A Shot Glass of Recovery

Welcome back to A Shot Glass of Recovery! Whether you're a first-time listener to A Shot Glass of Recovery or a loyal member from my 2 Sober Chicks days, I’m glad you’re here. 🌟

Hey friend — this episode is like sitting down with someone who’s been through the fire and came back with both hands full of grace. Paula Parton tells her story raw and real: growing up in an alcoholic home, getting court‑mandated to meetings at 14, hitting the kinds of lows that make the Big Book speak to your bones, and slowly — through fellowship, the 12 steps, and the kindness of strangers — finding a life she never thought possible.

She talks honestly about the agony of loving someone still drinking (including her son), the tiny acts of compassion that became her salvation, and the way the AA program and a Higher Power helped her turn a devastated past into the very tool she now uses to serve others. There are moments of heartbreak, surprising tenderness, and hard-won humor — and through it all she keeps coming back to one simple invitation: say “maybe,” keep the bridge light and tight, and let the program do its work.

If you’re carrying shame, a secret, or fear about someone you love, listen to Paula. She’ll remind you how fellowship, honesty, and compassion can change everything — sometimes in ways you can’t predict. Bring tissues and bring curiosity. This is hope told like a friend would tell it.

A Shot Glass of Recovery

Welcome back to A Shot Glass of Recovery! Whether you're a first-time listener to A Shot Glass of Recovery or a loyal member from my 2 Sober Chicks days, I’m glad you’re here. 🌟

Welcome to the Speaker Series on A Shot Glass of Recovery. This podcast is a place for real stories, honest conversations, and recovery lived one day at a time. The views and opinions shared here are simply our own personal experiences.

I like to welcome one of our own, Double N Jen, Jen from AA Solutions Seekers and the Beaches Home Group. Take it away, Jen.

Thanks so much, Kelly. Hi, everyone. Jen, alcoholic. My sober date is October 6, 2024, and as of today I m 575 days sober. I grew up in Etobicoke with a dad who drank heavily despite being successful, and though I came from a good home, I struggled with anxiety, undiagnosed ADHD, and an eating disorder in my teens that led to multiple inpatient stays. Drinking became my way to feel comfortable and social, and it quickly took over my life.

I married young, had a son after a long fertility journey, and tried to keep everything together while juggling a demanding career and a life that often revolved around alcohol. The loss of my dad to cancer in 2008 and the emotional toll of a controlling, verbally abusive marriage pushed me deeper into secrecy and resentment. Over the years, booze became a hidden, constant companion—sneaked into coffee cups, poured into water bottles, and timed around breastfeeding and parenting.

After my marriage ended, my drinking escalated during the pandemic. I experienced painful lows: a suicide attempt, DUIs, job loss, and the traumatic discovery that a close friend had died by suicide in my home. By 2024, I was drinking all day every day—four bottles of wine and a mickey of vodka were my routine—and my life had unraveled. I hit rock bottom when family intervened, and my mom insisted I go to AA.

I found AA on September 2, 2024, and though I stumbled at 30 days, I committed to the program: meetings, a sponsor, working the steps, and honest amends. Step Four helped me connect the dots of my resentments, self-pity, and character defects; Step Five was a powerful release; and Step Nine began the slow work of repairing relationships—especially with my son. I learned the hard truth: I cane powerless over alcohol, and the first drink is always the worst drink.

Sobriety has brought tangible changes: better sleep, restored connections, meaningful work opportunities, and the daily practice of prayer, meditation, and service. But recovery isnypass pain; it lso brings ongoing challenges, like living with the consequences of the past and doing the daily inventory of Step Ten. I rely on my sponsor, my higher power, my dog Wrigley, and the rooms of AA to keep me honest and grounded.

This is a story of shatteredness, accountability, and slow rebuilding. If you like to support the show, you can make a voluntary contribution through PayPal at A Shot Glass of Recovery. Every donation helps cover production costs and keeps these stories of hope and recovery coming. Thanks for listening, and I hope Jen story brings encouragement and connection to anyone who needs it.

A Shot Glass of Recovery

Welcome back to A Shot Glass of Recovery! Whether you're a first-time listener to A Shot Glass of Recovery or a loyal member from my 2 Sober Chicks days, I’m glad you’re here. 🌟

Welcome to the Speaker Series on A Shot Glass of Recovery. This podcast is a place for real stories, honest conversations, and recovery lived one day at a time. The views and opinions shared here are simply our own personal experiences.

Hey friend — I'm Pax, and I'm an alcoholic. In this episode I take you through a life that went from business successes and bravado to psychiatric wards, homelessness, and losing both legs, and then — slowly, stubbornly — back to life through Alcoholics Anonymous. I’ll share how the program held me when I was at rock bottom, how I learned the brutal honesty of the Steps, and how a true surrender — especially Step Three — flipped my life from trying to control everything to trusting something bigger than me.

Expect gritty honesty, some hard laughs, and a few moments that might sting. I talk about the crushing allure of alcohol, the delusions I lived in, and the painful choices that finally made me hand over my will and my life. I’ll also share how the fellowship kept coming back with love, how the Big Book and meetings helped me grow spiritually, and why losing the things I thought defined me turned out to be the gift I needed.

If you’re new, curious, or deep in recovery, this is for you: a reminder that nobody’s journey is neat, that setbacks can be part of waking up, and that we don’t have to walk through it alone. I’m imperfectly perfect, and I’m living proof that grace, service, and a living relationship with a Higher Power can rebuild a life you thought was gone. Come sit with me for a while — there’s hope here.