This week, we sit down with Kelly — whose story is raw, honest, and deeply relatable for anyone who’s ever tried to get sober before they were truly ready. With a sobriety date of 2/16/21, Kelly shares what changed between her first attempt at recovery at 26 and the version of sobriety she’s living today.
Kelly’s early substance use leaned more toward drugs than alcohol. Growing up in a family marked by alcoholism, she thought drinking was “yucky” — until a relapse led her straight into it. In her early 20s, she was living in LA when a car accident forced her to move back home. Feeling like the odd one out, she found drugs, lost stability, and eventually found herself kicked out of her parents’ house and living in her car. She shares darkly funny — and painfully honest — stories about experiencing psychosis, constantly believing people were talking about her, and how those thoughts still echo in her life today.
This time around, sobriety looked different because her attitude was different. Kelly came in with acceptance — a willingness to do whatever was suggested. Detox. Residential. Sober living. Sponsor. No shortcuts. She talks about a moment in South Florida, deep in chaos, when she called her stepdad and said, “I know I won’t feel like this in an hour or a week — but you need to come get me. I’m unwell.” That moment of clarity saved her life.
After returning to California with about 70 days sober, Kelly relapsed — but instead of disappearing, she reached back out to the sober living she’d previously been in, despite having reservations. A relapse involving a substance she believed was something else — later discovered to be laced with fentanyl — gave her a healthy fear that ultimately anchored her recovery. She returned to the program, stayed in sober living for over a year, became a house manager with just four months sober, and made the intentional decision not to date in her first year.
Kelly shares how working out became a crucial tool in her sobriety — not as an escape, but as a way to stay present through discomfort. She opens up about gaining weight in recovery, feeling uncomfortable in her own skin, and learning how to move through that discomfort instead of using over it. She reflects on her relationships with other women, how men once felt safer, and why today she prioritizes women’s meetings, strong female connections, and remaining single — by choice.
Now, Kelly is living the promises. She’s found purpose, stability, and self-trust — even working as a voice recorder in the court system. Most importantly, she shares that this is the most okay she’s ever been being single.
Kelly’s message to the newcomer is simple and powerful: give yourself a year. Lock in. Do the work. And see what happens.
This episode is a reminder that recovery doesn’t require perfection — just willingness, honesty, and the courage to stay.
