Addiction & Recovery
Sobriety, growing up around substances, and the long road back, told by people who lived it.
Addiction shows up in this archive from every angle: a childhood spent in a house shaped by a parent's drinking or drug use, a personal battle fought and won, and the quiet decision to simply stop. GenX came of age when "having a few" was the water everyone swam in, and many guests describe how long it took to see it clearly.
Several guests turned recovery into their life's work. Whitney Kell got sober at 21 and became a coach. Ryan Kemp-Pippan traced the alcohol and violence in his family and became a therapist. Others, like the hosts in "Giving up Alcohol," talk plainly about choosing sobriety and what changed afterward.
Together these conversations span three generations and both sides of the disease: the family members who absorbed it and the people who found a way out.
9 episodes exploring this theme
Episode 49 - GenX Speaks Series: Coach Whitney Kell
10/12/2025A childhood shaped by addiction, getting sober at 21, and building a coaching practice from it.
Whitney turned to drugs and alcohol to cope, got sober at 21, and made recovery her work.
Episode 68 - GenX Speaks Series: Author David La Torre
6/13/2026Growing up in a house marked by his parents' addiction and violence.
David grew up with his parents' addiction, and later turned that story into a book.
Episode 61 - GenX Speaks Series: Ryan The Therapist
3/30/2026Generational trauma, alcohol, and the path to becoming a therapist.
Ryan traces the alcohol and violence in his family, and how it led him into therapy.
Episode 6 - Giving up Alcohol
9/6/2024The hosts on choosing sobriety, and what changed afterward.
The hosts explain why they gave up alcohol, and the shifts in sleep, anxiety, and energy that followed.
Episode 17 - GenZ Women Series: Brooke
1/28/2025A GenZ guest on her parents' substance abuse and finding her own path.
Brooke grew up with her parents' substance abuse and charted a path toward nursing.
Episode 60 - GenX Speaks Series: Kim Muench - Parent Coach
3/3/2026A parent coach on supporting a child through addiction and mental health.
Kim talks about walking a child through addiction and mental-health struggles as a parent.
Episode 51 - GenX Speaks Series: Wes Alford - Hiking for Hope
10/27/2025Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail to work through addiction and hard years.
Wes hiked the Pacific Crest Trail to move through addiction and personal struggle, then started a nonprofit.
Episode 66 - GenX Speaks Series: Tracy Collins - Behavior Specialist
5/27/2026A period of substance abuse, then self-help and reinvention.
Tracy came through a period of substance abuse by turning to self-help resources.
Episode 69 - GenX Speaks Series: Gina Scott Williams - GenX Gina66
6/19/2026Growing up around a father's alcoholism, and healing out loud.
Gina grew up with her father's alcoholism, and later healed by sharing her story openly.
Questions this theme answers
What do guests say it's like to get sober?
Whitney Kell describes getting sober at 21 after a childhood of coping with drugs and alcohol, and Wes Alford walked the Pacific Crest Trail to work through his struggles.
How does a parent's addiction affect the kids?
David La Torre and Brooke both grew up in households shaped by a parent's substance abuse, and describe the long shadow it cast into adulthood.
Do the hosts talk about their own drinking?
Yes. In 'Giving up Alcohol' they explain why they quit and the changes they noticed in sleep, anxiety, and energy.
Is there anything on parenting a child through addiction?
Parent coach Kim Muench talks about supporting a child through addiction and mental-health struggles.
How does addiction pass down through a family?
Ryan the Therapist traces generational trauma and alcohol through his own family, and how it shaped his path into therapy.