Free Daily Podcast Summary
Recovery Elevator: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Paul Churchill
It's not a NO to alcohol — it's a YES to a better life! Bestselling author Paul Churchill interviews people who have successfully quit drinking, offering an honest, uplifting look at what an alcohol-free life can really look like. Each week, Recovery Elevator explores sobriety from fresh perspectives — no judgment, no lectures, just real stories from real people. Whether you're sober curious, newly sober, supporting a loved one, or already thriving in recovery, you've found your community. Topics include: how to stop drinking alcohol, alcohol addiction and dependency, whether moderate drinking actually works, what happens to your brain when you quit drinking, the role of spirituality in recovery, whether AA is right for you, tracking sobriety milestones, and whether addiction might be trying to tell you something. If alcohol is making you sick and tired, Recovery Elevator is your invitation to explore what life on the other side looks like — through candid conversations and inspiring guest stories.
Latest Episodes
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- Yesterday48 min
RE 591: Open Up To Life
Today we have Meg. She is 36 years old, lives in Houston, TX and she took her last drink on October 11th, 2020. This episode is brought to you by: Sign up and get 10% off: Better Help Soberlink – claim your $100 enrollment bonus Bozeman 2026 – August 12th-16th, 2026 If you're wondering what you can expect in your first seven days alcohol free, check out our new FREE 7-day guide. [02:26] Thoughts from Paul: You've heard the opposite of addiction is connection. Alcohol wants you turning away from people into a more isolated life. Paul encourages us to find small moments in the day when you can open up towards life and shares some examples of how we can engage with other people and nature throughout our lives. [07:21] Paul introduces Meg: Meg is 36 years old and lives in Houston, TX with her two cats Fred and George. She works as an HR coordinator for Meow Wolf and for fun, Meg enjoys walking, puzzling and writing. Meg didn't have her first drink until she was 18 years old but instantly knew it was a special elixir that was going to allow her to be more social and comfortable. Throughout college, Meg says she always drank, often to excess with the purpose of getting drunk. She didn't recognize it as a problem at that point and just continued to spend time with friends who drank like her. Meg got two DUIs when she was in her early 20s. She developed relationships where drinking was part of how they would relate to one another. It wasn't until she was in a relationship with a normal drinker that her drinking became very noticeable. She found herself trying to moderate around him, but says it backfired often. <p
- 1 weeks ago44 min
RE 590: Are You Broken?
Today we have Stef. She is 39 years old, lives in Truckee, CA, and took her last drink on March 24th, 2026. This episode is brought to you by: Sign up and get 10% off: Better Help Bozeman 2026 – August 12th-16th, 2026 If you're wondering what you can expect in your first seven days alcohol free, well, we just created a FREE 7-day guide for your first seven days. [02:00] Thoughts from Paul: Yes, we are all broken. Not because of a drinking problem, but because all 8 billion humans on the planet are perfectly imperfect. While a drinking problem breaks you, it can be alchemized or transformed into your greatest strength. The transformation that someone makes when stepping into an alcohol-free life is hard to describe. Imperfection, brokenness, and flaws are not failures, but rather essential openings for growth, understanding, and hope. "There's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." – Leonard Cohen "The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places..." – Ernest Hemingway Kintsugi – the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending cracks with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. [06:10] Paul introduces Stef: Stef is 39 years old, works in property management and has two dogs. Stef was socially awkward growing up, but when she had her first drink, she says she felt at home. She loosened up and her personality came out. Rules were restrictive at home, so she didn't have a lot of opportunities to party until she was kicked out. She says she floated around and did a lot of partying at that point. <span style= "font-family: 'Arial
- 2 weeks ago51 min
RE 589: The Little Things
Today we have Brooke. She is 55 years old, lives in Denver, CO and she took her last drink on February 17th, 2026. This episode is brought to you by: Sign up and get 10% off: Better Help If you're wondering what you can expect in your first seven days alcohol free, well, we just created a FREE 7-day guide for your first seven days. [02:39] Thoughts from Paul: In the upcoming book, This is How We Quit, we are currently narrowing down the submissions from 66 to around 20. While reviewing these all, Paul shares with us a snippet from one of them by Kristi, who was the guest on episode 492. [07:45] Paul introduces Brooke: Brookes lives in Denver, CO, has been married for 25 years and they have two sons. She has a background in education and for fun she enjoys being outside. They enjoy hiking, skiing, walking and playing tennis. Growing up, Brooke believed that alcohol was necessary part of living. She saw her parents drink casually and was in a lot of environments where drinking was a given. Brooke took her first drink in high school, and it was just part of socializing throughout high school, college and her early professional years. Brooke says it's hard to imagine a time when she didn't think drinking was normalized. Whether drinking for celebration or drinking for grieving, alcohol was always present. Once Brooke reached her 40s, she noticed that it wasn't as easy to get up the next day without some sort of hangover symptoms even if all she had was one or two drinks after a hard day at work. Brooke was starting to question her drinking but the talk about alcohol being "good for us" was conflicting. She was beginning to see the signs of alcohol interfering with her health. She was participating in cleanses for 10 or 30 days and found that she felt so much better when she took breaks from drinking. It was hard for her to think about quitting completely because if how much it was present socially. When Brooke's mother was diagnosed with cancer, she noticed that all of the do
- 3 weeks ago45 min
RE 588: Religion
Today we have Anita. She is 49 years old from Bend, OR and she took her last drink on January 4th, 2026. This episode is brought to you by: Sign up and get 10% off: Better Help [03:14] Thoughts from Paul: Paul shares with us that in the upcoming interview, he and the guest talk about religion. While he knows this can be a triggering topic for some, including him, he encourages us to be open minded to both the interview and religion in general. [12:38] Paul introduces Anita: Anita is 49 years old, lives in Bend, OR she is single and works as a family doctor. Much of her family also lives in the area. Anita enjoys hiking, cold plunges, dancing and frequently travels to Esalen in Big Sur. Anita was raised in a Christian cult called but went to public schools which left her feeling anxious and nervous all the time. She says the didn't have a TV at home, so Anita would find herself reading comics and snacking. This later developed into an eating disorder as she grew into adolescence. Anita graduated from high school and attended a Christian college in Michigan. Being a rule follower, Anita didn't drink much before she was 21. Her drinking remained rather moderate while she was addressing her eating disorder. She was attending Overeaters Anonymous and followed a meal plan that didn't include alcohol. After about five years, Anita became an atheist and decided she didn't want to practice medicine anymore. She decided to trust the universe and move to southern California, but it didn't go well for Anita, and she moved back to Oregon after four years. Anita would go back and forth with alcohol over the years, but up until this past January, would always find herself going back. With a stressful job helping others, drinking was a way to regroup at the end of the day. On January 5th, Anita stumbled across a copy of Paul's book Alcohol is Shit she had in her office and started reading. From there, she started listening to the RE podcast and found herself deeply identifying with an interview Paul had with Sarah (episode 568). Anita agrees that there is power in listening to others' stories. Acknowledging that she was a high-functioning alcohol user, Anita believes that we get to choose how low we go. She says while she still thinks of alcohol, it d
- 4 weeks ago45 min
RE 587: Schedule What?
Today we have Will. He is 32 years old, lives in Allenstown, NH and took his last drink on October 5th, 2019. This episode is brought to you by: Sign up and get 10% off: Better Help Café RE – THE social app for sober people Bozeman 2026 – August 12th-16th, 2026 [06:22] Paul introduces Will: Will is 32 years old, lives in New Hampshire and works for the US Postal Service. Will enjoys writing, watching films, hiking and traveling. Will grew up in a strict, religious household. From middle school through high school, Will did homeschooling which left him feeling like he didn't really have any friends. By the time he was 15 or 16, he felt like he was missing out on a lot of life experiences. Will moved out of home with his brother when he turned 18 and says this is when his partying began as a way to make up for lost time. Will began working in the food service industry and says it was his first taste of life outside of the religious bubble he had grown up in. While he had a level of social anxiety that kept him out of nightclubs and things of that nature, his brother enjoyed the nightlife and typically had alcohol in the house which Will would drink by himself. Between the ages of 19 and 21, Will had found some friends he calls kindred spirits in that they were all creative and a little nerdy. He says his life was simple back then: go to work and then go hang out with his friends and play/watch video games while drinking. At 22, Will got a DUI. This was not enough to make him feel like he needed to stop drinking but he thought he should try moderating. The financial struggles after the DUI were hard on Will and he was beginning to feel like he screwed his life up already. Between ages 22 and 24, Will references them as his rock bottom years. He was losing friends due to his behavior when he drank and felt haunted by social failures and missing opportunities. Will tried going to therapy at 24 but didn't address his drinking at all. The anxiety and depression were crippling, and he began having suicidal ideations. Will tried going to AA but struggled not to focus on the things he didn't agree with. It was a TV series called Patrick Melrose that helped inspire Will to try something new. Will decided to try going to rehab. <p class="MsoNor
- May 11, 202653 min
RE 586: Addiction is the Answer
Today's episode includes a Q & A session conducted live at Recovery Point, which is a resource center for those who struggle with addiction located in Bozeman, Montana. This episode is brought to you by: Sober Link sign up and claim your $100 enrollment bonus Café RE – THE social app for sober people Bozeman 2026 – August 12th-16th, 2026 [02:19] Paul introduces Jay, Jennifer, Chris and Linda Each panel member shares a little about themselves and what drove them to seek recovery. Question – When did you open up to community? Jay shares that he started going to AA while in jail and attended a program called Bridging the Gap through treatment court which helped him find connection and community. Jen was a few months into her recovery when she discovered Café RE and found that others sharing their stories helped her a lot. Chris said he had made several half-hearted attempts at quitting before finding books and communities. He shares that he was stubborn at first, but now has made many friends in Café RE. Linda attended treatment court with Jay but was trying to be a lone wolf. She didn't have a driver's license and found herself having to ask others for help. She found community in AA and NA/ Questions – What's your favorite recovery quote? One word to summarize your sobriety? Linda – "it's only a thing if you make it a thing" and her word is "unbelievable" Chris – "play the tape forward" and his word is "peaceful" <span styl
- May 4, 202644 min
RE 585: Addiction is the Answer
Today we have Brittany. She is 44 years old, lives in New Braunfels, TX and she had her last drink on May 27th, 2025. This episode is brought to you by: Sign up and get 10% off: Better Help Café RE – THE social app for sober people Bozeman 2026 – August 12th-16th, 2026 [02:07] Paul introduces Brittany: Brittany is 44 years old, is originally from Wisconsin, and lives in New Braunfels, TX with her husband of 18 years. Together they have four kids. For fun, Brittany enjoys sporting events and traveling with her family. Brittany shares she had a great childhood. Her parents were very supportive of her and her older brother. Her father was the child of alcoholics, so he chose not to drink so there was limited exposure to it while Brittany was growing up. Brittany's first drink was when she was 15 years old. She didn't drink much throughout her teens as she was more into sports that didn't leave much room for it. In Wisconsin, attending sporting events always included drinking. In college, Brittany enjoyed the party and playing drinking games and all of her friends drank like she did, so she didn't see it as a problem. After college, Brittany met her husband. He went into the Air Force which found them moving to San Antonio. They hung out with a lot of other young married couples, and they all partied a lot on the weekends. Her husband didn't like Brittany's drinking so she would begin hiding how much she drank, seeing it as him trying to control her. When their second daughter was born in 2014 with a rare genetic disorder, Brittany began to use alcohol as medication. Caring for a special needs child and also moving a lot as a military family was very stressful for Brittany. With her husband being deployed or on assignments, she was doing a lot of parenting alone which led her to self-medicate often. When COVID happened, Brittany's husband was able to be home more, but that led to her drinking increase. Brittany switched from wine to vodka, assuming it would be less noticeable to her husband. She began to hide her drinking more and started promising to drink less but it never happened. Memorial Day weekend of 2025 Brittany's husband left town for work, and she was getting the family settled int
- Apr 27, 202653 min
RE 584: I'm One of Them
Today we have Chris. He is 55 years old, from Madison, WI, and he took his last drink of alcohol on April 7th, 2015. This episode is brought to you by: Sign up and get 10% off: Better Help Café RE – THE social app for sober people Bozeman 2026 – August 12th-16th, 2026 [02:02] Thoughts from Paul: Paul recently gave an opening talk at a fundraising gala for Yellowstone Alliance Adventures. This is the venue where the annual Bozeman retreat is held. He shared with the guests that he holds an annual sober retreat there but initially hadn't rehearsed sharing that he was also sober. After a few moments of silence, mid-talk, Paul shared that he is also in recovery. Paul says he knows he didn't have to share that part, but when he did, it felt good to be up there in front of a crowd as his authentic self. In a world that can very fake and shallow, people are craving authenticity. Paul wants to go places where he can be himself. Listeners, where can you show up as yourself in your life? What curtains, walls, or barriers are you hiding behind where you think people don't want to see you? While it isn't easy to show up as your authentic self, you will be rewarded by doing so. We are here; we are whole. [07:03] Paul introduces Chris: Chris is 55 years old, works in IT by day, has three kids across two marriages and for fun he likes to make music, create games, and enjoys working on art. Chris' parents divorced when he was young due to his father's drinking. Because there was so much going on at home, Chris says he focused much of his attention on school, sports, drama and choir to remain out of the house. He shares that he only drank one time in high school and got caught and ended up with some consequences. Once in college, Chris had the freedom to drinking and other drugs pretty heavily right away. Early on, he got kicked out of a bar. During is freshman year, depression kicked in and he had a suicide attempt. Chris says drinking was never good for him. He never felt like it was solving any problems, but he was entranced by
About Recovery Elevator
It's not a NO to alcohol — it's a YES to a better life! Bestselling author Paul Churchill interviews people who have successfully quit drinking, offering an honest, uplifting look at what an alcohol-free life can really look like. Each week, Recovery Elevator explores sobriety from fresh perspectives — no judgment, no lectures, just real stories from real people. Whether you're sober curious, newly sober, supporting a loved one, or already thriving in recovery, you've found your community. Topics include: how to stop drinking alcohol, alcohol addiction and dependency, whether moderate drinking actually works, what happens to your brain when you quit drinking, the role of spirituality in recovery, whether AA is right for you, tracking sobriety milestones, and whether addiction might be trying to tell you something. If alcohol is making you sick and tired, Recovery Elevator is your invitation to explore what life on the other side looks like — through candid conversations and inspiring guest stories.
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