Actor, recovery coach and
School of Rock Bottom podcast host
Oliver Mason has been through it. He’s survived blackouts, seizures, terrifying withdrawals, an addiction to prescription medication and a hospital stay where he nearly walked out with a box of approximately 500 Librium tablets he'd found beside his bed.
Despite having a rock bottom story that could pretty much qualify as a horror movie, Mason doesn't believe people need a spectacular collapse to deserve recovery. He spent roughly a decade drinking primarily on weekends, looking reasonably functional from the outside while living with what he calls "hang terror," and he knows that the private misery can be every bit as devastating as the public consequences.
We get into his relapse after a year of sobriety, the woman whose story helped convince him that getting sober again was possible and why he waited nine years before publicly sharing his own recovery story. Lisa also remembers discovering that her hospital records described her as refusing to participate in bingo during detox (some things never change; you’ll have to listen to find out more about that).
We also talk about the shame that can make one drink feel like a life sentence, the irrational fears we lived with while drinking (say, an eviction notice, despite paying my rent) and why Mason believes there's no single right way to recover.
In this episode:
· How Mason went from weekend drinking to severe withdrawal, hospitalizations and eating shaving foam in search of alcohol
· Why alcohol initially seemed to solve his anxiety and self-esteem problems
· The relapse that followed a full year of sobriety—and the unexpected story that changed his mind about trying again
· Why rock bottom doesn't have to involve losing your job, your home or everything else
· How shame and fear kept all three of us trapped in our addictions
· Why Mason waited nine years to share his story publicly and how School of Rock Bottom grew from there
What is Recovery Rocks?
Ever wonder what it's like to go on your first sober date? Or survive a wedding without liquid courage? How about dancing stone-cold sober or dealing with your first breakup without wine?
If so, you're in luck because you can join bestselling authors and longtime sober friends Lisa Smith and Anna David as they talk to guests—and each other—about addiction and recovery, including all the “firsts” that come with sober living. From awkward to amazing, cringe-worthy to surprisingly poignant, they’re discussing what it’s like to experience life without substances.
Lisa is the author of the award-winning memoir Girl Walks Out of a Bar, while Anna wrote Party Girl, a comic novel about addiction and recovery in the vein of Rachel's Holiday and Postcards From the Edge. Together, they explore the real-life moments behind the kinds of stories that shape how people understand recovery.
Whether you're newly sober, sober-curious or just want to hear some honest stories about recovery, Recovery Rocks is here for all of it.
Because as it turns out, when you can remember everything that happened, life gets a lot more interesting.
New episodes weekly. Real stories, real recovery, real talk.