Episode 50: Chasing Hilltops, Losing Yourself, and Starting Over: Hunter’s Path to Real Peace

This week, we sit down with Hunter — a military kid who grew up learning how to blend in anywhere, yet spent years feeling like he didn’t belong anywhere at all. Now approaching two years sober, Hunter’s story is one of ego, honesty, spiritual awakening, and the powerful shift that happens when you stop performing recovery… and actually start living it.

Growing up constantly on the move, Hunter perfected the art of being a chameleon. His dad was a heavy drinker, and the first time Hunter drank — at just ten years old — he got completely hammered. What he remembers most is the relief: for the first time, he was finally out of his own head. But that temporary escape turned quickly into quicksand, pulling him deeper into hopelessness as the years went on.

He cycled through treatment centers, learning the language of recovery but never the meaning. He could repeat everything he heard — quote the literature, talk the talk — but none of it reached his heart. It was all manipulation, survival, and performance. His parents eventually did their own work, set firm boundaries, and stopped enabling him. His mom sent an email saying they wouldn’t help him again until he was truly ready to get sober — a turning point that shook him.

His first real attempt at recovery came when his military family insurance sent him to treatment in Costa Mesa. Even then, it took a full year of detox-after-detox before anything stuck. When he finally got a year sober, life got big — too big. He brought his parents out to see him take his chip… and then realized the hilltop he had been chasing didn’t deliver the peace he expected. Without a relationship with a Higher Power, his foundation crumbled. His relapse lasted two weeks before he reached out for help, walked into a meeting, and started again — this time with humility.

Hunter’s episode dives into the ego traps in the rooms — how easy it is to share just to sound good. He jokes, “I used to think my name was ‘Would anyone like to share?’ because I’d jump up the second they said it,” admitting he loved hearing his own voice more than he loved surrender. What changed everything was finding a sponsor who doesn’t just talk the talk, but walks it — someone calm, grounded, and spiritually aligned.

Today, Hunter is building a life rooted in genuine recovery. His relationship with God has completely transformed him — not in a performative way, but in how he shows up with patience, love, tolerance, and presence. He’s learned that real fulfillment isn’t at the top of some imagined hill… it’s in the simple, consistent actions that build inner peace.

Hunter’s story is a reminder that recovery isn’t about sounding good — it’s about becoming whole. It’s about letting go of ego, finding a Power greater than yourself, and living the principles in quiet, steady ways that no one sees.