Recovery, Service, and Second Chances

Presenters: Julie L and Peter D
Episode length: 1 hour 20 minutes (confirmed by Peter)
Release date: Friday, October 16, 2026

Brad O. wanted to play college baseball. Drinking and drug use took that goal away, and four DUIs eventually led him to treatment. Early recovery was rough. He kept going to Alcoholics Anonymous, and when he reached five years sober, an unexpected job offer gave him a way to help others at a detox program. Brad talks with Julie and Peter about making amends, working with people who face treatment or prison, and why he keeps opening doors even though each person must choose to walk through.

• 00:04:48 Brad traces his arrests, his lost baseball goal, and the moment he saw his infant son while sitting in jail.
• 00:07:54 A fourth DUI, treatment, and the difficult stretch before his January 1991 sobriety date.
• 00:11:46 Two women from his home group find Brad at a gas station, and one hug helps him decide to trust the fellowship.
• 00:15:00 Brad describes an amends to his former wife that took years to pay back.
• 00:18:00 A nurse's advice about taking care of himself comes back to Brad when he reaches five years sober and begins working in detox.
• 00:21:08 Brad recalls his work with Volunteers of America Oregon and a treatment-readiness program at Inverness Jail.
• 00:24:40 Brad says everybody deserves a chance, because you never know when the light will go on for someone.
• 00:26:13 Brad sums up his work: he gets to open the door, and each person still has to walk through.
• 00:27:13 He now helps families talk through what to do when a loved one is in trouble.
• 00:35:28 Brad remembers accompanying his mother to an Al-Anon club as a child.
• 00:43:34 Brad says he does not give up on people, even when they need another chance.
• 00:50:16 Brad describes surrender as stepping back, regrouping, and returning more stable.
• 00:52:29 Brad describes the camaraderie he found in sober softball.
• 01:01:00 A cyclist confronts Brad after he cuts him off; Brad talks about owning the mistake.
• 01:15:13 Brad's message to anyone struggling: stay close to us, because you really are worth it.

• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Al-Anon Family Groups
• Go the Distance
• Oregon Recovers
• Volunteers of America Oregon
• Multnomah County treatment courts
• Multnomah County Inverness Jail
• CODA
• Mel Robbins, The Let Them Theory
• Real Recovery Podcast

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Presenters: Julie L and Peter D
Episode length: 1:00:21
Release date: Friday, October 9, 2026

In Part 1, Walter B. told us about the Rose Bowls, the years after the cheering stopped, and the day his friend Matt came to the trap house. In Part 2, he and Matt have a trip to Kona planned. Walter explains why the invitation means so much more to him than a vacation: Matt was the person who helped him find his way into recovery. The three of them also talk about loving yourself, the fourth step, what peer workers do, and the young people Walter looks out for while coaching football. He leaves listeners with a reason to keep going, even if they don't have a Matt in their lives.

• 00:01:30Julie talks about how recovery has changed for her over the years, from meetings and raising her daughter to looking for balance today.
• 00:05:44Walter shares what he is still learning about loving himself and his wife.
• 00:07:49Matt surprises Walter with a trip they can take together.
• 00:10:03Why they chose Kona, and why Walter calls Matt his proof that recovery was possible.
• 00:12:23Peter talks about learning to look in the mirror without putting on a mask.
• 00:16:50Walter calls himself a "dopeless hope fiend" and describes the imposter syndrome he still feels.
• 00:20:05Walter and Julie talk about anger, taking the high road, and returning to the steps when they make a mistake.
• 00:23:22The fourth-step resentment list and the question Walter's sponsor saved for the last column: "What's your part?"
• 00:26:46Walter talks about being his own harshest critic even after years of recovery.
• 00:31:19Walter tells Julie and Peter why he wants to encourage others the way people encouraged him.
• 00:33:11Different experiences, different paths into recovery, and why sharing them matters.
• 00:34:00Six people show up on a weekend when Julie tells her meeting she is struggling; the meeting grows to seven days.
• 00:36:21Walter makes the case for better pay and support for peer workers.
• 00:43:27Walter shares what some former clients taught him about feeling safer outside than in unfamiliar housing.
• 00:46:01Coaching high school football while looking out for the young people on the team.
• 00:48:07Walter speaks to someone who is suffering and may not have a Matt to call.
• 00:49:23Walter tells the story of his older brother's place in his recovery and in their family.
• 00:55:13Julie and Peter talk about the family people find in recovery.

Alcoholics Anonymous · Narcotics Anonymous · Crystal Meth Anonymous · Edward Jones · Mel Robbins, *The Let Them Theory* · Another Chance · Central City Concern · Portland Rescue Mission · Central Catholic High School football · Real Recovery Podcast

#RealRecoveryPodcast #Recovery #Sobriety #RecoveryStory #PeerSupport #Portland @realrecoverypodcast

Presenters: Julie L and Peter D
Episode length: 1:07:06
Release date: Friday, October 2, 2026

Walter B. grew up in Northeast Portland running before he could walk. Sports carried him from the Albina Roadrunners to Benson High School and the University of Washington, where he went to three Rose Bowls. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Walter tells Julie and Peter what happened when the cheering stopped: the drinking and weed that followed him from high school, getting cut by the New York Giants, years of homelessness, and a trap house in Northeast Portland. Then his best friend Matt came for him. Walter shares how he found his footing in AA, went to treatment at DePaul, and got to see his father one last time, sober.

• 00:09:16Walter was 40, in a trap house with no food or water, when someone told him the 12 steps don't work.
• 00:11:00Growing up in Northeast Portland, running track at four or five, and Phil Knight showing up at meets with a bag full of track shoes.
• 00:13:01Acting out at school, and a household where what happened at home stayed at home.
• 00:15:00Benson High, a two-liter California Cooler at 13, and weed before his freshman year.
• 00:24:17When the cheering stopped: Western Washington, then the University of Washington.
• 00:25:33Meeting Kurt Cobain at a party, three Rose Bowls, and a share of a national championship.
• 00:29:00The loneliness behind the fame, and late-night walks to the viaduct to sit with homeless people.
• 00:32:16A contract with the New York Giants, a positive test, getting cut, and choosing to party.
• 00:37:00Homeless from 1994 to 2008 while tiptoeing around the neighborhood where his family lived, and crack in 1998.
• 00:44:35Two daughters, the loneliness, and the darkest point of his use.
• 00:45:23In the trap house, Walter hears himself say the 12 steps do work.
• 00:46:21He calls his best friend, Matt, who asks if he's willing to do something different.
• 00:47:52Matt pulls up, Walter grabs his bag, and never looks back.
• 00:49:32Calling his mom and dad, AA meetings every day, and treatment at DePaul.
• 00:51:01An emergency pass to see his father, and the words "I got my baby back."
• 00:52:48Julie shares the last days with her mom, and Peter talks about caring for his dad.
• 00:56:45A daughter who just got married, a youngest child starting college, and the repairs he began making with his family.
• 00:59:24Caring for his mom, becoming a counselor at DePaul, and learning his father may have done the best he could.
• 01:03:44Breaking the cycle, and a man who says he is still under construction.

Alcoholics Anonymous · Narcotics Anonymous · Central City Concern · Hooper Detoxification Stabilization Center · DePaul Treatment Centers · Portland Rescue Mission · Transcending Hope Institute · Real Recovery Podcast

#RealRecoveryPodcast #Recovery #Sobriety #RecoveryStory #AddictionRecovery #Portland @realrecoverypodcast

Presenters: Julie L and Peter D
Episode length: 1:04:49
Release date: Friday, September 25, 2026

Julie and Peter bring the Real Recovery Podcast to the third annual Go the Distance 5K at Fernhill Park in Portland. Runners, walkers, volunteers, recovery organizations, families, and friends come together to show what it looks like to keep showing up for one another.

Hear how a call from Daniel at DePaul helped start Go the Distance, why the weekly runs matter to people in treatment and recovery, and what this community means to the people who gather there. Daniel’s mom, Gloria, and his brother, Julian Sanchez, share what it means to see Daniel remembered in a place that has grown from one run into a community.

• 01:28Julie and Peter arrive live at the GTD 5K and meet Daniel’s family.
• 05:52Daniel’s call to Izzy, the permission slip, and the first runs before a meeting.
• 16:30Fora Health, movement, treatment, and community support.
• 20:47On talks about supporting runners and recovery stories at the 5K.
• 25:00CityTeam, recovery, and community.
• 26:07Terry Leckron-Myers, She/Her, Senior Director of Programs at The Peer Company, introduces its peer-led work.
• 32:49Skratch Labs on hydration and fuel for runners.
• 39:43Timothy on finding running in recovery.
• 44:06Greg on kindness, responsibility, and making a new day.
• 55:03Skyler, long-distance running, and Back on My Feet.
• 58:01Izzy closes with gratitude for GTD volunteers, partners, and community.

Go the Distance · On · NW Natural · Transcending Hope Institute · Another Chance · Fora Health · CityTeam Portland · The Peer Company · Skratch Labs · Alano Club of Portland · Back on My Feet · SportsLab PDX · Athletic Republic · Thentic Nutrition · Portland Parks & Recreation · Voodoo Doughnut · Smith Brothers Farms · Discover Recovery · Real Recovery Podcast

#RealRecoveryPodcast #GoTheDistance #Recovery #RecoveryCommunity #Sobriety #OneStepAtATime @realrecoverypodcast

Presenters: Julie P. Lewis and Peter B. Dowell
Episode length: 01:12:04
Release date: Friday, September 18, 2026
Originally recorded: August 23, 2024, as Episode 26

This revisited original conversation takes listeners back to the beginning of Elton F.'s recovery story. Before her current-day update, before family and service work, she was living in a California storage unit and struggling to find a way into treatment. Elton speaks plainly about what addiction took from her, the family who would not stop loving her, and the hard little decisions that finally made room for recovery.

Content note: This episode includes references to meth use, withdrawal, and needles.

• Elton describes how early use grew from wanting to fit in, then accelerated after she began using meth.
• In California, she was homeless and living in a storage unit with no running water or safe place to rest.
• A detox bed opened, but Elton still planned to hide drugs in her car for later.
• During a call from detox, her mother calmly talked about everyday life at home. Elton later learned her mom collapsed after the call.
• Back in Vancouver, Elton's family intervened. After a moment of stillness, she handed her dad the bag she could not let go of.
• In treatment, Elton called her mom and asked her to remove needles she had hidden under her bed.
• She found a sponsor and community at the Alano Club of Portland, then eventually found her way to 4D Recovery.

• 4D Recovery
• Alano Club of Portland
• Real Recovery Podcast

Listen: https://mdcr1.com/132
Blog: https://mdcr1.com/132b

“I did it for them. I stayed for myself”
— Elton F.

#RealRecoveryPodcast, #Recovery, #Sobriety, #4DRecovery, #RecoveryCommunity, @realrecoverypodcast

Presenters: Julie P. Lewis and Peter B. Dowell
Episode length: Approximately 41 minutes
Release date: Friday, September 11, 2026

Elton F. returns to Real Recovery Podcast nearly eight years into recovery, with a growing family, a baby girl on the way, and a new fundraising and development role at 4D Recovery. She talks honestly about how recovery changes over time, why AA remains her foundation, and the freedom of building a life around family, service, and what matters most.

• 00:02 What has changed since Elton’s first conversation, including her role at 4D Recovery and buying a home with her fiancé.
• 00:05 A baby girl is on the way, and what it means for her daughter to grow up never seeing her use.
• 00:08 The gradual decisions that helped Elton let go, including telling people where she had hidden drugs and needles.
• 00:09 From direct service to fundraising and development, lifting up other people’s recovery stories.
• 00:28 Family, an upcoming wedding, and a life becoming more grounded.
• 00:29 AA as her foundation, even as meetings and service look different in different seasons.
• 00:35 A message for anyone hearing her story for the first time: life can get better.

• 4D Recovery
• Oregon Recovers
• Alano Club of Portland
• Real Recovery Podcast

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Presenters: Julie P. Lewis and Peter B. Dowell
Episode length: 1:38:14
Release date: September 4, 2026

Matt B. joins Julie and Peter for an honest conversation about a childhood shaped by silence, years spent hiding both alcohol and identity, and the recovery life he found when drinking finally stopped working. Matt shares what meetings, treatment, service, structure, and fellowship gave him, along with the relationship he rebuilt with his son.

00:04:00 A strict religious upbringing, unwelcome questions, and the secrets that taught Matt to hide.

00:11:00 Drinking began in his mid-twenties and became daily as pressure, parenting, and fear piled up.

00:19:00 His first A.A. meeting was terrifying, but it was the first place he said he was an alcoholic.

00:29:00 Matt shares his April 19, 2014 sobriety date, alcohol withdrawal, and hospitalization.

00:39:00 A call for help led to treatment, M.C.C., repeated meetings, and the meeting buddy who became his husband.

00:51:00 Early recovery meant saying yes, working the steps, and learning through service.

00:58:00 Finding meetings that fit, fellowship, and the freedom to be open about recovery.

01:14:00 Matt reflects on repairing his relationship with his son and the anniversary coins they share.

01:18:00 Every day can begin with the first step.

• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Narcotics Anonymous
• Crystal Meth Anonymous
• Kaiser Permanente Oregon
• True Colors Recovery
• Go the Distance
• Al-Anon Family Groups and Alateen
• Real Recovery Podcast

#RealRecoveryPodcast, #Recovery, #Sobriety, #AlcoholRecovery, #AALife, #LGBTQRecovery, @realrecoverypodcast

Real Recovery Podcast Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. EIN: 99-1347297.

Presenters: Julie P. Lewis and Peter B. Dowell
Episode length: 1:58:31
Release date: Friday, August 28, 2026

Sonny M. grew up around recovery. His parents met in NA, and for years he knew the rooms without believing they would ever be his. After his father returned to drinking, Sonny found himself caught between two homes, trying to fit in, and using alcohol and drugs to quiet what he could not name.

At 22, Sonny shares the grief that changed his life, his first attempt at recovery at 19, the six-month relapse that followed, and the community that helped him come back. He talks honestly about building Devero, staying connected to the program while life gets busy, and why recovery has to remain the first job.

• 00:13:00 Sonny’s parents met in NA, and recovery was part of his life from the beginning.
• 00:18:00 His father returned to drinking after 25 years, changing the family dynamic.
• 00:21:00 Sonny describes his first drink at 14 and the need to fit in that followed him.
• 00:37:00 An angry day, a decision not to go to the river, and the loss of Reagan and Zach in a car accident.
• 00:49:00 Sonny arrives at his first meeting, Plinky’s, embarrassed but welcomed.
• 00:51:00 He realizes the meeting is across the river from the last place he saw Reagan and Zach.
• 01:00:00 Six months sober at 19, a relapse, and coming back ready to work the steps.
• 01:06:00 Young Guns, service, coffee, and the recovery community Sonny helped build.
• 01:13:00 Starting Devero while trying to keep recovery ahead of ambition.
• 01:34:00 Sonny’s advice to anyone who feels stuck: give recovery a real chance.
• 01:38:00 Finding a personal “why,” becoming the man he wants to be, and helping others avoid the same path.

• Plinky’s, Portland Area Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous
• Portland Area Narcotics Anonymous
• Alateen
• Another Chance
• Real Recovery Podcast

#RealRecoveryPodcast, #Recovery, #Sobriety, #RecoveryCommunity, #SecondChance, @realrecoverypodcast