S
Sobriety Date 7/5/16
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
5 days ago
Lyra N. Age 30 Sober since 2/20/15
Back from quarantine episode 1:
In today's first episode back, we discuss our last 3 months in quarantine, zoom meetings, celebrating my four year sobriety anniversary and much more
Mar 24, 2020
Jed A. Age 37 Sober since: 5/14/13
"I was going through hell...and I knew I was gonna drink....I was going to relapse.
I drank the whole bottle in about 10 minutes, and the sad part is for about 10 minutes it gave me what i wanted. Once it was over, the addiction just started up again....like that!"
Mar 14, 2020
New Virtual Meeting Details
Here are the instructions to join the virtual meeting I'm starting this Monday, March 16th at 7pm EST. Hope to see you all there. Only the first 100 people will be able to fit in this first meeting. You'll need to download the Ringcentral app when prompted and enable all video/audio when prompted
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://meetings.ringcentral.com/j/1480218717
Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +1(773)2319226 meeting ID: 1480218717#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1(773)2319226
Meeting ID: 148 021 8717
International numbers available: https://meetings.ringcentral.com/teleconference
Mar 9, 2020
Alexis G. Age 36 Sober since: 3/13/09
"No one picked up the phone that day. Not my friends, not my sister, not my mother. Look where i am?! I'm in a hospital bed, and it's my birthday!"
Feb 29, 2020
Keep Coming Back Season 2 Trailer
Feb 29, 2020
Aaron C. Age 31 Sober since: 9/24/10
Aaron C. was born in Mexico and migrated at age 8. He moved all over the country, eventually becoming a veterinary technician at age 16, gaining access to a plethora of pet-meds. We discussed the arc of his story, self harm, recovery, and the role "machismo" can play in a Latin man's life.
Feb 21, 2020
Bobby R. Age 68 Sober since: 10/26/00
"I looked in the mirror....I looked into my eyes....and I saw nothing. I'd lost self control, a sense of self, and I didn't want to live that way anymore."
Feb 13, 2020
Melissa S. Age. 69 Sober since: 11/7/90
Melissa S is a trans woman, sober nearly thirty years, and transitioned three decades ago. We spoke about being a trans woman in recovery, what her bottom looked like, and her appreciation of sobriety a recovery.
Feb 7, 2020
Lauren L. Age 34 Sober since: 2/7/17
"I lost total control. I really could not handle myself. I was doing drugs before work, at work, and that went on for about 3 years when I then had a very public blackout.
Literally everybody that I didn't to see me that way saw me blacked out, and it was the first time I realize I could lose everything I worked so hard for"
Jan 31, 2020
Tom H. Age 34 Sober since: 9/6/17
"I had far crazier things, and by that i mean giant red warning signs saying "YOU NEED TO STOP DRINKING" long before i walked in the room of AA"
"I've been divorced, bankrupt in three countries, I've been in trouble with the law.......but my rock bottom was purely emotional...i was exhausted.""
Jan 15, 2020
Laura N. Age. 31 Sober since: 7/28/18
"I was so isolated. I was shackled to the bad things that has happened in my life, and I didn't know how to NOT talk about it.
Jan 8, 2020
Ben R. Age 25 Sober since: 5/17/15
They suggest you don't date in your first year of sobriety...
"But what if I meet the girl of my dreams?! Technically I could miss out!"
Ben R. has never had a legal drink, and we discuss the trials and tribulations of college, dating, and family when a person gets sober before turning 21.
Jan 1, 2020
Steven Y. Age 34 Sober since: 12/16/14
"I had one roommate who was brutally honest with me. He told me "you smell terrible. You smell like the homeless guy on the train that everyone moves away from"
The first episode of 2020 discussed the recent Op-ed in the NYT entitled "The Patriarchy of Alcoholics Anonymous" and then discusses Steven's journey, including his views on why Asian-culture seems to be underrepresented in 12-step recovery.
Dec 13, 2019
Harrison T. Age 26 Sober since: 08/31/12
What's it like being the only sober guy in your college fraternity?
What's it like living in not 1 but 2 halfway houses before the age of 22?
Harrison and I discuss how a young man navigates socially, romantically and professionally during the course of our interview.
Dec 4, 2019
Part 2 of 2: Julia M
Last we left off Julia M was starting day 1 in her recovery. Over the next 30 minutes she describes her initial impressions of recovery rooms and describes how she stays sober today.
Dec 2, 2019
Julia M. Age 54 Sober since: 09/08 Part I of 2
How does one go bankrupt?
Two ways, first gradually, and then suddenly
_E. Hemmingway
In part one of my interview with Julia, we discuss all the events leading to day 1 of her recovery. From drinking, to pill addiction, to smoking crack cocaine, the conversation spans being a daughter, a wife, and a mother in active addiction.
Nov 20, 2019
Bill S. Age. 61 Sober since: 11/19/95
Comedy writer and comedian Bill S. reflects on 24 years of sobriety in today's interview. We touch on growing up in a large Jewish family, his late-wife and the influence her sobriety had on him, and Bill provides some nostalgic tales from early days in recovery.
Nov 14, 2019
Stacy H. Age 51. Sober since 10/6/86
Born and raised in northern Louisiana , Stacy had spent time in two rehabs by the age of 19. During our time together we discussed the importance of sponsorship, her connection to a power greater then herself, and touch on why AA's seem to continue to struggle with relationships..
Nov 5, 2019
Ryan M. Age 49 Sober since: 10/08/09
"5% of life is what's happening to you, and 95% of life is how we react to it"
In the course of an hour, Ryan and I discuss the blackouts, the un-manageability , and the double life that comes with active alcoholism. In the back half we explored finding a relationship with a power greater then yourself and how that manifests in life today.
Oct 28, 2019
Lee O. Age 38 Sober since: 7/3/06
After years of sobriety, Lee O. took a break from AA. In this interview he discusses what lead to that break, what brought him back, and what keeps him coming to meetings after 13 years.
Oct 19, 2019
Farrell M. Age. 49 Sober: 1/6/00
How does one navigate the 12-steps in moments when a belief in a higher power is waning or even non-existent? This is a question nearly everyone has struggled with at some point in sobriety. In this interview Farrell and I discuss his road to a rehab center, early enthusiasm for AA, and the "god" moments in his story
Oct 19, 2019
Ella G. Age 33. Sober: 5/24/15
There's a reason so many alcoholics and addicts drank and drugged for too long...it wasn't ALL bad. Trying to recapture some magic from years before, whether it be a feeling, or a sense of comradery is a common theme for many. In this interview Ella and I discuss the shift from drinking with friends to drinking in isolation, and how she made the decision to stop.
Oct 17, 2019
Allen C. Age 35 Sober: 8/24/15
"We had these intentions, but drugs and alcohol got in the way of everything. I knew I'd lost the power of choice"
"I didn't know how do do anything without drinking. I didn't know how to date. I didn't know how to hangout with friends...and in the beginning its very lonely."
Allen is the only person in this podcast series who knew me when I was active. We met in 2007, and spend much of the interview reminiscing and remarking on just how different life is today for both of us.
Oct 17, 2019
Sydney M. Age. 28 Sober: 1/7/2010
Rehab at 15, then back to high school.
Rehab at 18, and now it sticks. Sydney and I weave through her story and focus on life in a rehab, willingness to change, and growing up with alcoholism in the family.
Oct 8, 2019
Tom L. Age 50 Sober 8/3/17
"I was drinking around the clock"
" If you had my life you'd drink too"
Tom and I start at the end and work our way back. From his first meeting until the moment it finally clicked, we talk about what finally lead to the end of 30+ years of drinking.
Oct 7, 2019
Nicole L. Age 51 Sober: 10/15/91
Dating in sobriety, fellowship, and sharing in the rooms of AA are all discussed in this interview with Nicole. She talks to what it means to "drink like a man" and explains the difference between a physical bottom and a "spiritual bottom"
Oct 7, 2019
Jon A. Age 26 Sober since: 1/1/18
..."at this point I've crossed the threshold. Alcohol was no longer about having fun. It's not a social lubricant anymore, it was about not feeling the way I felt anymore. I would come home from work, drink beer, drink whiskey, smoke cigarettes , and pass out at 8pm so I didn't have to feel anymore"
Oct 7, 2019
Robert B. Age 42. Sober since: 8/8/11
Introduction to “Keep Coming Back.” In this initial episode I discuss a bit of my own story, followed by my interview with Rob B. Age 42 and sober since 8/8/11. We explore how drinking touched his work life, affected his marriage, and his initial thoughts on recovery and AA.