A 2nd DUI Ended a 30-year Newscaster Career and Started Her Recovery (Beth McDonough)

Beth McDonough had a 30-year career in investigative journalism. She was on the front lines of 9/11, Prince’s death, and the George Floyd riots. Then her second DUI ended it all. She became the story. She watched her mugshot air on the evening news while sitting in a jail cell.

Beth shares the truth that most people would never say out loud. We talk about addiction, public shame, jail, sobriety, and the brutal reality of starting over when everyone has already decided who you are.

Beth walked dogs through the snow to survive. She built a business from nothing and found community in AA.

Then… she got invited back into the newsroom. Now she’s telling the whole story in her new memoir, Standby.

If you’ve ever felt like your life exploded and you didn’t know where to begin again, this one is for you.

Connect with BETH here and grab her new book COMING SOON!

https://www.bethmcdmedia.com/
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https://www.tiktok.com/@bethmcdonough6

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Transcript

Hey guys. Welcome back to the Samantha Parker show. Today's guest is an absolute force. Would you describe yourself as a force? Yeah, I would say so. My family does. Okay. So Beth is basically a batty that's not in my notes, but I'm adding it in. Okay. But you're a former Emmy award-winning investigative reporter who spent years on the front lines of some America's biggest news stories.

I have to read this because it's pretty incredible. Okay. Nine 11. Yeah. Prince's death. Mm-hmm. The George Floyd riots. Yep. Behind the camera was a woman unraveling, battling alcoholism. I've been there, Beth. It's a battle, isn't it? It is. So you have a book coming out though, called Standby and it's a memoir and it's really like a story of redemption.

I've started reading it. I've read a good chunk of it. It's a really good Oh, thank you. When does it? Thank you. That's the great $64,000 question. So I touched base with the publisher this morning. We're at the last point of creating the cover, so the artwork for the front of the book and then it's printed off we go.

So I really believe in July it'll be up. Okay. We're just at that last push. Yeah. Well, how's it been writing a book? How has it been writing a book? Wow. It has been unlike anything I've done before. You know, at first when I started writing the book, it was for me 'cause I just wanted to get my guts out, you know, just blah , and vent.

'cause right after you're arrested I started writing it when I was on home arrest. Oh, you did? I did. , Back in 2009. You know, I've 37 days at home and I mean, I was locked in my home and that's when I started writing and it was kind of therapeutic for me to get it out. And then as I started writing too, I'm like, I'm not just doing this for me, I'm doing it for other people.

Mm-hmm. As more time went on. And some of the experiences that I've been through that I wanna share with others that might help them as well. It's crazy how when you share your experience, it helps. And you know, sometimes I'm like, oh, I'm so tired of like listening to myself talk about being sober, and then someone will DM me and they're like, thank you.

You know, I get that. Last week I told someone I'm so over myself, like I just mm-hmm. You know, I can't, I need, I have to step back and take , a break from me. Yeah, it's very true. And. Just some, now that I've started to do a little bit of, promotion and trying to create awareness about the book, and I think, oh, is the world ready for this?

Am I ready for this? And, the feedback that I've got is, yes, you've inspired us and if you can come back, so can I? Yes, absolutely. Okay. So I wanna start with your timeline though. Okay. Okay. Because I feel, feel like we just jumped to the end. 'cause it's so exciting. I'm like, you wrote a book, you did some really cool things.

We had a fun date at Starbucks a couple weeks ago. Yes we did. And I love that. Thank you. Yeah. For meeting me there is really nice. And getting to know you. That's kind of a nice Starbucks uhhuh. It's, some of 'em are trashy. That one's pretty nice. Yeah, it's really nice, right? Yes. And I got to hear more of your story too, which is important.

Yeah, it was incredible. Okay. So what kind of got you into the adrenaline of crime and breaking news reporting? Like how did you get into that? You know, I was in sixth grade and a teacher came to our school and he brought with him an anchor at a local TV station in Oklahoma City. And she spoke to our class.

It was like civic stake, and she spoke to our class. About, Hey, when you grow up, maybe you wanna do this. Here's what I do every day. You might enjoy it. And I was hooked right then. That was it. I knew, and my mother said, growing up I'd always grab newspapers and I was reading them as a little girl.

And of course I loved news. I would come home and, you know, be in front of the TV every day at six and 10 to watch the news. And I'm like, I'm gonna do that. 'cause I get paid to talk for a living. You know, I got in trouble in school for talking for a, you know, so I'm like, well, if they can get paid to talk for a living, that sounds like a good thing.

And their job seems exciting and interesting and different every day and it involves writing and I love to write. Thank goodness. 'cause that's mainly what your job is. And so that's what kind of sparked the bug. Was it hard to get into, because ultimately you ended up working for Fox News, but did you have to kinda work your way there?

Oh my gosh. I worked in so many little bitty small markets. So yes, I started out in Joplin, Missouri, which is just a little market, little city, and you kind of work your way up from being a cub reporter and you make a move here and move there. And it depends on what your ambitions are as to how fast you're gonna climb, if you can climb.

And so yeah, I bounced around. I moved 13 times for my job. Oh really? Yeah. So my sister-in-law was a news reporter for just a quick second. Okay. She was working for Fox 13 and she was reporting on the jazz. Okay. But she wasn't able to like even buy groceries. Did you kind of experience that? Oh yeah.

Early on. When I was working in a small market and it was Joplin and there was a group of us at all these different TV stations. And we would go out like at that time, maybe once a week to this bar. 'cause they had 25 cent beers and that's all we could afford. And they, people were mad at me 'cause I was like, oh my gosh, you guys, I gotta pay raise.

And they were like, oh, what are you making? 'cause we're all starving, you know? And I go $14,500 and they were like, we hate you. You make 500 more than us. Beers are on you tonight. You know, like, and, but my parents were helping me pay my rent. Mm-hmm. You know, they're like, you went to college for this? They, yeah, but then I knew, I'm like, just hang in there.

I know what I want. I want a bright lights, big city. And, my goal was to try and to get to network. So I knew I'd be moving a lot and, and it, it does take a while to build up to where you can make an income you can actually live on. So, you know, your sister's not wrong and it takes a while to build up to that and it takes a lot of sacrifice, like.

You know, if you have a family, you gotta mm-hmm. Factor that in. And I think that's so true though, for every industry. Everywhere. Yeah. So many people expect the end result, you know, they want their own show or something like that. They wanna be famous, but really you start eating shit. Oh my God, you sew.

There's a lot of eating shit. A lot of, I, you know, I can't even eat ramen noodles. And I used to love them, but I used to live on them when I was broke in these little small markets, , in Lubbock, Texas. I, I lived with five of my coworkers so we could all afford the rent. Oh, you did? And I was the main anchor then.

But I think I was making maybe 25,000 that year, and I thought, oh, at least I can pay my car payment now without my parents' help. So it took a while to work up to it. You do eat a lot of shit, and I, you know, I was in. Before I got to Houston was my first big job when I, did mornings and noon anchoring and some business reporting and boy, at that time I was like, I can live on my own.

I could pay my own rent. Who knew? Do you feel like it was kind of a little bit of like a mental health thing? You know, I've seen some TV shows. That's the only thing I have to compare it to. Okay. It's like TV shows about the news, and it's kind of cutthroat and you're cutting each other out. Was it like that or was it more you're just doing the job?

I. It can be cutthroat, but that's more from like the management and the bean counters and the people who hire and fire from that angle. It can be cutthroat. When you're in it together, like you're your competitors with people by day and you can be friends by night. But I was tunnel vision like, and I've always kind of been this way.

I knew what I wanted, I knew how to get there. I knew what it was gonna take. And so I would say I was in love with my job and my career and I put everything into that. Mm-hmm. And I'm friends with everybody, that were competitors 'cause I enjoyed them Two world doing the same job. Just people have different wants of what they want out of that job.

So When did your drinking kind of come into play? Yeah, I was 17, so I don't know how far back you wanna go but I didn't. How did it kind of start sprinkling into news and you were like, oh shit, this is too far. Yeah, I think. I didn't really drink in high school, in college, my first year in college.

I got my party on. And I'm thrilled that I survived that. But, and then I kind of tempered it because I, I was so career oriented, so early in my career it wasn't a problem. But it became a problem for me when I was working and living in Philadelphia. And I was, I worked for a couple stations there for the NBC affiliate and the CBS affiliate.

And, and Philly's a major market. I mean, that city's tough. It's gritty it's all the things that really are like gonna make you or break you as a person and a journalist. And when I first got to Philadelphia, my mother died, I went through a divorce. All of this happened very quickly and my mother and I were very close.

And, so I went back to take care of my father and kind of get him through all of that. And, and then he had. Major health problems. So I stuck around there for another month to help take care of 'em. And that's when it started. 'cause I didn't feel like I could really grieve, you know? Mm-hmm. When you wanna get away from people or escape or numb the pain and that's when it really kicked into high air.

Well, they always say alcohol's like the solution not the problem. It's an AA saying, when it kind of hits and you're like, oh yeah, that's so true. It's so true. And then it's, you know, if alcoholism, if you're hardwired for it or it's in your family or, , what other reason brings you there, you can't just stop on your own either.

Mm-hmm. I mean, you know, we're all smart people. You're smart people. We've got brains. And, if we could stop on our own, we would. But once it gets going and the alcoholism is going, it's progressive. And, there were times I tried to rein it in, but. It controls you, you don't control it. Very true.

Don't? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay. So walk me through. I'm like, we're just basically timelining here almost. Sure. But I feel like I need like a projector. I'm like, okay, on March, no. I don't know. Right, right. Okay. So you're working your way up through the news Uhhuh, you get your first DUI. Tell me about that. Well, that was awful.

Like, it was so fun. Did you go to jail? I did. I know you've been, I've been to jail twice. I know, I know so much of your story. So I am trying to not like jump ahead so people can, hear it all. Yeah. Because I'm like, I have so many questions. Yeah. I went to jail twice and there were some surreal experiences in jail.

But so the first time I was arrested and I was booked into jail and I was a crime reporter for 20 years in Minnesota. And so there's, back in the day you would go pick up mugshots in person as a reporter online. Now you just go online and get them. Well, you could just Google like the bookings.

You could Google 'em too. They're live, like they update 'em as they're coming in. Yeah. And the deputy was taking me in this back door, the door you go in to get your mugshot taken. And the other deputies are, I know them all. I've covered them all. And they're like, B what are you doing here? That's the wrong door to get 'em mugshot.

And I'm like. I am the mugshot. And one of the deputies came over and he whacked me upside the head like a father would. And he said, you know, better than that. And he goes, we can't treat you any different, you know, go get in front of the camera and you're gonna get fingerprinted and booked, and we're gonna put you in a holding cell with all the other drunks.

Oh. But, oh, that, when he said that, that just, and I'm like, I am a drunk. Wow. Okay. Yeah. And so I, I did go into, a holding cell and they said, we're booked, so we have to put you in a room with other people. And, do you want me to share a story or two from that? Well, absolutely. Was that from your.

Because I was Were you on the news then? Yeah. Is that when they were talking about you in the gel cell? Oh, that's number two. Oh, okay. That's number two. That's number rest, number two. So let's stick with number one. So number one, I go into a holding cell and the deputies are like, call us if you need anything.

Hit a buzzer. And, they brought another woman in, and they said, you know what? We're booked. It's a weekend. You're gonna have a lot of people in your holding cell. Just get used to it. And I said, okay, okay. And so they brought this woman in and she's like, how are you? And what'd you do? That's what you talk about when you're in the clink, you know?

And I said, well, I, I got a DUI. And and she was like, oh, I got something that'll make you feel better. And I'm like, oh, what's that? And she said, you want some coke? And I'm like, I don't think they give us soda in ourselves, you know? And she goes, oh girl, that's not what I'm talking about. And this is so awful.

And forgive me, people at home. So she. Drops her pants, she squatted down, she grunted, and out of her private parts came a Ziploc baggie of cocaine. And I was sitting there horrified and I'm like, oh, this is a whole new low in my life, you know? And so she. Open up a Ziploc and takes out a little scoop. She wants some, and I'm like, no.

Got enough problems right now. No. And you don't want coer coke. That's what we could call it. Oh my God. Coer coke? No, Cooter. Coer Coke. Oh my God. That makes sense. Cooter Coke. I just came up with that. I was like, what's a C word? Oh, what? That's very catchy. And also I'm like, and how'd she get in here with that?

Anyway, she must have had it really far up there. Aw. So I went and, you know, bust. I'm like, Hey, can you take me to another holy cell? I think we've got an issue. And he's like, what's up? And I said, my cellmate, she's got some coke hidden in some private parts. And he goes, just get ready to take her to the hospital, strip, search her.

I'm like, well, she's got some. And he's like, well, we're booked. I gotta put you in another room with other people. And I'm like, okay. And anyway, I go in this other holding cell, and there was a woman sitting there crying like I was, we're both having, probably the worst nights of our lives.

And so I sit down and I'm like, so you know, what did you do? And she goes, DUI, what'd you do? And I said, my first DUI. And she goes, oh, it's my second. She goes, I'm gonna be fired. And I'm like, I, I might be fired. I don't know yet. And and I said, maybe they'll work with you, send you to treatment, maybe get you some help.

And she goes, no, it's my second. And I work for an organization that campaigns against drinking and driving. And I said, which organization? She goes, Matt. And I was like, oh my God. It just, alcoholism is an equal opportunity disease. Mm-hmm. It just gets us all in any other time. I would do a story on her as a crime reporter of, like someone involved with this organization who got busted for DUI out there putting other lives at risk.

That would make great news. Uhhuh. Yeah. Yeah. That would've been a a, it would've been a lead story any other time, but two things. I'm sitting there going, I feel for this woman, her life is poof. It's gonna get really bad. And then also I'm like, I'm not in a position to tell her story now. 'cause I am her story too.

Mm-hmm. You know, we have all of that in common. I. The second arrest. Do you want to hear about that one? Well, okay, so hold on. Okay. I best timeline. I've had 25 lives, so I just warn everyone. So you don't get fired though, and they kind of give you like a second chance. Your boss. My boss gave me a second chance, great boss and I loved him.

Can you say that about your bosses? I would hope so, yeah. I really enjoyed working for this particular boss. And so he did, you know, he sat me down and kind of had the talk with me, do you have a problem? We can get you help, we can get you treatment. And I was thick in denial. Nobody wants to be known as an alcoholic.

Mm-hmm. And I certainly didn't. And, I said, Nope, this'll never happen again. And he goes, okay, you know, again, Beth, we can get you help. And I said, no, I'm good. This is, it's a one-off, it's a one-time thing. This will never happen again. And and he said, okay, I, I put my job on the line for your job.

And I'm like, man, the pressure. And he said, we are gonna suspend you for 30 days. You're gonna have to go through a year of weekly treatment. You're gonna have to go to meetings. I want you to apologize to the newsroom when I allow you to come back to work. And that's humiliating and demoralizing, but it was necessary.

So they, and he said, this will be your only chance. I'm telling you now. He said, Fox News, that's who I was working for at the time of Fox Ohno. KMSP in Minneapolis and he said, we have a zero tolerance policy. We've never kept anyone before. And he goes, that's how much we like you. He said, you've helped to put us on the map here.

'cause I, as a crime reporter, I would break a lot of stories. And he goes, so this is your only break you're getting. And I knew the magnitude of that and I understood it. And because we had contracts that had morality clauses and Okay. And I breached the morality clause, I wouldn't say Fox 13, I didn't know this about the news.

Yes, yes. They're supposed to. Conduct themselves a certain way. Oh, we have morality clauses, everybody does in their contract. And, I blew it up like I blew up the rest of my life. And so he said, this is your one chance. And and then he said, you know, after you make all these reparations and amends, he said, we won't talk about it again.

It will be considered over and done with by me, and I hope you learned your lesson. And he looked deep in my eyes and it just whew, hit my soul. So did you stay sober for that year? I stayed sober for most of it. Or was it just like, oh, I won't drink and drive, slap on the wrist, learn my lesson, or did it hit you or you were like, I have a problem with alcohol.

I got worried then I knew I had a problem with alcohol. I didn't know if I could control it myself. But I was gonna do everything I could. So I really kind of white knuckled it for the better part of a year. And then, it slowly, I remember I was speaking at a charity engagement and we'd raised a bunch of money for this organization.

And there was wine and white wine and champagne were my weaknesses. My krypton night, I still miss my breakfast. Chardonnay, you know, it was chardonnay. That's what got, that was my weakness. That's so good. I swear they make it just for women. Like after like 35 you are like Chardonnay. Yeah, agree. Uhhuh like even red wine didn't do it for me, but Chardonnay did and that was my kryptonite.

And I was, I tried to maintain sobriety per. As long as I could, and then it slowly crept back in. That first drink always leads to more, right? Mm-hmm. It's a slippery slope. Like Sure. I could have. You probably didn't get drunk that night, right? Or did you? No, I didn't get drunk that night. I remember I had a glass and I was like, oh, look at me.

I can put this away. Yeah. I mean, woo, I, I think I can handle this to do as virtue signal. Look at me, look at her. She's more drunk. I just had one glass. Yeah, I just had one glass. But gosh, with me alcohol, it was zero to 100. Yeah. You know what made them one or two glasses to people affected me like three or four.

And if I knew there was wine left in a bottle, I could not walk away from it. Mm-hmm. You know, like I would see friends at dinner and even at this charity event, and they'd have their sip and they'd put it down, walk away, and I'm like. I would wanna just down, I like, you're wasting this, you know? Okay. I have to confess something.

It's so horrible. I shouldn't tell anyone, but I haven't, so I still have wine in my pantry that I just can't throw away. Really? I stare at it sometimes. Is it a thing, like a reminder? No, I just, there's something in me where I'm like, I don't wanna throw that out. Uhhuh, you know, that's, I know I won't drink it.

Right. Like, 'cause I'm not like contemplating drinking it, but I'm like, throw the damn wine away. And I'm like, no, thanks, Uhhuh. Is it, that's almost like a self, you're almost testing yourself fortitude too. Like stupid. I just gotta do it. I just keep, if I haven't really talked about it or told anyone, yeah, I would recommend it.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, I did. I cleaned out my house, all the liquor, everything, even the glasses. And I had these. So many cool glasses, wine glasses, and the clothes. So much money, right. And all that stuff. And my friends, I called them and I'm like, come on over, take whatever you want. It's all yours. I just gotta clean it off.

'cause I couldn't have the temptation in my house. And I keep thinking, oh, maybe I should give it to someone. And I'm like, well that's kind of messed up. Like, you know. Yeah. Coming from an alcoholic that, mixed messages there. Yeah. Uhhuh, I don't know. Okay. We'll talk about that another day. It's, I'm all hot.

That's another podcast. Yes. Okay. So you kind of go this year, and then do you feel like after that event you just slipped back into your normal drinking habits? I did. I slipped back into them and they just got worse. Honestly. They got worse. I couldn't, I would tell myself, Beth, if you go out and you have three drinks, you gotta get in your car and go home or take an Uber.

Listen to what I just said to myself. Get in your car and go home. I had three drinks. Are you kidding me? I shouldn't be driving. Mm-hmm. You know? And. There were some people along the way who were like, Beth, you don't have a drinking problem. You have a drinking and driving problem. And I'm like, no.

I knew deep in my heart, but then the three drinks would lead to four and lead to five. And then, one night I went out with coworkers to go listen to, I think it was Halloween night, correct? It was Halloween night. What year was this? A 2008. Okay. Halloween night. And we went out to listen to, a new band and a woman who was singing a great performer.

And I remember telling myself, Beth, at three drinks, get up and leave. And once I have one, I can't stop her two or three. And I knew I was getting drunk and I went to the bartender to tab out and I said, how many drinks have I had? She goes, five. And I'm like, oh my God, I don't even, so, you know, I wanted to pay the bill and get out of there and, and try and get home safely.

And why I didn't call an Uber or cab isn't that interesting? You're like, oh, I've had too much better go home. Which is the opposite of what we, and I know better. Yeah, I know better. We all know better. I've done things like that. Yeah. Yeah. And boy, I did, I got in the car and I was driving home and I hit someone on the highway going 80 miles an hour and, he wasn't hurt.

The other driver, his car, I hit the back of his bumper as I was changing lanes. So I did damage his car, and he did sue me and, we did buy him a new car and, make amends there. And then when I got home, I. The state patrol was sitting in my driveway, they didn't even have to like, follow the wreckage of my car 'cause the other driver had called it in.

And so they were waiting for me when I got there. Oh wow. And that's the last thing I remember about that. 'cause I was a blackout drinker. Once I got going I could really hit it hard and then I didn't remember anything. And so I woke up in jail 24 hours later. I have no memory of the rest of it leading up to that.

But when I woke up in jail, it was to women talking about the story that they were watching on tv. 'cause there was a TV in the holding cell. There's nothing else to do to divide your time. And they were talking about a train wreck that had happened the day before the anchors were. And I'm like, well, I know I was there.

I covered the train wreck. And I'm like, oh my God. My life is a train wreck. And then these women started talking because the next story it was me breaking news of my arrest, my mugshot, and details of what happened and video of the scene. Everything. And did you look good? No, I looked like hell, I looked like I had a hard night of drinking, you know?

Mm-hmm. And, yeah. And let me tell you, when I woke up, I felt like shit, just, you're to be on a hangover. And when I opened my eyes and I realized where I was, I'm like, oh, my life is over as I know it. And these women were talking, they're like, oh, look at that. Look at that lush.

I wonder where she is, who cell She's in. And they were talking about me not knowing it was me there. 'cause I did not look like that at the time. When I was laying on my bed, hung over and bawling my eyes out. And so then the women started asking, Hey, what's your name? What are you doing here?

And I'm like, oh, I got a DUI. And they said, your first one? I go, no, it's my second. And they're like. Your voice sounds familiar. Oh. And I was like, I'm like, no, it doesn't. I know. I don't know what you're talking about. And I was like, well, you know that woman you just saw there? And they were like, we thought, and I'm like, oh, that's me.

And and they said, are you in trouble? And I go, oh, I'm in big trouble. Yeah, this is, I said, I got one last year and my boss said, one and done. That would be it. And I said, I don't envision when I get out of here that I'm gonna have a job. And, I got some work to do and the deputy came to get me to release me.

And when we were in the elevator and she's walking me out and she says, Beth, I walked you out on your first DUI too. And I'm like, oh God, I've got a problem. And she goes, I hope I don't see you again. Do you think you've learned from this yet? And I'm like, oh, this'll be a learning lesson. You know?

Mm-hmm. I just dread set in. 'cause I knew how bad this was gonna be and it was. It was, and even my attorney, 'cause that was my one phone call I could make. And my attorney parked, he did this on purpose, several blocks away from the jail. So when I got out, there was no chance, I was not gonna be part of a perp walk, as we call it.

He wanted me to walk by the cameras, take the questions, take all the heat, have people chase me down. And because I had to go about four blocks to reach him and get in his car. My gosh. And he did all that on purpose. Is is part of my lesson. Do you feel like it was, it worked? Oh, it certainly contributed to, the hard fall and learning.

Mm-hmm. 'Cause he's like, when is it gonna be bad enough? Yeah. Yeah. When is it gonna hurt? He, that's what he asked me when I got in the car. Does it hurt yet? And I said, oh, it's starting to hurt. Yeah. And then we got to my home. He drove me home. 'Cause my car was seized and, I lost my license for a year.

So he drove me home and we got home. There was entertainment media at my home, like Uhhuh, oh my gosh. Some of the national shows and I don't wanna, so they were really hyping it up. They were really hyping it up 'cause it's Halloween and then, reporter and Anchor got busted. So they made it a story.

And then all the local TV stations, radio, newspaper, everybody was parked outside my house. And so I also had to walk past all of that to get into my home. Yeah. Uhhuh, that sounds awful. It was awful. And then I just hid inside, and waiting for the phone call from my bosses. 'cause I knew this was gonna be bad.

And then I also knew I've gotta get into treatment. I mean, I've got a problem here. And so I called, there's a big treatment facility, Minnesota Hazelton, Betty Ford Clinic. Mm-hmm. In, the center of the state. And so I called them and told them what happened and I remember someone who answered the phone said, welcome to the light.

I'm like, wow, okay. And I said, do you have a bed? Can I get in? They said, no, we're booked for a week, so you gotta bite your time for a week. And that's a long time for someone who's chomping at the bit. Mm-hmm. And I was scared. Am I gonna fall back? Am I gonna relapse? I'm here by myself.

None of my friends would pick up the phone. I was scared to death to call my father, who's the only one still alive at the time. And it was a horrible, horrible week. Yeah. So did you, so you went to rehab, is that what you ended up doing? I did. I had a, a 12th generation friend drove me to rehab because no one would take my calls.

Like I was What? Publicly? Ex exiled and shamed and former friends, you know, they pulled back, probably because they needed to. Yeah. I mean, I was really damaged, really, really damaged, and it blew up. And so they pulled back and they wanted some distance for their own safety in their own image. And , so I called a 12th generation friend.

And said, would you drive me like an hour and a half out to treatment? And she was kind enough to say yes. Mm-hmm. You know, yeah. I'll help take you out there. Otherwise, I didn't have a car and I didn't have a ride. Yeah. So you lost your license for a whole year? I'm just curious, did you, what did you do? Oh, it was awful.

So it was the dead of winter in Minnesota. And anybody who knows that is the temperature's never above zero in the winter in January, December, January and February, or it rarely is above zero. Snows, couple of feet on the ground, lost my car. I had a bicycle and I had my feet. Did you ride your bike a lot of places?

Yeah, I rode my bike everywhere and, in fact, I even slid on the ice one time riding my bike to go to Target to get groceries. 'Cause I didn't have a way to get around and nobody was taking my calls. So I'm like, well, if I wanna eat, I better go to Target. I can walk there, ride my bike there on icy rain, you know, sn covered roads.

And then when I would start aa, my a meeting was about a mile away. Mm-hmm. And so I would walk there in the dead of Minnesota winter, to just start on the path of recovery. If, if you want it bad enough, you'll do the things. If you want it bad enough, you'll do the things. And I went to AA every day for a year and it saved my life.

It saved my life. I love aa. I know everyone's like, pick your own recovery. Yes. And some people don't like it, but for me it was exactly what I needed. Me too. Exactly what I needed. The people that I met there, were spoke truth that resonated mm-hmm. With me. And, and I could speak openly for, the first time out outside of treatment and be honest about what I really was and what I really did and all the collateral damage that I caused.

And that's where I met my sponsor too. And that made such a difference in my life. Oh, having a sponsor is so great. She was tough too. Course she made me do all those steps and the personal inventory and I had to write out a list of, it was a long list of people that I'd wronged, that. She was going to sit there while I made the phone calls when the day came, and she did.

Boy, you know, and I had to hash it out with everybody and I owe everybody an apology because this wasn't done to me. I did this to them. Mm-hmm. So ultimately you lose your job, which I just think anyone who's listening, what I think they should do is check out your memoir, standby, because you talk about all this in detail, but also I think you give so many people hope that is.

People have asked me why I am releasing a book now and what took so long to write it. And you have to be ready. The time has to be right, and sometimes you have to live your ending before you can go back to the beginning. And so I had many years of, you gotta go through the process.

And that's jail, that's court, that's house arrest, that's, been on probation for a couple of years that's testing clean every week. Not having alcohol in my system. 'cause during my probation, if I ever came back with a dirty UA test, they were like, that's it, Beth, you'll spend the remaining two years in jail.

And I'm like. I don't want that. So I had to learn all of the lessons. And once you go through all of the consequences, the court consequences, then it's what now? And so I did aftercare, which is treatment every week. And, I took on a sober roommate, so my house would be kind of a safety bubble.

Mm-hmm. And there were all those lessons I had to learn. I had to pay the fines. I got sued by the guy I hit, I had to make amends with him. And then, I knew I was gonna lose my house. I knew I was gonna go broke 'cause I didn't have a living, I didn't have a lot of money in the bank and what I had left, paid attorneys and paid fines, state fines.

When you get more than one arrest in 10 years in Minnesota, the penalties are doubled. Oh, wow. Uhhuh. And so my penalties were substantial. And, and then the guy that sued me and I had to pay him. And so I'm like, okay, well I am broke, I'm emotionally broke, I'm physically broke. And what now?

And so you have to go through all of that? I think so. I would have a story worth telling, and I wanted to share with people the experiences that I had that worked for me. Mm-hmm. 'cause different things work for different people in recovery, and it took some time to build that up. And also I had to get over the shame.

I'm finally grounded enough and I'm comfortable enough, and my sobriety was 16 years that, that I have insight to offer other people that I think could help When you've been through the fire, you can help to show people the light, how you got there, and we alcoholics we don't tend to listen to people who haven't walked our walk, right?

Mm-hmm. Because they really, I, they have good intentions, but they don't. Know what we've been through. And a lot of times what I'm finding, I don't know if I should say this out loud, but most of the people are trying to gimme advice. I'm like, you're drunk. Like they'll be drunk giving me advice, you know?

Well, that's funny. You know? Funny, not funny, right? Like that's like, you need to come with me. You are the last person I'm gonna take advice from, you know? Yeah. So I love AA for that. You just find people, I was thinking about this 'cause I just went on Monday and I'm sitting in this room and I'm like, could you imagine if like there was just groups of people that got together and they're like, today was a bad day, or today was a good day.

Yes. And they just spilled their guts out, right? And then just went to the next person. You'd be. I think it would solve all for mental health issues, because you'd be like, oh my gosh. Like, oh, okay. Like they went through that. Like, you know what I'm saying? Yes. Yeah. They went through that. We tend to live in our little bubble where we think we're messed up Uhhuh and we are messed up, but we can also work our way through it.

Mm-hmm. And you can hear other stories of people at meetings and you're like, okay , he's got five years, I want five years. Mm-hmm. There was an older gentleman like grandpa age who kind of took me under his wing too in aa, and boy, he was hardcore. And, he told me one day after a meeting that I talked about, my boyfriend at the time, longtime boyfriend at the time, broke up.

With me. He's never had a drink in his life. He doesn't understand drinking, and that just added to my woes and my pain and all of that. And this friend that I made in aa, he said, did you love him? And I said, yeah, I did love him. And he goes, the best thing you could've ever done is, you know, not be with him any longer 'cause you're only gonna hurt him.

And I was like, excuse me, I don't hurt people. I help people. That's what I do. And then I'm like, Beth McDonough, you're a disaster right now. You gotta get this together. And this is part of my healing. And he had to save himself to get away from me. And that's hard to also realize when you look yourself in the mirror, that people in order to save themselves, have to create distance from you.

Yeah. I'm like, wow, that's eyeopening. That's an epiphany. I don't like that. Am I the problem? I am the problem, yes. Okay. So you returned to television though, and you rebuilt your career. What was that like? Especially with like that addiction thing kind of following you and Beth did this horrible thing.

Like how, how was that? It, so nobody would hire me and I got outta treatment. And when I did all the things and did all the court actions and took care of all the punishments, you know, they should hire you. You were creating stories. I was creating stories, and I didn't lose my skills.

I had 30 years of, being an investigative reporter so you don't lose the skills. But when my boss fired me, he said something really profound, and this was hard for me to hear. He said, I. You know, you had a job here for life. And I was like, yep. And he goes, but you're of no use to us anymore. I actually have it right here.

I quoted because it was such a good thing that he said to you, your use, is it okay if I read it? Yeah, absolutely. Okay. Your usefulness to us is over. He announced firmly as . As his pale face quickly turned, burnt red. We cannot keep you in the position of crime reporter any longer.

Sorry. Yes, I read that and I, it really hit me. Yeah. Tough. Even now. Nobody wants to hear that about themselves. Mm-hmm. That was hard. Do you feel like that was your really rock bottom moment? That was the moment, yeah. And he and I have since reconnected, but that was the moment, and I know it was hard for him as well, but I.

He did what I needed and he did what I couldn't do myself. He sounds like he was almost like a gift from God. I've had people along this path where I, yeah. I didn't know I needed them. Yes. But it was like we had some predetermined spiritual agreement and it hurt like hell. And how hard did I put him in that position?

And he said, he'd been a news director forever. And he goes, I've never encountered this before. And I'm like, oh. You know? Yeah. But what I've learned in the program, and I'm sure you have too, the best thing you can do is just do better. And you went out there, you're literally living your amends.

I'm living my amends and that's big to me. Nobody would hire me. I couldn't even get hired at the grocery store. And I tried. And so I'm like, okay, what am I gonna do now? So he kind of punt and I always love dogs and I've used dog walkers and doggy daycares in the past when I traveled for my assignments.

And so I'm like, well, I'll start to offer to walk my neighbor's dogs and that will at least give me some money and food that I can put on the table. And then that. Grew pretty quickly, but I had to walk dogs in my neighborhood 'cause I couldn't drive anywhere. And then after, so I did that for a year even in the winter and oh my god, that was so hard in Minnesota 'cause the ice and the snow and I was out there just humping it along with the dogs and picking up poop and taking their 20 and $30 each time.

And that's how I started to slowly rebuild. And and then that one of my clients, had a business complex and she said, I can give you this little warehouse, to reduced rate if you wanna turn this into daycare and boarding too. 'cause it was turning into that. Okay. So please tell me you started a dog empire.

I did. Yes. I knew it. I knew it and I knew who would've thought, I couldn't do it out of my home, which is what I wanted to do in the beginning, but I was about to lose my home. And, , so I knew I couldn't start it there. And this person who didn't know me from Adam until I started walking her dogs, you know, said.

I'll throw you a lifeline. And she did. I went to this warehouse and oh my gosh, it was in the worst shape you could imagine. It was easily could have been torn down. And she's like, if you want to get in there and renovate it. So I did. I got in there and just, painting the walls, taking it all down, doing this, doing that.

And so I grew it into doggy daycare and then people wanted boarding. So then, you know, I built some kennels and it, and I did a lot of the work myself. I hired some friends that I could, or that they would volunteer to help me. 'Cause money was really tight. And, so I grew into doggy daycare and then it grew into boarding and then grooming, and then about three years in.

And it was the hardest thing I've ever done. Oh my gosh. I grew it up to 40 dogs and I had 11 employees. And I thought, okay, I am at the point I've and I've grown this to be profitable, so I'm in a position where if someone wanted to buy it, I have the profit and loss statements to show them, and we've got at least 40 dogs every day.

So we tour to profit, I've got the employees and, and I'm like, let me see if I can sell this. And, I don't know what I was gonna do after that, but I just like, we're, they say sell your business when it's growing, not on the downside. And it was growing. And I, and, so anyway, I put it out there, I put the business up for sale and, and I was getting ready to close on the business with, and this other group that was gonna buy it.

And one of my employees was like, I want this business. I know the dogs. I know the inside and out and da, da, da. I'm like, okay, I'll sell. And, so I sold to her and, she kept it going for a long time afterwards too. She did a great job. And, that day after I got done selling it, I went and bought myself a new car with some of the proceeds.

It was kind of a reward to myself. Mm-hmm. And I'm like, I can drive again now. And I have my license back and I'm on, I'm doing all the things and following all the protocol for recovery. And, I was sitting at home after I came home with that new car. It was a new used car and out of the blue KSTP called me.

Oh, which is the a BC affiliate in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The same affiliate who went three years prior. I begged them for a job and they said flat out, no, we don't have a place for you. , And they met me face to face when they said that too. We don't have a place for you . So in their eyes, three years ago, at that time, I was still too damaged.

And, but they called me out of the blue and they said, we've got this. Investigative producing job for you. It's off camera. You won't be a reporter, you won't be on camera Bill. You'll be working to shape and put together stories for other people. Would you be interested in that? And I jumped at it, and and they had a list of requirements that they wanted me to do to maintain my sobriety.

Go to weekly meetings, meet with the sponsor. They wanted to be able to check on me anytime, do random UA testing on me. And they said, and you know, and here in their newsroom, if people ask you about it, we want you to be upfront about everything. And I said, okay, I can do all of that. And so I'm like, wow.

And you know this totally out of the blue. So in the world of reading the tea leaves, take this mm-hmm. And turn this into something good. And I was so incredibly grateful that they gave me another shot. And, 'cause I didn't know what I was gonna do otherwise. Yeah, that's given me chills, if you just think about how all of that aligned.

And when I walked into that TV station for the first time, like, I know all these people, and I've competed against them, and now we were gonna be on the same team. In the beginning. They weren't overly easy on me. I mean, whether it's photographers or set truck operators or other reporters and anchors, they were like, do you still drink?

Be honest. I'm like, Nope, I haven't had a drink. And they were like, really? And I go, yeah, no, I haven't had a drink and I won't have a drink. And they would ask me about my journey and I told them everything. And I actually overheard him talking about me one time to some of the photographers, and they were like, no, , she's open.

Ask her. And I think accountability for me is a big thing. I've tried to own it from, when I accepted getting fired and I'm like, you know what? I did this to people, they didn't do this to me. Yeah. Yeah. That's a really cool place when you get there too, where you're like, everything in my life is my responsibility.

Yes. It's very empowering. Uhhuh, after you look at yourself and you're like, oh shit, you know? Yeah. Like, oh shit. And there were a couple of emails that I got nasty grams as I call em. People are like, what are you doing out there? You can't, how do you get to work? You can't try, like, run your business.

Like it's, well, it's been three years. So what I did to turn that around though, I'm like, no, it's been three years. I do, have my license. Anybody can run the background, check on me, my license, I have a new license, it's valid. I have a car. And I paid my price. I've, I've, it feels like you paid a huge price, honestly, more than most people, that was the point.

The prosecutor told me to my face and so did my defense attorney. He said, you are not gonna escape jail. She wants to send you away for three months and not to county jail. And I'm like. Why? Yeah. There are other people who get two DUIs and then I'm like, Betsy gotta sit back and just go, why not?

I mean, she's, if you're in her position, I would make an example out of someone and that's what she's doing is making an example out of me. Yeah, so that, that was, it was tough, but, so what I've done with people who have emailed in, like, how could you hire her and blah, blah, blah, and what is she doing?

Driving? And so the managers would be like, how do you want us to address this? Which I thought was very nice. And I said, you don't have to, if you'll trust me, I'll address it. And they said, okay. So I would, and people put these phone numbers in emails, so I called 'em up and talked to them and they were shocked as shit.

That's amazing. Actually, I, last year I had a girl who was. Misinformed, but she just made all of these reels and stories about me. Mm-hmm. And I was like, oh, I know who she is. I'll get her number. And I called her and Uhhuh, I was like, I can't believe I did that. And I remember, this girl that was in here working with me, she was like, I can't believe you just did that.

Yeah. And I was like, well, she's doesn't know what she's talking about. Like, that's not true. It's not true. And I've never met her, but I know how to get her number. And I was like, Hey, can we talk? And she was like, no, no, no, no, no. And I was like, hold on. Like, I think you're misinformed. You know? It was really interesting.

Yeah. I was like, let's talk. Because people their own truths in their head. Yeah. You know, and then, and it's easy to send an email and be like, Beth, she, . How dare you. I can't believe you're back. Yeah. Dare you Make bad choices. Is this, you want this person to represent your station? Let say it to my face.

Let's sit down and talk. You tell me about all the things you've done in your life. You know, I, I don't go there. No, but that's, you know, yes. Yeah. And we know people have stuff in their lives. Everybody has issues in their life. Right. But I did, I called 'em up and I, I talked to each one of them and, and it took a while.

And, but I, I got through the list and, I did that for me, but I did that for them also to be like, people can change and improve their lives and turn their lives around. And we all know people every day in our lives who've done it. And, perhaps you'd give me the same grace to realize I paid all the prices.

I've done all the things, and here I am trying to work again and be a productive citizen. Don't we wanna embrace that? Mm-hmm. You know, you can hang on to my alcoholism and that. I got T two DUIs. But I'm not defined by that anymore. Now I am turning this around. I don't drink and and I'm doing good in the world.

Like, let's recognize that now. Okay. I wanna talk about one more thing. Yeah. That's in your book. It's good. There's, so I've read like a huge chunk of the first of it, probably like the first third. Okay. So I'm excited. I was trying to read, I'm like, I need the actual book, Beth, I need the actual book. So the publisher is just, yeah, you sent me a PDF and I was like, I can't read it.

, It's 40. I feel your pain. And I'm sorry it's 40 Uhhuh and I'm sorry. I'm like, I need it bigger. , But I love what I read. It's incredible. You're an incredible human, so, oh my gosh. Thank you. Eventually you make your way to St. George, but what kind of led that, I do wanna touch on this really quick. So you got back into investigative reporting, you were covering George Floyd and you got shot.

Yes. In my left hip. That's crazy. It was. So a couple of things lead up to that. So over time, just my history of breaking stories and I was breaking some stories behind the scenes and giving them, handing them off to other people. And there was one particular story that I remember. We just got very lucky that we found this woman, who'd abducted a kid.

And, we got the video of her capture and da da da da. And I had to hand that off to another reporter, and that was, ooh, it's hard for me to do as a competitive, person. But he, he was very gracious and he mentioned my name, you know, but it was hard to listen to someone go and our producer got this and, but he gets credit for it.

So over time then we reached an agreement. I'd go back on camera. The public was receptive. We had to wait for them to be ready too. So I did go back on camera. And then, so I covered a very large abduction of a teenage girl, and both her parents were murdered. That was in Barron County, Wisconsin, and it would lead to the George Floyd and I was bitten by a tick and and I started to get very ill.

And, you couldn't see that coming. And, so I had to go on medical leave and I was almost bedridden. And then when my medical leave was done, I came back to work and a month later, George Floyd happened, , but I was still deathly sick, but my medical time was up, so, I had to.

And what we reporters do, we suck it up. You know, you suck it up, you go and so George Floyd happened and it was on my watch and like when we got to the scene, our TV station was pretty close to that, intersection of 38th and Chicago.

And when we got there, he was still alive and just the whole place was erupting then. And then I'm like, oh, this is gonna be awful. And I don't physically, I don't know if I can handle it, so, di. The third day into it when the protesters were storming the third precinct and we were there and we kind of, my crew and I were caught in the crowd surge and we were also watching people break into a liquor store across the street, which is kind of how people remember that starting that day of everybody just busting into this red building and taking whatever they wanted.

And then they hit the target next door. And I we're, so we're shooting this, my crew and I, and I'm like, oh God, my left hip hurts. Wow. What's that? So you start rubbing, you know, and then, uh, one of my photographers is like, Beth, what's on your clothes? And I look down, I'm like, oh, that's blood. Oh my god, that's blood.

And so, you know, then you pull your clothes up and I'm like, I've been shot by a concrete bullet. Can't tell where it came from. I dunno if it's a protester or if it was police. 'cause police were stationed. Outside of the third precinct on the ground, but they were also on top of the building. Sharp shooters were on top of the building, and they would shoot bullets and that sort of thing to try and keep protesters at bay.

So I don't know who shot me. Oh my God, did that hurt? And so my crew was like, do you wanna go back, to the car, to the station? And I'm like, Nope. This is what we do. You know, like, I'll, I'll stick it out, I'll hang in there as long as I can. So I did. And, and then. After that. Fast forward a couple of months to July, 2020.

And I was very, very cautious going forward, covering other riots. And I'm not gonna call 'em protest anymore 'cause they were all out riots, you know, it was violence and I've been in war zones and, this was like a war zone. And so I was pretty cautious going forward. But, there was a night in July, 2020, we just thought it was gonna be another protest and another riot.

And as I was walking back to our satellite truck, a protestor came up to me and stopped me, grabbed my arm, pointed a gun in my head and said, your media, you're next. Are these the peaceful protests? Yeah, these were the peaceful protests. They were, yeah. It was definitely a protestor and not peaceful.

He had two guns, he had a handgun. And then, Nate Kay. And but he pointed the handgun at my head and I was just like, I. I can't do this anymore. Yeah, I can't, you know, like I've been doing this for 30 years and this is clearly, it's escalating towards me. Not that I'm being, targeted, but I'm media.

So we were a target. That was a target. Everybody was a target at that time. And there's nowhere I can turn for help. Police aren't available. And so I went to the hospital, the next day and I got, when I got outta work, 'cause we worked 12 on, 12 off notice days off during all the riots. And I went to the hospital and I had a meltdown at the hospital and I, I still had the bruise from being shot.

And the doctor said, you have got to lower your stress. You have PTSD. And I'm like. Do you know what I do for a living? Like stress is my life, you know? Mm-hmm. This is mm-hmm. And they were like, you can't go back to work. And I said, I know I'm gonna take a little more time off. And so I reached out to my bosses and I said, I'm not coming back.

They're like, okay, we'll give you another medical leave. You take care of yourself. Do whatever you need to do. We'll support you. And they did. They were fantastic. I couldn't have asked for better support, but when that leave of absence was gone and I thought about going back to work, I had a major panic attack.

I dreaded it, and I couldn't bring myself to go back. And, so that's when I called the bosses and said, I'm done. You know what can, what? And I just find it a signed a five-year contract renewal. Mm-hmm. Which is pretty unheard of in our business. And, and they said, go take a little bit more time. Do what you need to do.

Let's talk in three months. And I said, okay. Well, I put my house on the market. I moved to St. George. That's what I did. Sure. I'll be chatting, I'll be, we'll be chatting long distance, and 'cause I just had this feeling in my heart of you can't heal in the same place you got hurt. That was my feeling in my heart.

And I'd been on vacation several times to St. George and I fell in love with it. And there's just a healing vibe and there's a good sober community and people really wish you well here. And so I said, you know, let me go to St. George and I've got two things to, well I've got many things to heal from.

But being shot and then be my life being threatened again. My Lyme disease, oh my god. When the gun was pointed in my head, you have to really manage your stress when you have Lyme disease. 'cause it can cause bad flareups. Mm-hmm. And I was not out of the woods even in the beginning. I was still on antibiotic IVs every day before I went into work.

I'd go in and sit and get antibiotic IVs every day and, oh my gosh. The worst flare up I've ever had happened, after that. And so I'm like, I'm going to St. George. I'm done. I gotta put some distance between me and this and, and start to lay out what healing's gonna look like in recovery for me going forward.

Yeah. Okay. So you moved here. How long have you lived here? Four years now. Do you love it here? You're not leaving It's paradise. I mean, you could, I would never say that I'm not leaving. 'cause you never know. You know, I've just learned to say I am not leaving because I've lived 13 times in my life for various careers and jobs.

So I don't wanna say never, but I feel like this is home for me. And this is the place, you know, where you can come and you just mm-hmm. Can relax and you can breathe. And the people are so wonderful here. They're like. Live your life. Call us if you need help, but otherwise we don't get into your business.

And I respect that about, and St. George is certainly a safe bubble. , So I don't know. We'll see. I hope to stay here forever. My plan is to stay here and, you know, go out into the world and do what I need to do. But can I always come back to my bubble? Yeah. Yeah. And that's how I see St. George is just a wonderful bubble.

And there are great people here like you. I mean, look, the recovery community, who, you know, who us. Look at this. And here we are doing a podcast. Look at their recovery community. Yeah. You messaged me on Facebook, Uhhuh Messenger, Uhhuh. I was like, oh, hey, Uhhuh. Because I saw, and I'm like, oh, who's this girl?

She's really out there about her recovery. 'cause I, I'm very open when people ask and uh, and I'm like, oh, I'm kind of drawn to that, you know? And then I love the way you tell your stories. And by the way, congratulations on one year. Oh yeah. I got my year chip. That is no small feat. The first year is the hardest.

That's what they say, Uhhuh. It's very hard to get sober. It's easier to stay sober. Mm-hmm. You know? I agree. 'cause now I'm like, this is really easy. Like you don't, you just don't drink alcohol. It's like so basic, Uhhuh, but in the beginning it is not basic at all. It's not. No. You think about drinking all the time because you don't wanna drink.

Mm-hmm. And you're constantly presented new situations, holidays, pool, party, like all these things that you're used to, Uhhuh. So you have to basically relearn to live your life. And I would go finally reconnect with people who weren't afraid of being seen with me anymore. You know? And then we'd go out to dinner parties, whatever, and they're like, does it bother you if we drink?

And I'm like, no, not, I look at that and I'm like, that is the worst enemy on earth for me. Mm-hmm. You know, because it, I threw an atomic bomb into my life. Other people can, and I. I marvel at other people who can handle the drinking or that walk away from a half glass of wine or I'm like, yeah, I can't do that.

Mine was like the behind closed doors. Like I was just going through hell mentally, physically, you know? And I was constantly just repeating the same cycle. Yeah. And eventually you either I think, die or get off the hamster will. Yeah. That's, I'm like, what would happen if we lived the rest of my life differently?

Huh And what's happened so far? It's been incredible. Yeah. It has been incredible. I'm not gonna say that it was sunshine and rainbows, you know? No, never. Like you don't just get sober. And I'm like, oh yeah. I'm like, well all of a sudden people hate me. Like there's all these things 'cause I'm not the person that I was in the relationship that we had, you know?

Yes. Even my husband and I, we've had to figure out like, well, how are we navigating our relationship now? And we've been married for 15 years. Oh, congratulations. Congratulations. And this is probably the first time where I was like, we have to work on this and we have to like, have some hard conversations, Uhhuh.

But the other side of it has been really amazing. Yes. And that was. That's what happens if you get in there and you do the work. Mm-hmm. And the hard conversations. You do, you can, you can get to the other side. Yeah. And then people have to get to know and trust that you're not gonna go wacko on them again.

Like I wouldn't go wacko on them again. And it takes a while to build up that trust and credibility again. It does. It really does. But what I was most nervous about was a lot of my clients, especially like, I'm just gonna air quote here, my higher end ones. Sure. And they were like, oh my gosh, it's so cool.

Like, yes, I just binged all of your tiktoks. Like, you look so good. And I'm like, oh, I thought it was gonna be like, we hate you. You're fired. Yes. Uhhuh. And they're like, oh, look at this cool thing she's done. We wanna work with her more. I'm like, what the hell? Uhhuh, because you've been through the fire, you found the light and everybody loves.

People, I think they'll rally around people who will help themselves and show others, you know, a white, I'm a big fan of a comeback story. Yeah, yeah. You know, I had my daughter when I was 19 was divorced. There was some horrible, like, 'cause I got married at 19, it's a Utah thing, Uhhuh? Oh yeah.

People marry young here. Yes. Uhhuh got divorced right away. So I was on my own with a baby, you know? Oh my goodness. I feel like, yeah, I feel like I've really like rallied up. Yes, you have. And look, you've got a business. Mm-hmm. And you have a happy marriage and a good family. Two kids, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. So I have a lot of amazing people in my life too. Did you find that? It was like, yes, there's people that had to go and it was really painful. Yes. It's been a really painful year. Yeah. But then it's also been a very fulfilling year with amazing people. I have gone on to make the kind of friends. That you want in your life.

Mm-hmm. You know, post alcoholism. And when I was doing doggy walking, in fact, some of my clients are my best friends now, and they were like, we can't even imagine you drinking. Like, and they were like, and you know, 'cause sometimes we have to take your battery out. 'Cause we're full of life, right? Mm-hmm.

Yeah. And so I have some of the best friends in the world that you could ever ask for. And the best experiences and opportunities that wouldn't have come before. Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty amazing. It's amazing when you get to this side, you just gotta cross that bridge and it's a long ass bridge.

It's a bitch of a bridge. Like you have to build the bridge. Yeah. You have to build the bridge and then you have to walk across it. Yes. You know? And trucking through the desert for 40 days and 40 nights. Yes. It's very true. Okay, so you, your book, when does it officially drop? Is it TBD? Yeah, it's TBD and I wish I had a better answer for you.

It's TBD, I talk with the publisher every week, so we're just waiting for the cover art and the back of it. And then it's out. You know, it's already printed. Mm-hmm. We're ready to rock and roll. We're just waiting for that. And then it will be available anywhere, but books are available, Barnes and Noble.

Okay. Amazon, this is so exciting when it hits Barnes and Noble. Do you think it'll be an R Barnes and Noble here? Yes. Okay. So can we, and you go down and like, let's Yeah. Yeah. And we'll go buy it and you can find it. Find out. That'd be so fun. Okay. Yeah. We'll, we'll bring Cindy, she's over here. She'll record all of it for us.

Yes. I love that. Yeah. Wouldn't that be fun? Mm-hmm. Okay. One of my favorite things, is I have like a dedicated little book nook. Okay. And it's all of like my friends who've wrote books and like, you know, people that have had signed Uhhuh. So then I can add your books to it. Oh, it'll be amazing. I would be honored.

Yeah. And the day will come, I think, when you'll write yours maybe. Right. If you get, 'cause it takes a while. You gotta, you have to get comfortable with your story. Mm-hmm. And kind of get past the shame and the guilt a bit. And, you gotta, you have to live your story before you can tell it. So you, you're getting there.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Something else I wanna give you kudos for. And then I, this is going kinda long. Are you okay on time? Yeah, I'm good. Okay, great. We're gonna turn into Joe Rogan and just have like four hour podcasts. I would love that. Hey Joe, over here. Hey, over to Utah. Let's chat. And he loves to talk about sobriety and recovery and some, one of his podcasts recently.

And he said he had quit drinking. I dunno if he still has. Yeah, I saw that. Yeah. And he said for no reason other than he's just like, I don't like the way I feel when I wake up the next day. Well, he was saying, why would you train so hard to just throw it away basically? Yeah. You know, Uhhuh. Yeah. Okay.

So I wanted to give you a little shout out for this. Okay. You've been doing some modeling. Yes. And I think that's so cool. Thank you. So yeah, I keep seeing you like down in Vegas doing like. Campaigns, I don't know what Yeah, yeah. Various commercials and, and uh, social media campaigns for different advertisers.

I thought as I started to, it took me living here for four years and really focusing hardcore on my health and getting as much as my health back as I could from Lyme disease. 'Cause a lot of it affected the bacterial infection went into my brain. Oh my gosh. So I couldn't talk for a while.

There would be no podcast. I couldn't talk. And, so a lot of brain rehab and things, so I focused on my health and then I used also that time to finish writing the book. And then when I got done, I'm like, okay, what? I'm too young to retire and I, I've spent so much of my own money to get my health back, 'cause health insurance and people with chronic disease are aware of this doesn't cover Lyme disease.

So everything I did was coming outta my pocket and my pockets were bare. That could be a podcast that, yeah. And my pockets got bare. I got my health back, you know, I, I made, I tell people I'm made a choice, you know, I could, still have some money in the bank and look at death 'cause I was headed that direction.

Or I could really put everything I had into it, which is kind of how I'm wired. You know, I go all in. So I did, I put everything I had into it to get my health back. And I'm like, okay, I've got my health back. I'm ready for this now. Like, let's, you know, tell the story. But also I wanted to use some of my skills that I had from TV news, being on camera for 30 years and building rapport.

And I did a lot of, you know, hosting charity events, speaking at those. And I went to promotions and PSAs, ad nauseum, you know? Mm-hmm. And social media constantly in news. And so I said, well, I can use those skills to kind of turn this into something that would fix your mic for you. Sorry. Okay. It was going down.

Did you see that? No. No. I'm so like, chatting Kathy verbose. So to transfer some of those skills over into a new arena. And I'm like, but of course, you know, I'm 57 too, so like how much work is out there? But I thought, oh, there's all of these, we call 'em classic models, mature models. Oh, are you a classic model?

So I'm a classic model, I would say so at this age. I've done things for like, Prevagen Trace Minerals, you know, things like that. Mm-hmm. Which I've enjoyed immensely meeting the people and it's amazing how many people kind of in that industry are very into recovery and very sober.

And so that has been a good transition for me to do that. To have a little something to do, make some money and, start to. Come out again, if you will, you know? Yeah. Because I kind of went into hiding for a little bit to deal with all of this, but ready to come out. And so I've just modeling, I've done a little bit of background acting.

I would not say I'm an actress. I don't think the directors would say that either. Well, they've asked me to do something. They're like, oh, you'll being the background. Like, I was just hired to stand here. I know. Can I just stand here? And you take pictures? Yeah. So I've kind of ventured into that as well.

My main focus now is back on the book. But it's been, you know, all part of just, all right, let's throw some things at the wall. Let's see what sticks. And the world would tell me which direction I need to go. And it's this direction. Yeah. Yeah. I keep getting that message too. When you sit quiet with yourself, whatever your higher power is, it's like, just keep sharing your story.

Yes. And I'm like, well shape up all my focus on that. And it's like, no, do what you do, but just keep sharing your story Uhhuh, you know? 'cause it's helping someone more than you know. Oh. And it, it truly is. It truly is. I get so many comments, good and bad on social media, but I'm gonna say mainly good of, when you think, oh, do people still wanna hear from me?

Mm-hmm. You know, do they wanna hear my story? And the reaction has been, yes. 'cause I haven't told my story before. And, and people are like, what did you go through? And I'm like, oh, I went through it. You know? So people do wanna hear it because also then. Whatever they have gone through, whatever their rock bottom was, they see you can work your way back.

It's work. There are no shortcuts as we know. If there are shortcuts, we'd all do 'em. But it's work And you're, you're showing look. Mm-hmm. You've got a year under your belt, you've worked your way back. Mm-hmm. You put the bottle down and and it can be done. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And you're living proof. So that's, I kind of say we're living proof, you know, I, and people, there've been a couple of, you know, bad eggs who've tried to tempt me with a drink along the way, and I'm like, I do not drink.

Period. And then I cut that person outta my life. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I wanna end with this quote from your book. It's at the very end. Okay. Which is not a spoiler, so, okay. Yeah. Because we know you get sober. Who knew? Getting knocked down lower than I have ever been would be the catalyst I longed for to hit the reset button.

Difficulty doesn't kill who you are, it reveals who you are. I just love that last one. We should put it on a poster up here. Uhhuh, you're right that it's great poster material. Yeah, it's yeah, and when I was writing that, you know. There's a Eleanor Rose Roosevelt has a quote that says What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Mm-hmm. And I, that's my motto in life. It just like, okay, other people can't do it, but let's get up and go get it done. And I just believe that it doesn't destroy you. It really defines you. I love that. So difficulty doesn't kill who you are, it reveals who you are. Yes. Which is beautiful.

Okay, well thank you so much for coming down today. You're welcome. Coming down, coming over, coming into the office. Yeah. This has been great. You've got a good setup. Thanks. Thanks. And you've got a good platform to really reach out to people and make a difference. Yeah. We gotta get you on TikTok, Beth Uhhuh.

Okay. That can be okay. Okay. But you're on Instagram. Where can people follow you? Uhhuh, where are you at online? So I am on Instagram, I am on TikTok. And I'm just starting to come out a little bit more now on TikTok. Okay. Don't judge me. I'm still on Facebook and everyone's still on Facebook. Don't worry.

Yeah. 'cause we all still kinda mm-hmm. Troll a little bit. And then I have a YouTube page and I'm happy to report that my author's website is finally out. So it's beth mcd media.com. I thought my last name was probably a little too hard for everyone to remember. So we're like, let's just truncate it. And, when the book is available, it will be, you can buy there and then anywhere, Amazon, Kindle, all of that.

And I'm also going to start like reading little excerpts of it to post on there so people can, get a little bit of a sample of what's coming their way. Incredible. Yeah. Thank you. Okay. You so follow her on Instagram so when the book drops we can go grab it. I'm gonna go, I'm gonna find it in person 'cause it's even more fun.

Oh, you're gonna, I'll give it to you in person. You'll get a hard back. Okay. Awesome. Thank you for your time today. Yeah. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.