Karen's Story

Karen's story will resonate with anyone who has ever drank to numb feelings of inadequacy or depression. Karen was a hard-working high-achiever with everything under control until she embarked on a challenge she didn't feel she could master to her usual standards: motherhood. What she believed should be the happiest time of her life instead spiralled in a very different direction. Karen looks back on these low times and reflects on how far she has since come as a woman in recovery.

Things We Used To Drink Over, And What We Do Now

On this episode we talk about those moments in recovery when we realize we're doing something (or feeling something) that used to make us want to drink, and yet here we are able to do them sober. Along with special guest, Author Dana Bowman, we talk about what these moments were like for us when we drank, in early recovery, and what they are like for us now. 

Lots of people, when contemplating getting sober, think: "But what about that vacation/wedding/holiday? How will I get through that sober?" It's not always the big events, though, that can be difficult to navigate; sometimes it's just a long, boring day, or a disappointment, or even when things are going really well, that make us think about a drink. Before we get sober, or in early recovery (or heck, sometimes even well into recovery) it can feel like we can't make it through these thoughts/feelings/moments without a drink, an escape or a way to numb. The good news is that in recovery there are so many ways to not only survive these things, but actually learn and grow in life-changing ways.

Dana Bowman is an author and speaker who lives in a sweet small town in the Midwest. She has been published in substance.com, The After Party Magazine, The Fix, and others, and is the proud author at Momsieblog.com. Her book,Bottled: How to Survive Early Recovery, published by Central Recovery Press, is now available on amazon.com and at bookstores.

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Re-Broadcast: Let's Talk About Asking For Help

One of the most important things we do to get sober is to ask for help.  We've probably tried everything we can to stop drinking on our own, but when we finally realize we need help - how do we ask? Who do we ask? What works and what doesn't?  Who is safe to turn to?

On this show we explore how we asked for help - when we finally surrendered, what we did, how it went, what happened.

We also talk about asking for help to STAY sober - otherwise known as accountability.  How do we keep accountable? What does that mean to us? Who is in our support network?  What happens when we do (and don't) stay accountable?

Please join us for this important conversation on what is perhaps the most important part of getting and staying sober.

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Motherhood & Recovery: Perspectives on Telling our Kids

Although there are many common truths and shared experiences in addiction and recovery, family dynamics may differ from person to person. When it comes to motherhood, there is no magic formula or handbook for anything including talking to our kids about recovery. What we can do is share our experiences and perspectives with one another, and be willing to thoughtfully consider the best fit for our family. This episode explores a variety of positions, from being completely open to selectively shielding our children from our experiences, and why those choices make sense.

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On Balance

On this show we discussed balance - both in life and in recovery.

Our co-host, Lisa N., has a lot of exciting things happening in her life, and she is taking a hiatus from co-hosting the show for awhile. 

We talk to her about her decision, catch up on how she is doing and have a conversation about the importance of balance in our lives.

This is the one year anniversary month of the show, and so we also talk about what the past year has been like for us as we continue to grow and learn.

Listen to this show by clicking on the widget below, or click on the link on the right hand side bar to subscribe to our podcast (note: it is much easier to listen to the show by downloading the podcast if you are viewing this from a mobile device):

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Let's Talk About Asking For Help

One of the most important things we do to get sober is to ask for help.  We've probably tried everything we can to stop drinking on our own, but when we finally realize we need help - how do we ask? Who do we ask? What works and what doesn't?  Who is safe to turn to?

On this show we will explore how we asked for help - when we finally surrendered, what we did, how it went, what happened.

We will also talk about asking for help to STAY sober - otherwise known as accountability.  How do we keep accountable? What does that mean to us? Who is in our support network?  What happens when we do (and don't) stay accountable?

Please join us for this important conversation on what is perhaps the most important part of getting and staying sober.

Listen to the show through the widget below, or see the tab above to learn how to subscribe to our podcast! 

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Parenting, Alcoholism and Recovery

On this show we talk about parenting, alcoholism and recovery from several perspectives: what's it like to grow up with alcoholic parent(s), what it's like to be a parent struggling with drinking and what it's like to be a sober parent.

We also discuss when/how to talk to your children about alcoholism and recovery.

Whether you're the child of an alcoholic, a parent struggling with drinking, or a parent in recovery, the cycle of addiction and recovery has a HUGE impact on family life.  Please come listen to this honest and open conversation where we share our own experience, strength and hope with this important topic. 

Listen in the widget below, or look on the right-hand sidebar and click on the link to subscribe to our podcast: 

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Special Mother's Day Episdoe

Motherhood introduces unique challenges in getting and staying sober, along with the incredible gifts we receive as sober Moms.

Amanda and Ellie read the words written my mothers who are struggling with drinking, who are newly sober or who have been sober a while - powerful, courageous words about how becoming a mother impacted their drinking (or sobriety), what it's like to be a sober mother, and how mothers face a different kind of stigma as they face their own alcoholism.

Come listen to these brave truths. We are NOT in this alone.

Listen in the widget below, or click on the tab above to learn how to subscribe to our podcast (or click on the link - the picture - in the right hand sidebar). 

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Total Recovery - How Do You Stay Sober?

Many times when people talk about recovery they talk about recovery meetings (12 step and otherwise).  

And while recovery meetings are at the core of many peoples' recovery, for this show we will discuss the myriad ways people stay sober in addition to or instead of meetings. 

The is NOT a "meetings vs. no meetings" discussion.  At The Bubble Hour we do not endorse or promote any one form of recovery, and we believe in most cases it is many things that help people stay in recovery.  We also believe that at the core of successful recovery is a sober network, and we will discuss this, too.

Through our own stories and those shared by others, we will offer many points of view and options to get and stay sober!

Listen to the show through the widget below, or see the tab above for how to subscribe to our podcast! 

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Story Time - Co-Host Lisa Reads Selected Posts from Crying Out Now

Co-Host Lisa reads posts about alcoholism and recovery from our sister site, Crying Out Now.

Click below to listen, or subscribe to our podcast through the link on the right hand sidebar (or read the instructions in the tab above:

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Episode 11: Sacha Z. Scoblic, Author of Unwasted: My Lush Sobriety

Sacha Z. Scoblic is a writer and editor. She is the author of Unwasted: My Lush Sobriety, which is based on her popular essays for The New York Times blog “Proof: Alcohol and American Life.” 

Currently, Sacha is a Rosalynn Carter fellow for mental health journalism through the Carter Center in Atlanta. Among other things, she writes about mental health, addiction, and pop fiction. Sacha is a columnist at The Fix, where she tackles the science of addiction, and a frequent contributor to The Huffington Post. She is also a contributing editor at The New Republic. 

Formerly a senior editor at Reader’s Digest, Sacha has written about everything from space camp to pulp fiction. 

She lives with her husband, Peter; son, Theodore; and terrier, SciFi, in Washington, DC.

We were thrilled to have her as a guest on our show! Come listen to our funny, down-to-earth and informative conversation with Sacha about everything from how to know if you've hit bottom, to how to handle social situations sober, to how relationships change and evolve in sobriety.  

If you want to subscribe to our podcast, click on the link (on the picture) on our right hand sidebar.  

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Episode 10 - Special Guest Andrea Owen from Your Kick-Ass Life

Listen to a lively, fun and informative conversation with Andrea Owen, sober woman, life coach and author of the blog Your Kick Ass Life.

Andrea's bio:

Life coach. Mom. Writer. Roller Derby Rebel. Hellraiser. She is passionate about empowering women to value themselves and fiercely love who they are.

She helps women get what they want by managing their inner-critic, leveraging the Law of Attraction and stepping into their own kick-ass version of themselves. You can learn more at www.yourkickasslife.com.

Andrea, Lisa and Ellie discuss Andrea's story of alcoholism and recovery, with a focus on people with "high bottoms", like Andrea, who make the decision to get sober before they have a lot of external losses, but who are still every bit an alcoholic as people with "low bottoms".   

We discuss some of the signs and symptoms we saw in our own drinking that led us to understand we had a growing problem.  Even though our drinking stories aren't the same, our feelings are so similar, which is a common phenomenon people find in recovery - that they aren't alone and that there are many, many people understand exactly how they feel.

We also talk about some issues that revolve around motherhood and sobriety, shame, guilt and facing down the stigma of alcoholism.  

Thank you, Andrea, for being such a lively, funny, compassionate, loving voice of sobriety!  We are so grateful to have you on our show!

Listen to Episode 10 on the widget below, or click on the picture in the right hand sidebar to subscribe/listen to The Bubble Hour's Podcast.

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