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What I Didn't Know: Building the Life You Recovered For
In 2018—after years of checking boxes and chasing approval instead of truth—I found myself on a kitchen floor for the first time, finally facing everything in my life that wasn’t working.
That moment didn’t end the struggle; it started the rebuild.
Welcome to What I Didn’t Know: Building the Life You Recovered For—a podcast for the recovering soul who’s ready to move beyond surviving and into thriving. This is a space for getting better together and healing out loud.
We’re here for those who’ve built a foundation of recovery—whether from addiction, trauma, or a painful past—and are now ready to create a meaningful, aligned life on the other side. Using the principles of healing and growth, we intentionally rebuild and redesign every part of life.
Each episode explores the real-world challenges and breakthroughs of becoming your truest self, including:
• Purpose & Direction — building a future you genuinely desire
• Mindset & Patterns — rewriting limiting beliefs and old stories
• Conscious Relationships — boundaries, connection, and self-trust
• Creative Fulfillment — reclaiming passion and expression
This is a space for honest conversations—about letting go, courage, resilience, and the ongoing journey of becoming.
It’s my passion to share what I’ve learned so you can build the life you recovered for.
If you’re ready to thrive—not just survive—subscribe and share with someone who needs this.
Episodes
46 episodes
EP45: The Space Between Loss and Living | Permission to Change Your Life — with Matthew Hillman
There is a strange, quiet gravity that shifts when you lose the anchors of your family tree. Suddenly, you aren’t just looking back at your roots—you’re looking at what you're leaving behind.We often treat grief like a linear checklist. ...
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EP44: Beyond Domestic Violence | Breaking the Cycle, Reclaiming Self-Worth, and Choosing Peace — with Haven Thomas
In this deeply moving and vital episode, I sit down with my friend Haven Thomas to open up a transparent, empowering conversation about surviving domestic violence, breaking the cycle of trauma bonding, and finding the road to true freedom
EP43: Untelling Old Stories | Releasing Forced Timelines and Learning to Receive — with Elizabeth Bee
What happens when you finally decide to change your life, but the divine timeline doesn't match the grand vision you’ve mapped out for yourself?In this episode, local Nashville musician Elizabeth Bee and I unpack the messy reality of rec...
EP42: The Cost of Staying the Same | Secondary Gain & The Process of Change
"What are you getting out of staying stuck?"It’s an uncomfortable question, but it’s the one that finally forced me to look at my own blind spots. Shifting out of old habits and deeply ingrained behaviors requires a massive internal lift...
EP41: The Masterpiece of Contrast | Honoring the Dark Spaces of Our Past — with Chad Wilkerson
What happens when the armor you build to protect yourself from the world becomes the very cage that traps you?In this episode, I sat down with Chad Wilkerson to explore the exact turning point where his defense mechanisms became too heav...
EP40: Rebuilding from Scratch | Felonies, Judgment, and the Boxes That Define Us — with Megan Haushulz
How do you rewrite your future when the world keeps dragging you back to a single page of your past?In this candid conversation, Megan Hauschulz joins me to pull back the curtain on rebuilding a life from scratch—from navigating the corr...
EP39: Breaking the Silence | Building a New Legacy by Design — with Frankie Seeney
"Give yourself the opportunity to get it wrong."In this episode, I sit down with Frankie Seeney for an unfiltered look at growing up in the "School of Hard Knocks" and what it actually takes to rebuild a life from the ground up. We dive ...
EP38: The Art of Rebirth | Surrender, Bravery, and the Power of Choosing Yourself — with Savannah Kirkland
“My first drug of choice was validation.”In this episode, I sit down with Savannah Kirkland for a soul-baring conversation about the beautiful reality of the "Second Chance." We talk about how our first birth is handed to us, but ...
EP37: On the Day Before | Trusting the Invisible Process
What if today is just the 'Day Before' everything changes?Have you ever felt like you’re doing all the work, making the changes, and showing up—but nothing is actually moving? No phone call, no new door opening, just… silence?...
EP36: Brick by Brick | The Bravery of Vulnerability — with Mike White
What does it actually mean to be vulnerable? In this episode, I sit down with Mike White to discuss the messy, courageous "practice" of becoming new again. From navigating the dating world after decades of marriage to dismantling de...
EP35: The Next Divine Stitch | Persistence, Humility, and the Healing Power of Joy — with Marty Quinn
What if the goal isn't to get it all right, but simply to find the courage to make the next divine stitch?In this episode, I’m joined by Nashville comedian Marty Quinn for a conversation that explores the magic of long-term recovery. Aft...
EP34: Pattern Withdrawal | Choosing Connection Over the Isolationship Bunker — with Joe Singer
What happens when your "independence" starts to look more like a bunker? This week, we’re pulling back the curtain on the "squirrely" reality of growth, the weight of carrying grief for others, and why choosing a life of reco...
EP33: The Practice of Gratitude | Meeting Yourself Where You Actually Are — with Chuck Shanlever
"Gratitude makes what I have enough.”In this episode, I sit down with Chuck Shanlever, a recovery veteran and student of the human experience with over 38 years of sobriety. Together, we strip away the image management of daily life to e...
EP32: The Permission Myth | Realizing Nothing Changes Until You Do — with Lily Petersen
"I realized that my comfort was becoming a cage."Whether you’ve hit every milestone on a high-achiever’s list or you’ve simply been playing it safe on autopilot—have you ever looked at the life you’ve built and realized you’ve lost th...
EP31: Do It Scared | Navigating Perfectionism and Finding Your People — with Isabel Serafin
This week, I sat down with the incredible Isabel Serafin, and we explored the notion that the "perfectionist" mindset is actually a one-way ticket to the loneliness epidemic. We often treat perfectionism like a personality quirk, but in this co...
EP30: Eyes Wide Open | Shadow Work, Projections, and the Architecture of Conscious Love — with Jeff Browning
I’ve spent years realizing that I wasn’t always in a relationship with the person in front of me—I was often in a relationship with a blueprint from my past. I’m so excited to be joined again by my first repeat guest, Jeff ...
EP29: Recovery A La Carte | Trauma, Joy, and the Art of Radical Honesty — with Michael Harrell
You are an expert in your own experience. In this raw, soul-stirring conversation, I sit down with Michael Harrell to pull back the curtain on the non-linear path of healing. From our first "deep dive" meeting on a couch to Michael’...
EP28: The Discipline of Self-Reclamation | Your Future is What You Speak — with Rad Marshall
In today's conversation with Rad Marshall, we dive deep into the art of self-reclamation and the powerful discipline of growth. We explore the messy process of breaking old patterns and what it actually takes to stop "self-abandoning" fo...
EP27: Gold in the Shadow | A Masterclass in Duality — with Wes Hamil
In this soul-stirring and expansive conversation, I sit down with professional songwriter and recovery veteran Wes Hamil. With 34 years of sobriety and a deep-rooted apprenticeship in Native spiritual traditions, Wes provides a profound ...
EP26: Brave in the Process | Finding Strength in the Messiness of Becoming — with Mark Martin
In this episode, I sit down with Mark Martin, who is currently nine months into a deep process of personal transformation and recovery. We dive into the raw, honest reality of what it looks like to dismantle an old life and the vulnerability of...
EP25: When Things Don't Go The Way You Think They Should | A Lesson in Perfectionism
Today’s Tuesday episode is a little different. No guest this week—just a raw, honest conversation about what happens when things don't go according to plan. I’m opening up about a technical glitch that forced a choice: scramble to m...
EP24: The Habit of Suffering | From Empathy Fatigue to Embodied Compassion — with Angela Melzer
Are You Carrying the Weight of the World? We often use the term "compassion fatigue" to describe the exhaustion of caring, but counselor Angela Melzer suggests a profound shift in perspective: compassion itself is an infinite...
EP23: Learning to Listen | Exhaustion of the Lie and the Purpose of Staying Teachable — with Joe Singer
“The biggest fight I’ve ever fought in my life was with myself.” When Joe Singer texted his boss at a beer distribution company to admit he was an alcoholic, he expected to lose his livelihood. Instead, he was met with a simp...
EP22: Stronger at the Break | Reinforcing Your Life for a Great Adventure — with Russ Pollard
What happens when the life you dreamed of finally arrives, but you’re too "broken" to actually live it?This week, I’m talking with Russ Pollard, a professional musician and DJ who has lived the full arc—from touring the world on a...
EP21: The Survivalist Brain | Why Addiction is an Ancient Power in a Modern World — with Casey Hyatt
Is addiction a genetic defect, or a survival superpower trapped in the wrong century?In this episode, I sit down with Casey Hyatt, a Master’s level clinician with over 15 years of experience, to look beyond the clinical labels of ...