The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast

The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast

Welcome to The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast. We are a community of recovering people who have overcome the odds and made monumental life changes. We don't shy away from the nitty gritty - we like to laugh give inspiration and remind you there is hope. Come join us no matter where you are on your recovery journey. Together, we have the courage to change! Subscribe and join our podcast community to hear amazing stories of courage and transformation!

Episodes

249. Five More Minutes: Kaela Demerjian on Why Recovery Sometimes Means Just Staying

March 8, 2026 • 84 mins
Summary: Kaela Demerjian’s story begins with chaos. Growing up in Orange County, she never felt like she belonged anywhere. By middle school she was struggling with self harm, depression, and drugs, eventually landing in psych wards and even being tased by police during a suicide crisis. She got sober young, but sobriety alone didn’t fix the pain. For years she searched for belonging everywhere: punk houses in Oakland, activism, y...
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248. Postpartum OCD and Growing Up With Alcohol Use Disorder: Intrusive Thoughts, Anxiety, and Recovery

December 19, 2025 • 53 mins
In this episode of The Courage to Change, Ashley Loeb Blassingame speaks with author and illustrator Amanda Davis about two deeply connected experiences: growing up in a home impacted by alcohol use disorder and later navigating postpartum OCD as a new mother. Amanda shares what it was like to lose her father to alcohol-related illness at a young age and how growing up in an unpredictable, high-stress environment shaped her nervou...
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247. The Myth of Rock Bottom: Why “Normal” Drinking Can Be Heavy Enough

November 12, 2025 • 59 mins
Lesley Jones never had the dramatic “rock bottom” people expect. No arrests, no lost job, no catastrophic implosion. Instead, she lived with the quiet, relentless hum of anxiety and the mental gymnastics of someone who intuitively knew alcohol worked a little too well. As a high-achieving oldest daughter, state-champion athlete, and lifelong perfectionist, she learned early how to drink with precision to silence the internal buzz o...
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246. Surviving Strokes, Suicide Loss, and Finding Purpose: A Mental Health Conversation with Cory Suggs

October 29, 2025 • 66 mins
Cory Suggs grew up in a tiny Oklahoma town where life looked perfect—until it wasn’t. After his parents’ divorce at sixteen, he spiraled into a decade of reckless living, validation-seeking, and self-destruction. At twenty-five, multiple unexplained strokes left him unable to walk, battling depression, and convinced his life was over. A year later, Cory went into the woods to end his life. What happened next changed everything. In...
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245. From Infertility to Postpartum Depression: Therapist Neha Kumar on Motherhood’s Hardest Moments and Finding Strength

October 15, 2025 • 66 mins
Therapist Neha Kumar opens up about infertility, IVF, endometriosis, and postpartum depression. We talk about cultural expectations in South Asian families, the reality of new motherhood, what “natural” doesn’t mean, and practical ways to support women through fertility treatment and postpartum mental health. It is honest, grounded, and full of hard-won perspective. This episode is sponsored by Reconstruction Unlimited, a recove...
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244. Tides of Grief, Waves of Grace: Ashley Jo on Sobriety, Loss, and Building a Life After Trauma

October 3, 2025 • 49 mins
Welcome to the first episode of Season 7! This episode of The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast is brought to you by our sponsor Reconstruction Unlimited. As our sponsor, Reconstruction brings their mission to life by supporting individuals through personalized coaching, case management, and aftercare programs that foster meaningful transformation and sustained well-being. Learn more at www.reconstructionunlimited.com. Ti...
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End of Season 6, Amends, and Season 7

August 18, 2025 • 2 mins
I dropped the ball in Season 6. My guests were great but my cadence was not. Season 7 is coming back stronger than ever — Scott is back, we’ve got a sponsor, and I can’t wait to share what’s next.
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From the Archives: 137. Mother Battles Alcoholism After the Death of Her Young Son

April 23, 2025 • 60 mins
Sarah Campos was born in Arizona and raised in Southern California. She graduated from ASU with a BS in Business. A hairdresser by trade, she now runs a full time e-commerce business online that supports clean living and wellness. She is the mother to Jaxon, Alesa and Ford. When tragedy struck her family in the form of the death of her 8 year old son, it sent her drinking into a destructive spiral. Numbing the pain of the loss she ...
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243. TV Host Marci Hopkins: “Perimenopause played a huge role in my drinking”—Here’s What Saved Me

April 14, 2025 • 42 mins
TV host and author Marci Hopkins joins Ashley to share her deeply personal journey from childhood trauma and decades of functional drinking to hitting rock bottom—and rising again. In this raw and eye-opening conversation, Marci reveals how perimenopause played a critical but overlooked role in her escalating alcohol use, the hidden struggles behind her success in television, and how she finally found peace through sobriety, healin...
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242. The Cost of Silence: One Woman’s Fight to Break the Cycle of Abuse

February 26, 2025 • 46 mins
In this powerful episode, Alreen Haeggquist shares her journey of resilience, from surviving childhood abuse in a deeply patriarchal household to becoming a fierce advocate for justice. After decades of silence, Alreen made the brave decision in 2023 to publicly speak out about her experiences—challenging cultural stigmas, confronting family denial, and ultimately transforming her pain into purpose. Now a successful attorney, she d...
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241. Paralyzed but Unstoppable: Randy Hall’s Journey Through Guillain-Barre, Addiction, and Redefining Recovery

December 19, 2024 • 76 mins
In this inspiring episode of The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast, host Ashley Loeb Blassingame sits down with Randy Hall, a recovery advocate and facilitator based in Birmingham, Alabama. Randy shares his powerful journey from addiction to recovery, exploring how he found healing through multiple recovery programs, including Recovery Dharma, SMART Recovery, and the 12 Steps. Randy opens up about his struggles with addiction, ...
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240. Arlina Allen on Her New Book The 12-Step Guide For Skeptics: Clearing Up Common Misconceptions of a Path To Sobriety

November 7, 2024 • 71 mins
In this episode, Ashley Loeb Blassingame welcomes Arlina Allen, author and longtime recovery advocate, to discuss her latest book, The 12-Step Guide for Skeptics. Arlina shares her deeply personal journey from skepticism to embracing the transformative power of the 12-step process. Together, they explore common misconceptions about 12-step programs, the challenges of facing childhood trauma, and the nuances of navigating recovery a...
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239. Parenting in Recovery: Navigating Sobriety and Family Life with Sarah Allen Benton

October 23, 2024 • 71 mins
In this conversation, Ashley Loeb Blassingame and Sarah Allen Benton delve into the complexities of high functioning alcoholism, recovery, and the challenges of parenting while sober. They explore the nuances of addiction, the struggles of self-correction, and the importance of creating a sustainable recovery lifestyle. Through personal anecdotes and insights from interviews with other parents in recovery, they highlight the unique...
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238. Courage to Change Schedule Update!

October 18, 2024 • 3 mins
Hi everyone, thank you for your patience. I wasn’t able to release an episode the past two weeks, but I’m excited about the upcoming episodes! Tune in to my update on the new bi-weekly release schedule, and I’m looking forward to continuing this journey with you.
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237. The Courageous Book Club: The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk

September 26, 2024 • 61 mins
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236. From the Archives - Brendan McDonough: The Real-Life Hero Behind the Major Motion Picture The Lone Survivor and the Granite Mountain Hotshots

September 18, 2024 • 107 mins
Brendan was on the verge of becoming a hopeless, inveterate heroin addict when he, for the sake of his young daughter, decided to turn his life around. He enlisted in the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a crew of elite hotshot firefighters based in Prescott, Arizona. Their superintendent, Eric Marsh, was in a desperate crunch after four hotshots left the crew, and seeing a glimmer of promise in the skinny would-be recruit, he took a cha...
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235. Q&A: What is the Difference Between Dependence and Addiction? What is Compulsion?

September 4, 2024 • 26 mins
In this special Q&A episode, we dive deep into the science behind **compulsive behaviors** and explore what’s really happening in the brain of someone with a compulsive disorder. Whether it’s compulsive gambling, overeating, or obsessive cleaning, you’ll learn how the brain’s reward system, emotional regulation, and impulse control are impacted. We break down the key differences between physical dependence and addiction, and explai...
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234. From Control to Connection: Sarah Moore's Journey in Al-Anon and Personal Recovery

August 28, 2024 • 60 mins
In this episode of The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast, Ashley sits down with Sarah Moore, wife of previous guest Preston Moore, to explore her unique life journey. Born in Florida but raised in the UK, Sarah shares her experience of moving back to the United States with dual citizenship and building a life of resilience, creativity, and recovery. Sarah dives into her early life in England, the complexities of growing up in a...
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233. A Mother's Resilience: Overcoming Grief and Barriers After Her Son's TBI and, Later, Death

August 22, 2024 • 67 mins
In this poignant episode, I sat down with Brenda Daly, a licensed clinician with nearly 40 years of experience, who opened up about her deeply personal journey of loss, resilience, and love. Brenda shared the harrowing story of her son Kevin’s traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the 11 years of challenges that followed, culminating in his tragic death due to an accidental drug interaction involving fentanyl. We delved into the complex...
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1A. New Series Announcement: The Courageous Book Club

August 14, 2024 • 5 mins
The Courageous Book Club is a space where we’re going to explore some of the most important books related to mental health, trauma, recovery, and personal growth. Whether you’re a seasoned reader or someone who prefers to listen in and learn from discussions, this series is for you. Here’s how it’s going to work: I’ll be reading a book—annotating it, pulling out the key insights, and presenting them to you in a series of episodes. ...
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