Life After Losing My Mom at 21, Marrying an Abusive Alcoholic, and Going to Jail for Defending Myself

Rachel grew up in Louisiana in a family marked by loss. Her older sister died of leukemia at age seven, leaving deep grief that shaped her childhood. At 13, she experienced sexual abuse, and by 21, she lost her mother to untreated hypertension and heart disease—the event that sent her drinking spiraling out of control.

She developed depression and anxiety early on, and alcohol quickly became her way to cope. By 25, she was a new mother, married to an alcoholic, and caught in a cycle of domestic violence and codependency. 

In the hospital with a gallstone, she openly denied her drinking while hiding a bottle of wine in the sheets of her hospital bed. Her drinking escalated, leading to jail time and physical decline—vomiting blood, bruising easily, and losing weight. 

In 2015, Rachel’s sister helped her get into treatment in Arizona. She left her daughter with family, completed detox and residential care, and moved into sober living. With time and therapy, she found stability, got involved in 12-step recovery, and began working in women’s sober living.

In 2018, she opened Journey Way, her own sober living program in Texas. Now ten years sober, Rachel is a mother of two, active in AA, and open about recovery at home.

GUEST

Rachel Liebegott

Rachel is the founder of Journey Way Sober Living and serves as a Regional Recovery Liaison at a detox center, drawing inspiration from her own journey in long-term recovery. She is dedicated to helping women and families build healthy, hopeful lives, and finds her greatest joy in her faith, family, and serving others.

Learn more about Journey Way Sober Living

Matt Handy is the founder of Harmony Grove Behavioral Health in Houston, Texas, where their mission is to provide compassionate, evidence-based care for anyone facing addiction, mental health challenges, and co-occurring disorders.

Find out more at harmonygrovebh.com  

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or struggling, you don’t have to face it alone. Reaching out for support is a sign of strength, and help is always available. If you or anyone you know needs help, give us a call 24 hours a day at 844-430-3060.

My Last Relapse explores what everyone is thinking but no one is saying about addiction and recovery through conversations with those whose lives have changed.

For anyone disillusioned with traditional recovery and feeling left out, misunderstood, or weighed down by unrealistic expectations, this podcast looks ahead—rejecting the lies and dogma that keep people from imagining life without using.

Got a question for us? Leave us a message or voicemail at mylastrelapse.com

Find us on YouTube @MyLastRelapse and follow Matt on Instagram @matthew.handy.17

Host: Matthew Handy
Producer: Eva Sheie
Assistant Producers: Mary Ellen Clarkson & Hannah Burkhart
Engineering: Voltage FM, Spencer Clarkson
Theme music: Survive The Tide, Machina Aeon
Cover Art:  DMARK

My Last Relapse is a production of Kind Creative: kindcreative.com