Mary Beth O'Connor-From Junkie to Judge

According to the National Institutes of Health, 20 million Americans suffer from substance abuse at some point in their lives. Mary Beth O’Connor, our guest today, was one of those, but since 1994 has been sober from methamphetamine use disorder.

She wrote about her journey in an award-winning memoir, “From Junkie to Judge: One Woman’s Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction.” Mary Beth will share her story with us in just a moment, so stay with us. --

Within a week of being born, Mary Beth was dropped off at a convent. Then, she moved in with her mom, but she was more focused on her own needs and desires than her young child. At age nine, her stepfather kicked her in the stomach for spilling milk, beat her when she displeased him, and molested her at age twelve.

A few months later, she took a sip of Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill wine, which made her feel euphoric and relaxed. So, she drank as much as possible, added pot, then pills, then acid. At sixteen, she found methamphetamine and experienced joy, but when this high was no longer sufficient, she turned to the needle and shot up.

That began 16 years of severe addiction, resulting in destroyed relationships, problems at work, and damage to her physical and emotional health.

But, today, Mary Beth O’Connor is a retired federal administrative law judge. She is director, secretary, and founding investor for the She Recovers Foundation, a director for Life-Ring Secular Recovery, and a member of the advisory council for the Hyer Calling Foundation. Her opinion pieces have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Recovery Today, and other publications.

Six years into her recovery, Mary Beth attended Berkeley Law. She worked at a large firm, then litigated class actions for the federal government leading to her appointment as a federal administrative law judge in 2014, a position from which she retired in 2020.