The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast

Jodie Sweetin melted our hearts and made us laugh for eight years as cherub-faced, goody-two-shoes middle child Stephanie Tanner. Her ups and downs seemed not so different from our own, but more than a decade after the popular television show ended, the star publicly revealed her shocking recovery from drug addiction. Even then, she kept a painful secret--one that could not be solved in thirty minutes with a hug, a stern talking-to, or a bowl of ice cream around the family table. The harrowing battle she swore she had won was really just beginning. In her deeply personal, utterly raw, and ultimately inspiring memoir - UnSweetined -  Jodie speaks about the double life she led--the crippling identity crisis, the hidden anguish of juggling a regular childhood with her Hollywood life, and the vicious cycle of abuse and recovery that led to a relapse even as she wrote her book. Finally, becoming a mother gave her the determination and the courage to get sober. Hers is not a story of success or defeat, but of facing your demons, finding yourself, and telling the whole truth. Jodie's most recent work includes starring in multiple Hallmark Movie Channel movies, and Fuller House - a sequel series to the wildly popular Full House.  The final season of Fuller House aired on June 2nd on Netflix.  She also co-hosts a hilarious podcast - 'Never Thought I'd Say This' - with her best friend Celia Behar where they tackle the truth and taboo about parenthood. We LOVED getting to speak with Jodie, and we know you'll love hearing this interview too! :)

Michael Dash is a recovering addict and the best-selling author of Chasing The High, the Founder of FATE - (From Addict To Entrepreneur), a mentor, speaker and philanthropist.  He struggled with multiple addictions throughout the course of his life, with the main one being gambling, which he was introduced to at 11 years old.  Struck with an unrelenting drive to succeed in life, Michael’s addictions grew to also include work, cocaine, marijuana and adderall just to name a few.  He worked harder and longer than anyone he knew and built a $5.5 million dollar a year company. After growing resentful of the very business he built, he made some intense life changes and realized that true fulfillment is helping others in relatable situations to change their lives as well.  This led Michael to write Chasing The High and build F.A.T.E., a program designed for entrepreneurs and business leaders to take back control of their compulsive and addictive behaviors and step back into the leader they were born to be. Michael is insightful, hilarious and energetic, and he shares some incredible information in this tell-all interview.

55: After the Episode - (follow up to the Co-Founder's Interview & Caroline's story) - with Ashley & Christiana

Caroline Strawson is a multi- award winning EMDR & Rapid Transformational Therapist specializing in self-healing the trauma after narcissistic abuse. She is the author of the best-selling book Divorce Became My Superpower, and she is a leading international authority and expert in narcissistic abuse and trauma. After going through her own devastating divorce from a narcissist where she had over £70,000 of debt ($85,000) and her family home repossessed, she was diagnosed with C-PTSD and suffered with depression, anxiety and self-harm. Her personal journey to not just bounce back but bounce forward quickly turned into a personal mission to want to help others through the trauma of narcissistic abuse. Caroline is passionate about raising awareness about psychological abuse, and is helping thousands of people thrive after abuse. She holds individual therapy sessions with clients all over the world with her unique methods to rapidly heal others after narcissistic abuse healing the inner wounds associated with narcissistic abuse and trauma.

Today’s episode is very special, as Ashley gets to interview the other two Co-Founders of Lionrock Recovery - Iain Crabb and Peter Loeb. You may remember Peter from Season 1, Episode 8 where he and Ashley shared their journey together as father and daughter through Ashley's struggles in addiction. When discussing other special episodes to produce, we thought it would be fun to do an episode that talks about another story of trials to triumph - the story of Lionrock Recovery! Tune in as Ashley, Iain and Peter laugh (and almost cry) about the difficulties of being entrepreneurs, starting and building a company that is years ahead of its time, and reminisce about some of the greatest moments we’ve had together through this journey.

Jessica Buch is a model, student, volunteer and advocate, and she is also in recovery. She has been the face of Pantene, Covergirl and more. Jessica is currently an undergrad student studying pre-med at Santa Monica College, and she is planning on transferring to UCLA in 2021. She recently came out publicly as Intersex, and she is now an Intersex advocate. Diagnosed with CAIS (Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome) at a young age, Jessica’s life and upbringing relative to her body looked very different from the other kids around her, and she was taught to hide her condition for most of her life. Jessica spends her time studying, hanging out with her dogs, boyfriend, and friends, as well as volunteering with Bless It Bag, and staying active through hiking, pilates, and yoga.

Many of you may know that our very own Producer, Christiana Kimmich, is the Founder and Director of Haven Dance Company based in Orange County, CA. She and the company have been working to produce and release a dance concept video telling the story of the deep pain and struggle felt by someone stuck in the grips of addiction, and they've finally released that video this week. Join Ashley as she interviews Christiana on the background, conceptualization and behind-the-scenes of this powerful and emotional video. Click on the links below to follow Haven Dance Company and to view the video!!

Andre Roberts is a Personal Trainer and Tennis Instructor who currently resides in Beverly Hills, CA.  He was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was raised in a single parent household with his two siblings.  He experienced ongoing trauma as a child, including sexual assault, verbal and physical abuse, and intense prejudice and racism. Andre’s experiences later served as fuel to his alcoholism and drug use as he entered high school, and later, adulthood.  We are so thankful that Andre agreed to come on this podcast and not only share his story of recovery from drugs and alcohol, but also his life experiences as a black man in today's America, and how that has shaped him. As you'll hear in his story, Andre believes in the power of connecting with one person to set in motion a change for good. Andre is about to celebrate having 8 years of sobriety, and is engaged to a beautiful woman, Patty, who inspires him every day. We were SO inspired by our conversation with Andre, and we know you will be too! He is such an incredible human being, and we believe you'll walk away from this interview with more knowledge, along with feeling inspired to "find your lane" and go "all gas, no brakes" as Andre says into creating change within yourself and around you! :)

For the past 2 weeks, we have paused The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast to show support and give respect to the #BlackLivesMatter Movement. We also wanted to take some time to reevaluate who our next guests would be, and we are happy to announce that our remaining guests interviews for June will be aligned with either the BLM or LGBTQ communities. We look forward to using our platform to help educate ourselves and others, and to spread awareness on these very important topics, along with showing how they align with recovery.

It's another After the Episode coming at you every other Thursday! Don't have time to listen to every guest episode on Tuesdays? Enjoy learning more about specific topics? Do you also like to laugh? Then these episodes are for you too! This week, Ashley and Christiana review and cover topics from Episode #50 (Alyssa Rocco), and Episode #51 (Ben Moroski). Tune in to hear their usual antics (including some quarantine cabin fever) along with a deep dive into some important themes and aspects covered in each of these episodes!

Ben Moroski is an L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award-nominated writer and actor. His plays have garnered numerous Los Angeles theatre awards and nominations. His first L.A.-produced play, This Vicious Minute, recounted his years-long battle with self-injury after being raised in a cult. Upcoming acting roles include the forthcoming short films Admitted and Discharge (which he also wrote and produced), both of which shed light on the current state of the American mental health care system and the vulnerable people it affects.

Alyssa Rocco is on a mission to create positive change in the world.  She is currently a Senior Life Coach at Handel Group, which she discovered seven years ago after finding a deep desire to change her career. After one session with a coach at Handel Group, she quickly discovered what was missing - she wasn't living true to her own dreams; she wasn’t happy, and she didn’t know how to become happy. This realization inspired a journey: Alyssa changed careers and became a coach.  She learned how to date honestly, transformed the dynamic in her family, navigated addiction, and confronted how to create and maintain great relationships in her life. Her analytical mindset and process-oriented nature led to her work in the Media Division, and most recently, to build, test, and launch Inner.U, Handel Group’s first digital course. Alyssa grew up in Boston and she received her Bachelor’s degree in communication, film and technical writing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and her Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology from the Massachusetts School of Psychology. She is certified in process improvement techniques and six sigma practices. She is also a dancer and practices 5 Rhythms dance.

It's another After the Episode coming at you every other Thursday! Don't have time to listen to every guest episode on Tuesdays? Enjoy learning more about specific topics? Do you also like to laugh? Then these episodes are for you too! This week, Ashley and Christiana review and cover topics from Episode #47 (Amy Dresner), and Episode #48 (Jay Shifman). Tune in to hear their usual antics (including some quarantine cabin fever) along with a deep dive into some important themes and aspects covered in each of these episodes!

Jay Shifman is passionate about issues of Addiction and Mental Health. A Speaker, Writer, Consultant, Coach and Advocate, Jay lives intentionally around seeing the realization of his dream; to end the stigma around issues of Addiction and Mental Health. Jay works with individuals and organizations to make real change in how they approach, act on and talk about Mental health and Addiction. A graduate of Northern Kentucky University, Jay is ten years in recovery and lives with his wife, Lauren, and their dog, Nell, on Daniel Island, South Carolina. You can learn more at his website, www.JayShifman.com. Jay is currently writing a book, Profiles in Change, that focuses on the untold stories of people doing new, unique and interesting work aimed at the issues of the Addiction and Mental Health epidemic we currently find ourselves in that grew out of his tri-weekly posts on LinkedIn and my website. 

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