Anthony Good spent years in prison, lived through relapse, and had to learn how to build a life he had never really known. In this honest conversation, he talks about four and a half years clean, fatherhood, integrity, mental health, and the moment he decided to leave behind the name Demon and become Anthony. He also explains why he created It’s All Good Recovery, an open and personal meeting space where people can share honestly, give themselves positive affirmations, and take recovery one moment at a time.

• 04:00 Anthony shares his recovery story, four and a half years clean, years in prison, and the role his children played.
• 08:00 He reflects on prison, parole, guilt, shame, and the experiences that shaped him.
• 11:00 Anthony describes relapsing after getting a job, a car, and college, then becoming homeless within two weeks.
• 13:00 He talks about shedding the name Demon, fatherhood, anxiety, and anger.
• 20:00 Integrity becomes central to his recovery, including doing difficult things and helping people who want help.
• 29:00 Anthony explains “one moment at a time” and why twenty-four hours can feel like too much time for him to think.
• 38:00 He talks about how long it can take to feel normal after prison and addiction.
• 44:00 Anthony tells listeners how to find It’s All Good Recovery through Facebook and Anthony W. Good.
• 51:00 His words of wisdom are simple: live with integrity, do the right things when nobody notices, find the recovery that works for you, and build a support system.

• It’s All Good Recovery on Facebook
• It’s All Good Recovery Zoom meetings: Thursday at 6:00 PM, Saturday at 2:00 PM, and Sunday at 6:00 PM. Meeting ID: 465 403 0507. Password: 123456. View the meeting flyer
• Willamette Family
• Adult & Teen Challenge PacWest
• Hilbert College Human Services program
• Wellbriety Meetings
• Real Recovery Podcast

#RealRecoveryPodcast, #Recovery, #Sobriety, #RecoveryPodcast, @realrecoverypodcast

Ben M. is back. Two years after recording one of our most popular episodes, he returns with over six years of sobriety and a story about what changed. The chronic relapser who once bought wine after his first AA meeting now sponsors three men. And somewhere in the last two years, the fever broke.

In Part 1, we revisited Ben's original story. Part 2 picks up where that left off. His sponsor told him, "Sweetie, I don't know what else I can tell you." Ben sat with that discomfort. He stopped fighting. And one week after another, three men asked him to sponsor them. This is about seeing the world with new eyes, about a listener named Ryan who commented "He's why I stay sober," about Portland Pride, meditation meetings, breakfast casseroles, and promises that actually started coming true.

• 00:00 Julie welcomes Ben back — his episode was always in the top five
• 02:00 Six years sober — "I was already at death's door in May of 2020"
• 04:00 The fever breaking — his sponsor said "I don't know what else I can tell you"
• 08:00 "Seeing the world with new eyes. I don't even wanna drink"
• 14:00 Three men asked him to sponsor them, one after another
• 18:00 Sunday night service at Extended Family since October 2020
• 20:00 First Pride parade — Julie, Peter, and Ben share stories
• 25:00 Meditation meeting, sausage fest, and the breakfast casserole
• 28:00 Learning to sit with uncomfortable emotions
• 46:00 Promises coming true — "I have had so many promises come true"

• Lunch Bunch / Extended Family AA
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Real Recovery Podcast

We're revisiting one of the most popular episodes in Real Recovery Podcast history. Ben M. first joined us in April 2024 as episode 7. Next week, Ben returns for an update — over six years sober, with three new sponsees and a spiritual shift he calls "seeing the world with new eyes."

Ben grew up the only boy in a big Hispanic family in El Paso. At 13, everything changed — first pot, first blackout, first time meeting men off the internet. He came out at 14. His Pinocchio story — meeting a fox on the way to school, following it to the circus, waking up with a donkey tail — is one of the most honest accounts of early addiction we've heard. From law school to psych wards, from a lost law license to a glass of wine on a flight to San Francisco that undid three and a half years — Ben's path shows what alcoholism takes and what recovery can give back.

• 03:50 Julie introduces Ben — Sunday night meeting partners, Zoom host and in-person secretary
• 07:00 Growing up in El Paso and Dallas — only boy, three older sisters, "I got anything I wanted"
• 10:00 The Pinocchio metaphor — the fox, the circus, the donkey tail
• 14:00 Age 13 — first pot, first blackout, AOL chat rooms, meeting men off the internet
• 22:00 Coming out at 14, skipping school, developing a secret life
• 24:30 Moving to New York City at 18 — September 11th scared him sober for a while
• 30:30 Law school — daily drinking, suicidal in blackouts, Franzia and Golden Girls
• 43:30 First DUI, first major collision, jail, psych ward twice in one week
• 57:00 The relapse — three and a half years sober, then one glass of wine on a flight to San Francisco
• 61:00 Oregon rehab, finding sobriety, treating alcoholism as life-threatening
• 65:00 Sobriety date May 5, 2020 — "If I don't stop, I'll be 50 with nothing"
• 72:30 His husband, Sunday night service, and the life recovery built

• MCC Portland
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Real Recovery Podcast