Recovery Now Radio is an online podcast and radio station that transmits a daily message of hope to everyone on the journey from addiction to wellness. Each episode contains recovery stories, great music, love, inspiration and courage. We have just started moving all our content onto Acast from Mixcloud. If you like what you hear here, and want to listen to more before we've moved it all to Acast, please visit our MixCloud age: - https://www.mixcloud.com/Recovery_Now_Radio/ Get bonus content on Patreon
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Welcome to episode 12 of our second series of "Let's Recover Together", and have we got a treat for you!! London cabbie Dean talks candidly about his addiction to gambling. Describing himself as a "serial relapser", Dean had to reboot his recovery several times before he found a sponsor, and a programme, and started to work those. Discovery that the true secret to a happy life was to "find a purpose bigger than myself", Dean now gives in recovery, rather than just taking, and is enjoying a strong and healthy recovery. Tune in now to hear more!!
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Welcome listeners, to the latest episode of Let's Recover Together. We are delighted that Helen has joined us in the studio to talk about her life, which has been quite the journey!! At school she felt unpopular, something many of us will identify with. Helen first had suicidal thoughts when she was just 8 years old, and started drinking soon afterwards. Despite her drinking, Helen managed to be part of a competition dressage team in her teens, and got a degree at university. Her drinking ramped-up in her 20s, and in her 30s she suffered a major stroke. It was the wake-up call she needed, and today works as a life coach and is about to have her first book published. Tune in now to find out more!!
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Welcome, fellow recoverees, we hope you are all fit and well and looking forward to the weekend. We're getting toward the midway point of series 2, and for this episode we were delighted to welcome Michaelis to the show. As a self-confessed "mixed-race kid with an afro", Michaelis felt like he didn't really fit in with his peers as a teenager, and he turned to alcohol initially, before discovering weed and then stronger drugs later in his teens. After being arrested for possession with intent, Michaelis found himself facing a lengthy prison term of at least 25 years, but his higher power had a card to play, and Michaelis ended up on a programme to keep him out of a long-term jail sentence, and off the alcohol and drugs. It's quite a story - listen now to hear it and discover where he is in his life now.
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A warm welcome to episode 9, and we are delighted to have been able to talk to Wendy, from New Jersey in America!! Wendy talks to us about her addiction to prescription drugs, and of being in a toxic relationship, before discovering recovery 9 years ago. She now works in the field of recovery, helping others find wellbeing with a spiritual and holistic approach to her recovery practices. She also talks to us about a new initiative she is involved in - "sober yoga"!! Tune in to hear her amazing story, and what sober yoga is all about.
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Welcome to episode 8 of series 2, where the Let's Recover Together team talk to Chip. Chip starts his story by telling us about his childhood, one perhaps of privilege but where love, affection, and encouragement were notably lacking. Sent to boarding school before he was 7, Chip suffered abuse there, and left school and home as soon as he was able for the lure of life in London just before the "summer of love" started to take off. Starting with marijuana, Chip soon found himself using heroin, and quickly became addicted to it, and a life of crime followed to fund the addiction. A spell in prison made him realise his life had to change - listen now to hear how he turned his life around, and in one way or another, everything he does in life now is focused on recovery!!
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Welcome listeners, to episode 7 of series 2, and for the first time, we welcome to the studio someone who is not in recovery themselves, but who is a family member of someone in recovery. Owen is part of the Living Room family here in Cardiff, and he talks about how life with his partner was at first exciting, but how over time that excitement turned to anxiety in the days leading up to the weekend, when his partner would party until late into the night. As his partner found recovery, Owen took the opportunity to look at his own behaviour, and after starting to attend Family Group meetings at The Living Room, he took the opportunity to study to become a Recovery Coach. Having passed that qualification, Owen now facilitates family group therapy sessions at The Living Room, and in this episode he tells us how recovery has bought him, and his partner, peace, and the ability to be open and honest with each other.
Yet another episode not to be missed!!
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For episode 6 we were delighted to welcome our friend Bethan to our recording studio in Cardiff. Bethan talks about her early life, and arguments at home, before telling us how she discovered alcohol in her mid-teens, and would stay at home drinking all day while her parents were out. After being expelled from school she moved to the south of France to work, which she hoped would help her give up alcohol, but it was not to be. Moving back to the UK she met and married a brewer (in her own words, she "cut out the middle man") and started a family. Tragedy struck however, and eventually the marriage fell apart. Eventually Bethan found a fellowship programme, and she tells us how she has worked her recovery since, and how life is looking for her now. Bethan also brings a very eclectic soundtrack with her as we move from 80s post-punk to musicals and back to the 60s on a musical carousel!!
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A warm welcome listeners, to episode 5 of series 2, where we welcome Aaron to the Recovery Now Radio studio. Aaron is a west country lad, hailing from the kingdom of Cornwall, and in this episode he tells us how a diagnosis of a serious liver disease at a young age led him on journey towards excessive alcohol consumption and drug taking. BY his late teens his use of alcohol was out of control, he was losing friends and family, and something had to change. Listen now to hear about Aaron's amazing journey to recovery, and how in sobriety he's enjoying life as a film-maker. Still only a young man, Aaron has a wisdom that belies his young age, and we really enjoyed having him in to chat with us!!
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Welcome to the second show featuring our guest Wynford, founder of The Living Room Cardiff. In this show, Wynford talks to us about moving forward from the moment of epiphany on the mountain, of his vision for The Living Room Cardiff, a trip to America to get inspiration to make that vision a reality, and of his quiet pride in all that The Living Room Cardiff has achieved. Without Wynford and that vision, and the tenacity to see it through to fruition, there would be no Recovery Now Radio. This really is a must-listen episode.
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For episode 3 we are delighted to welcome a very special guest to "Let's Recover Together, Wynford. Without Wynford, there would be no Living Room Cardiff, and without The Living Room, there would be no Recovery Now Radio. In the first of two episodes this week, we hear about Wynford's childhood in Llanllyfni, in rural Wales, the son of the local minister. As a child he experimented with prescription drugs, stealing them from his mother and his father's church members. As he grew older and moved from home to college in Cardiff, Wynford found alcohol, and the rest will be a familiar story to many of us. This episode takes us up to Wynford's recovery and the first few years beyond. Stay tuned to Recovery Now Radio to hear about Wynford's epiphany on a Welsh mountain, and what happened next!!
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From a very early age Natalie’s addiction had a powerful hold over her, and she was sent to two rehabs by the age of 17. Natalie experienced several attempts at sobriety, however following one major relapse, she faced a long prison sentence. She engaged with AA and began living a recovery programme . Natalie experienced the loss of two babies during pregnancy, and the connections she made with the women of AA supported her through these experiences. After 7 years sobriety from drugs and alcohol Natalie still battled with a food and sugar addiction and sex and love addiction. Sticking with the 12 step programme she discovered that 'service was the key.' She experienced a deep and dramatic transformation in her recovery. She is now free as she can ever be from her addictions and is living in Phuket in Thailand where she works as a transformational life coach to support others in their recovery.
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For our opening episode of series 2 we were delighted to chat with Veronica, formerly of the fenlands of East Anglia, but now a resident of Lake Tahoe on the California / Nevada border. Veronica tells us about how she started drinking at the age of 14, ran away from home to see her favourite band at the age of 16, and how by 18 she had reached her rock bottom and attempted suicide. As Veronica herself says though, "it wasn't that I wanted to die, I just didn't know how to live". Her drinking continued for several more years before she took a course in addicti9ons counselling at her local college - as much as anything because it dove-tailed with her then career as a psychoanalyst. She started to attend a fellowship meeting, again, still in denial, because she wanted to see some of the clients she may end up coaching, and, in her own words, she "sleepwalked into recovery" as a result of that first meeting. Listen to the show to find out where recovery took Veronica next!!
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Well, whoever would have thought it when we launched Season 1 back on the 5th of April, but here we are at the season finale!! Regular presenters Jo and Julie are joined in the studio by Nick, who is one of the backroom staff who do so much to make "Recovery Now Radio" happen. They chat about what their experiences of recording season 1, and what they've gained in their own recoveries as a result. They also pick some of their favourite moments, and replay some snippets of some of the interviews. One not to be missed!! And don't tune out until the end, because that's when we'll be revealing the date when we'll be launching season 2!!
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Welcome to episode 24 of "Let's Recover Together". We were delighted to welcome Aled into the studio to tell us his story of gambling addiction. Aled lost his home when his gambling debts spiralled out of control, but he's fought back. Finding recovery, he's put a whole lot of time and effort into staying sober, and examining what caused his life to plunge to his own rock bottom. Now firmly established on his recovery journey, Aled recently undertook a cycle ride from Cardiff, to John O'Groats, back to Cardiff, and then down to Lands End and back to raise money for The Living Room and MIND. A truly inspirational story, and one not to be missed. His music choices are great too, and feature the first, but maybe not the last, appearance of Metallica.
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For episode 23, we once again cross the Atlantic, this time to speak with Kate. A troubled home life when she was young led to Kate immersing herself in academia, before discovering prescription painkillers as a result of surgery. Kate became dependant on her medication, but finding herself pregnant, she somehow shook off her addiction to them. After the shock of discovering her husband was having an affair, she turned to alcohol for solace, and having become addicted to it, subsequently lost everything. But fate had another twist for Kate, and she was given the chance to rebuild her life. Listen now to hear how she did that, and is now enjoying living on a sailboat off the coast of Canada!!
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Welcome to Episode 22, in which we welcome North Walian Rhun to the show. Although still only a young man, Rhun has enjoyed four years of sobriety from alcohol and drugs. His story starts with a happy childhood, but by his teenage years he was feeling isolated from his peer group, and enveloped by an "overwhelming sadness". Turning initially to alcohol, and then drugs to numb his emotions, it took the loss of his job and two stints in rehab for even think about recovery seriously. But then his nephew was born, and it was a pivotal moment for Rhun - tune in to hear this fantastic and inspiring story!!
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Something just a little bit different for episode 21, as we welcome singer / songwriter Ean to our studio, and eight of his own songs to tell the story of his own recovery journey.
Ean is the son of a musician, and took his father's trade as his own profession.
Achieving some notoriety within the music business, a teenage propensity towards heavy drinking had a negative impact on his career both as a musician and the owner of a music agency- a situation now happily completely reversed as both his careers thrive in his recovery.
By the time he was in his 40s, Ean was drinking 24/7, and knew his drinking would eventually kill him.
Indeed, in his own words, "I wanted to die". Something had to change. Finding recovery, he has turned his life around - tune in to this fantastic episode to discover how!!
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For episode 20, we are delighted to welcome New Jersey ex-pat Lisa. Lisa tells us of her childhood, of how she felt “different” to her friends, although she wasn't sure why. As with so many of us, being bullied when she was young led her to seek solace in self-medication. Considering her first addiction to be reading, she later found alcohol, and in her own words, she “struggled to maintain a well-behaved, ‘good’ life whilst drinking “. First finding recovery in 2005, a painful break-up saw her turn back to alcohol before coming back to recovery in 2017. A not-to-be-missed episode, set to a truly fantastic soundtrack.
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In episode 19 of “Let's Recover Together”, we are joined by Richard, part of the Living Room family. Richard spent his childhood in the idyllic Welsh seaside town of Porthcawl, and remembers a childhood in the sea, getting nipped by crabs, and of a lot of rain!! Richard began to suffer with poor mental wellbeing at an early age, and by his teens he was anorexic, and using alcohol to mask his true feelings. Listen as he takes us on a journey through addiction, several recoveries, to the present day, where he has refound his love of art, and has found a job working in a museum. Still only a young man, Richard's story is bound to inspire, and his musical choices were, in the words of our sound engineer, “jolly fine songs by jolly fine artists”!!
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In this episode, we are delighted and privileged to speak to Carol, the Service Manager at The Living Room. Carol hails from a small town in North Wales, Bethesda, and one of her fantastic song choices is about her hometown. From an early age, Carol felt unable to express her emotions. Raised as a chapel-attending girl, Carol later went to University where she studied drama and teaching, but she also immersed herself fully in the social side of higher education, and she tells us of all-day drinking sessions on Saturdays with her female friends. Carol later went on to become a very successful teacher, but already her addiction to alcohol was having a toll on her, her family, and her career. Carol tells us about receiving electric shock therapy as a treatment for her alcoholism, but when that didn't work, she descended into 24 hour drinking. Finding recovery, listen as she tells us of her spiritual awakening one morning on a retreat...
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In episode 17 of “Let's Recover Together”, we are delighted to be joined by Luca. He starts by telling us about his childhood, when he was bullied by some of his peer group, and struggled to make sense of who he was and how he fitted into the world. In his teens, and by now part of the “skater” community, he discovered alcohol, and later drugs. A reliance on these led him to addiction, and as he moved into his twenties, Luca also struggled with food and binge eating. OCD created the perfect storm for his addictions to run out of control, until, by chance rather than plan, he became father to, in his own words, “a beautiful daughter”. With the catalyst for his recovery now in his life, he discovered The Living Room. Tune in to hear how Luca has turned his life around!!
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For our latest episode, we are delighted to welcome Josh to "Let's Recover Together". Josh is a Canadian (and just wait until you hear his wonderful Canadian accent!!) and at just 27 years old, our youngest guest to date. But his youthful years bely a wisdom of someone much older. His story of a relatively normal childhood develops to one of near-tragedy, before Josh discovered recovery and sobriety. A firm believer in the mantra of "paying it forward" Josh is now active in his recovery community, and has recommenced his studies for a job in the Trades. A truly inspirational story, this really is an episode not to be missed.
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In episode 15, we are delighted to welcome to Recovery Now Radio Colin, a long-time friend of The Living Room. Colin talks about drinking from the age of 7, and of how he struggled at school fitting in. By his teens, when his friends were experimenting with chemistry kits, Colin was making his own wine and experimenting with the specific gravity of it to achieve maximum alcohol content. Alcohol took him to the brink of losing everything, including his career and family . However, throwing everything into recovery, his life has turned around . He engaged in 12 step programmes, retreats, and seminars and they all became a massive part of his life, and his ongoing recovery . He has gone onto running his own retreats and ran the Recovery Coach's Course held at the Living Room.
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In episode 14, we are delighted to welcome Nick to the show. Nick starts his story by talking to us about the awful bullying he was subjected to as a schoolboy. Discovering alcohol in his mid-teens helped him to escape the mental anguish of that. Going to university, and the availability of cheap alcohol there was, in his own words, "like lighting the blue touchpaper". A career in journalism came later, a profession that Nick explains was perfect for an alcoholic. After talking to a friend who had ended up in Court as a result of his alcoholism, Nick took a long look at his own behaviour, and in 2004 made the move from active addiction to recovery. In the 17 years since, his life has blossomed, with new jobs, a wife and child, and one of his current roles is that f an Addictions Counsellor who has helped many on their journey from addiction to recovery. An episode not to be missed, with some fantastic song choices along the way!!
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Welcome to episode 13 of "Let's Recover Together" - we're already half way through series 1!! Today we're talking to Jonna about her alcohol addiction . She tells us how important the 12 step programme has been in her recovery and for being such an inspirational aspect of getting well. She also talks about the acceptance that her alcoholism was an illness. She talks about loving life in her camper van and her freedom to travel to warmer climes to escape the cold and wet British winters!!
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In episode 12, we’re delighted to welcome our first international guest to Recovery Now Radio – Anne, originally from Sweden, but now living in Doha. After first tasting alcohol at the age of 13 on her way to a night at the local disco, Ann’s life rapidly spiralled out of control as her drinking gained momentum. Moving from school to college, she moved into a “house share” with some fellow students at Drama School – a house that had its own brewery. Listen as Ann talks about innumerable trips to detox, before finally hearing a message of hope from a recovering heroin addict. Stars abound in this episode!!
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In the latest episode of “Let’s Recover Together” we chat to self-confessed “Cornish maid” Becs. Early dalliances with alcohol at the local dancing club led to Becs forging friendships with local bikers, who introduced her to marijuana and amphetamines. A serious bike accident as a direct result of amphetamine use resulted in a prolonged hospital stay, and an unintended detox for her. But addiction wasn’t quite done with Becs yet, and alcohol came along to replace her earlier addictions. Becs found recovery in 2007, and now in her 14th year of sobriety, she talks to us about her new, sober life, her renewed connections with nature, and canoeing in snowstorms!!
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In episode 10, we talk to Phil, a South Wales Boy from the Merthyr Valley. Phil takes us on a journey from a childhood spent in the years following the Aberfan disaster, with football as a passion, and having his musical tastes influenced by his old brother, and his brother's friends. As he passed from his teens, and sociable drinking following his beloved Merthyr Town Football Club, his twenties saw him working in the banking industry, where hard drinking was the accepted norm. Phil's story is from the heart, and one of a struggle he never stopped finding the courage to overcome, and is matched with a selection of his favourite songs that are equally as passionate.
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Episode 9 features the inspiring and creative James Hoare. Normally you will find James behind the decks and creating music or acting in a TV show. However listen to him as he takes off his mask and shares his courageous story in this captivating interview and talks us through his journey from addiction to recovery with presenter Jo .
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In this episode, we turn the tables on presenter Jo, and she becomes the interviewee for an hour. Via a soundtrack that includes Pink, Queen, Starship, and Rag and Bone Man, we hear her story of how a dysfunctional childhood and time in a children's home led to a dalliance with alcohol, and later cocaine, that turned into addiction and saw her lose her relationship with her children and the loss of her business. Despite overwhelming difficulties, Jo has made a huge success of Recovery, and this, her story, is certain to inspire us all in our own Recoveries as we take it "one day at a time".
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In this episode we talk to Sarah, a recovering gambling addict. Sarah speaks candidly about how her addiction to gambling took her to her rock bottom, before she discovered Recovery, and how her experiences now guide her to helping others in Recovery, and how she uses her story to help campaign for change in the gambling industry. This fantastic story is set to an amazing soundtrack that includes Abba, Louis Armstrong, Rhianna, and Olivia Rodrigo, to name but a few!!
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In this episode, we talk to Paul about his drug use. As like many of us, Paul's use of drugs started on a recreational basis, but as he got older he started using them ever-more regularly. Paul talks candidly about his slide into addiction, before encouraging us all with his story of how he found Recovery, and how now, several years into that Recovery, he spends much of his time helping others as a Recovery Coach. There are some great songs in this episode too, from David Bowie, to Kamazi Washington, to Grace Jones.
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In the second episode of "Let's Recover Together", we hear from Julie. Julie started drinking at a very young age, when her Mum ran a pub. Listen to her tell her story, of how she slid into alcoholism, causing her to become very ill. But Julie's story is one of hope and change - continue listening as she tells us of how she found Recovery, and how her life is now all about helping those who are also walking the "Recovery Road"
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In this very first episode, Living Room service user Tony talks about his problems with gambling, and how finding recovery has helped him to become a better person, living a better life. Tony's song choices include Queen, Bob Dylan, George Ezra, REM, James Bay, and a few more!!
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Welcome to episode 5 of "Let's Recover Together". In this episode, Lisa takes us on a journey through her life, with trips to the seaside as a child, and playing the penny slot machines. In adulthood, and after suffering personal heartache, Lisa turned to evenings out at her local bingo hall to take her mind off things, a pastime that soon became a gambling addiction. Lisa tells us how chance played a part in her Recovery, when she happened upon The Living Room whilst helping someone else. Now in established Recovery, Lisa talks us through what Recovery has taught her, and how she now helps others in their Recoveries. And all this is set to one of the most eclectic lists of songs we've seen on Recovery Now Radio yet!!
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Welcome to episode 4, where Recovery Now Radio speaks to Vencel about his harmful behaviour of people-pleasing, which in turn led to co-dependency issues. The adult child of an alcoholic, Vencel tells us what sparked his move from co-dependency to Recovery. Vencel is originally from Hungary, and his song choices feature some fine Hungarian bands!!
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Welcome to episode 3!! Today, Dave talks to us about his troubled early years, and subsequent battles with alcohol. In Recovery, Dave has thrown himself entirely into the business of helping others in their Recoveries. And his song choices are truly eclectic, something for everyone in this episode. Another inspiring episode from Recovery Now Radio's "Let's Recover Together" series.
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