Episode 40: Jenna — Honesty, Jail Time, and Building a Life in Recovery

Jenna has 11 years sober, and her story starts with a last drunk she’ll never forget: Four Lokos, weight-loss pills, sleep meds, and a desperate attempt to convince herself that everything she’d heard in AA meetings was wrong. But one morning she woke up, picked up the phone, and got honest about everything she was doing. At just 43 days sober she landed in the hospital with pancreatitis, where doctors told her if she hadn’t stopped drinking when she did, she could have died.

Her dad—an Al-Anon member for nearly 20 years—had always held firm boundaries. From her hospital bed, Jenna finally called him. Eventually he came, and she got to make her final amends. She also had three criminal charges hanging over her head. Instead of running, she chose to face them head-on. Within her first six months sober, she served 45 days in jail. Her sponsor told her to get a Big Book and be of service inside, and she did—taking her 90-day chip behind bars.

When Jenna was released, her dad picked her up at dawn. He asked if she wanted breakfast; she wanted a 7 a.m. meeting. From there, she started rebuilding: a pumpkin patch job, babysitting, and then, at six months sober, an honest moment in a job interview that led to her first real break. By one year, she was applying to work in treatment. Without a driver’s license, she promised the interviewer she’d get it within 48 hours. Seeing her dad waiting outside the interview impressed him so much he offered her the job—the start of her career helping others.

Jenna also shares candidly about her first year in recovery—hooking up with newcomers “left and right,” and how her sponsor never judged her, only offered suggestions. It was powerful to learn her lessons with someone by her side, ready to point her toward the right path.

🎧 Listen for a conversation about brutal honesty, second chances, and how integrity and willingness can turn even the messiest beginnings into a life of service and purpose.