(Due to a glitch, some listeners did not receive the full finale - reposted to ensure everyone hears it all!) Get the tissues! This is it. What an amazing decade it has been. How can we possibly say enough thanks yous for all of the heartfelt goodness we've experienced this past decade? Loving messages of gratitude from Ellie, Lisa, Amanda, Catheri…

Get the tissues! This is it. What an amazing decade it has been. How can we possibly say enough thanks yous for all of the heartfelt goodness we've experienced this past decade? Loving messages of gratitude from Ellie, Lisa, Amanda, Catherine and Jean. Presenting this show has been the honor of a lifetime. Thank you for joinging us on this amazing …

There is so much love between the hosts, guests, and listeners of this show! In this episode, you'll hear some of the powerful messages listeners sent to thank The Bubble Hour team for a deacde of recovery encouragement. Get The Bubble Hour book: Take Good Care: Recovery Readings Inspired by The Bubble Hour podcast *(affiliate link) The Bubble Hour…

Host Jean McCarthy shares some of the moments that most affected her as a host, plus listener favorites. Of course, every single episode had numerous golden moments. It was not easy to decide on a handful when there are litterally hundreds of incredible interviews in the archives! These represent them all, and are presented with gratitude and appre…

Over the past decade, The Bubble Hour has featured more than 50 authors! We looks at some memorable interiews, and offers insights about what it's like to prepare for an author interview. Affiliate links: The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley Drink by Ann Dowsett Johnston The Sober Lush by Amanda Eyre Ward and Jardine Libaire The Sober Curious R…

After nearly four years, the hosts of The Bubble Hour had to make some hard decisions. Was it time to end the show? Utlitimately, we decided to continue but with some big shifts. We look at how, and why, the podcast transitioned from four hosts to one. Get the book: Take Good Care: Recovery Readings Inspired by The Bubble Hour podcast *(affiliate l…

This episode focuses on a special weekend when Ellie, Amanda, Catherine, and Jean met up in Boston. They recorded a live show together and got to know each other in person. Listen to some highlights from the recorded conversation and hear Jean's insights about meeting her co-hosts in person for the first time. Get the book: Take Good Care: Recovery…

Where we would be without a little imperfection and a whole lot of laughs? The Bubble Hour podcast usually ran smoothly, but we certainly had our share of goof-ups and giggles! Technical issues, tongue twisters, dropped calls, on-air surprises. No matter what happened we took it in stride and the show carried on. This episode is a bit of fun as we …

Over the past decade, Bubble Hour listeners came to know our five hosts like old friends. Ellie and Lisa started the show and were soon joined by Amanda. Catherine and Jean joined at the end of Season 2. The five voices appeared in various combinations over the years, with Jean hosting solo for the past few seasons. This epsiode looks back on the e…

As the show finds its legs in the early years, incredible conversations about life after alcohol unfold. Listen through a tapestry of insights and sentiments about recovery, a scrapbook of treasures from the archives. Recovery from alcohol use disorder is about more than just staying sober, it's about finding conenction and hope to sustain inner gr…

The final season of The Bubble Hour begins by looking back at the orgins of the show. Ellie and Lisa unfolded this project in 2012 with no idea if anyone would even listen. Soon pal Amanda helped out on and off the air, and many others joined as callers and guests. What started out as a bit of fun soon grew into a recovery tool helping people aroun…

Jean shares a new poem to encourage anyone starting fresh for the new year, and reflects on important milestones and decisions for The Bubble Hour. Download a copy of Jean's poem, 'The Pivot' at https://unpickledblog.com/2021/12/30/new-year-new-beginnings/ Learn more about host Jean McCarthy at http://www.jeanmccarthy.ca and order her books at http…

This is a special episode intended for listeners in recovery to share with normie friends and family who want to understand how to make us more comfortable at their events. The list of tips is directed towards people who are not in recovery, but it can also be a resource for sober folks looking for ways to self-advocate. Listen alone and take notes…

Whether it's your first year of sobriety or you have decades of experience, the holidays can be a trying time. Here are a few things to consider as you make your way through the weeks ahead. This is an audio version of a post on Jean McCarthy's blog UnPickled. You can find the original post here: http://unpickledblog.com/2021/12/12/encouragement-fo…

Host Jean McCarthy returns from an extended break and reflects on ways that sobriety has served her during her various adventures. Visit Jean's blog UnPickled at www.unpickledblog.com and order her books via www.jeanmccarthy.ca/booksبقلم The Bubble Hour

Victoria Vanstone examines the lighter side of life after alcohol on her blog Drunk Mummy Sober Mummy and podcast Sober Awkward. "Me and booze don’t go well together, its like bunk beds and ceiling fans – the two just don’t work," says Victoria. "There are always disastrous results and it’s just taken me a million hangovers to realise that I was al…

Betsy Byler is a woman in successful long-term recovery who is also a therapist. Betsy hosts a podcast aimed at educating therapists about addiction and recovery, "All Things Substance with Betsy Byler". Betsy's website is www.betsybyler.com - links are there to contact Betsy and hear the podcast. * Host Jean McCarthy's website is www.jeanmccarthy.…

Sherry Hoppen is the founder of She Surrenders, a ministry encouraging women into faith-based recovery. As a Christian woman who has lived through the nightmare of addiction to alcohol, she helps others battling addiction through writing, speaking, coaching. Sherry leads weekly meetings for faith-based recovery in the group she started, Joyful Surr…

Host Jean McCarthy returns from an unplanned 3-week break and shares stories and insights from her time away. Plus information from Recovery Research Institute on the effectiveness of various recovery programs, celebrating and recognizing Bubble Hour milestones, listener letters, and thoughts on the one-year anniversary of the release of The Ember …

Jenny's path to recovery included several "fasts" from alcohol - planned, supported breaks for 30 or more days as she worked to envision her life without drinking. When her father died, she longed to honor her grief by feeling it fully. She now sees how living alcohol-free allows her to live engage more actively in her life. As a writer, Jenny fear…

Beverly Sartain is a Psyche Strategist who helps helpers heal their wounds so that they can serve Self and humanity from wholeness. Image of Healing Roadmap created by Bev Sartain: https://holisticcoachtraininginstitute.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/HCTI+-+A+Healing+Roadmap.pdf Website - https://holisticcoachtraininginstitute.com/ Book - Transcending …

Nicole has overcome great losses and built a life full of joy, but it was not an easy path to arrive where she is today. Grief was all too present in her life, even as a child. Nicole was just 11 when her mother died unexpectedly. Then, as newlyweds, Nicole and her husband suffered multiple pregnancy losses. Though she didn't necessarily see alcoho…

Cybele Botran of Wide Awake Recovery shares her story of recovery and healing. Cybele believes that each of us can be our own healers once we get past the judgement, guilt, and shame that hold us back. She teaches transformative practices of self-love, self-compassion, and self-forgiveness to help others find the powers within to let go of unconsci…

Lori Massicot is a sober woman on a mission to help women over 40 create a life they love alcohol-free. For thirty years, Lori thought that alcohol was the solution to her anxiety and shyness, and on August 11, 2013, she decided to quit drinking and become the solution she had always been. Lori uses a simplistic approach to sobriety and helps women…

Founder of Recovery Buddha and woman in recovery, Penni Moussa is also a Clinical Psychologist, intuitive healer, writer, creative & mother of 3 young adults; the youngest of whom is on the Autism Spectrum. Having travelled a journey which includes recovery from addiction, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, trauma & grief, Penni’s lived experie…

In Broken Open, parenting and family consultant Maureen Towns shares her journey through her teenage kids’ mental health and addiction issues to help parents find freedom in chaos. Maureen Towns BScN, MA is a relationship mentor with over 25 years of nursing experience in both public and private health care across Canada. After experiencing mental …

Ruby Warrington is the author of Sober Curious (2018) and The Sober Curious Reset (2020). Her books have given voice to a movement that embraces an alcohol-free lifestyle as a choice, and encourages people to explore their relationship with alcohol proactively. Ruby shares her personal story and digs deep into some unexpected results in her persona…

Host Jean McCarthy hosts a solo show with updates on her recovery, a big upcoming milestone, reflections on grief and celebration, plus heaps of encouragement for YOU! Learn more about Jean at www.jeanmccarthy.ca where you can link to her blog UnPickled, buy her books, and hear more episodes of The Bubble Hour.…

Sean McCann and Andrea Aragon are the husband and wife team who co-wrote the recovery memoir “One Good Reason.” Sean McCann rose to fame as a founding member of the multimillion selling folk group Great Big Sea. But all of that performing and partying allowed Sean’s alcoholism to flourish in plain sight, as he drank to cope with the long-buried pai…

Looking back, Deb can see that she was self-medicating mental health problems with alcohol. When she entered a partial hospitalization program to assess and treat her symptoms of anxiety and depression, it was necessary to address the issue of alcohol use disorder that had developed as a result. She describes quitting alcohol as 'low hanging fruit'…

Kelly created a self-image as a party girl that became eventually an uncomfortable way to live. Self-centered partners who also drank problematically appeared one after another. She leaned on others for her self-worth and thought, “if you like me then I’m less broken." Now she realizes that her biggest relationship problem was with herself. Today K…

Matt Salis shares his story and insights on recovery. Matt and his wife Sheri have co-authored a book about marriage and recovery, Sober Evolution: Evolve into Sobriety and Recover Your Alcoholic Marriage. They also host a podcast together called UnToxicated. Visit www.soberevolution.org to learn more about their work, download free resources, and …

As a little girl, Nichol was not protected the way a child should be. The abuse she suffered left emotional wounds that she kept hidden from the world. Through her teens and adult years, she leaned on alcohol to cope and, despite a strong work ethic and deep love for her daughters, dependency unfolded. Her pattern was unpredictable and she suffered…

Getting sober is just the beginning for recovery coach and therapist Shelby John, who believes that we can then go on to reach higher for a more joyful, fulfilling life than we ever imagined. Now 18+ years sober, Shelby recognizes that she not only hit a bottom with her addiction but also then hit what she calls a "sober bottom"; a point at which s…

Welcome to Season 9 of The Bubble Hour! Host Jean McCarthy shares some thoughts about this special time of year, looks back over 9 years of this podcast and offers inspiration for the days ahead. Recovery is better together and The Bubble Hour is honoured to be part of your recovery toolkit! Jean shares excerpts from her books, which are available …

Darcy noticed she was becoming increasingly reliant on alcohol to relax after her twin boys were born. Then came the double trauma of a miscarriage followed by a devastating decision to end another ill-fated pregnancy. Darcy tried to push through her emotions, carrying on with her job and meeting the demands of parenting her young sons. She began u…

Kathy's busy, active life was disrupted abruptly when her husband was diagnosed with a dibilitating and ultimately fatal disease at a young age. The stress of being a caregiver led her to lean on alcohol and the pattern continued into her second marriage, which also ended in tragic loss. Grief and lonliness fuelled Kathy's reliance on alcohol even …

Michael Blanchard's work combines photography and personal essays to illuminate the recovery experience and show the beauty and hope beyond the darkness of addiction. His books include Fighting for My Life: Finding Hope and Serenity on Martha's Vineyard and Through a Sober Lens: A Photographer's Journey. Michael is a gallery owner on Martha's Viney…

"This was a T-intersection. This was not a crossroads. If I carried on drinking, I knew exactly where I was going to go." Louise A. shares her story of reluctant participation in the recovery process. It took some time for her to accept that she was like the other people in the meetings that she'd been attending. "It was like waking up on a rollerc…

Michael Gallagher is an author, speaker and coach, whose recovery has involved peeling back layers of childhood trauma and family instability while examining the effects of highly controlling religious teachings. His book, Waking Up: A Guide for Transformation, is part memoir and part self-help guide. In it, Michael details dramatic events that sha…

Julie could feel the way that alcohol was creeping into her life in unwanted ways. She knew all too well what it's like to worry about a parent's drinking and didn't want her own children to live with that burden. Julie pre-empted her relationship with alcohol before it could go any further and celebrates the freedom this choice has given her. Visi…

Dr Maureen is a diagnostic radiologist whose work often includes the devastating effects of alcohol on the human body in the form of liver disease and cancer. She is also a woman in recovery, which allows her to have great compassion and understanding about the patient experience when having difficult conversations about the role of alcohol in her …

Kate Baily and Mandy Manners of www.loversober.com share their personal stories and chat about their new book Love Yourself Sober. Their website includes links for personal coaching, an online community for women in recovery and tons of resources. Kate and Mandy are dedicated to helping others find a workable recovery plan that makes sense for the …

Jennifer had begun to question her relationship to alcohol when her body started to show some strange symptoms. Even though both Jennifer and her husband are medical professionals, it took a while to realize that alcohol was the root cause of her episodes of muscle weakness. Jennifer shares her story as a way to celebrate her one-year milestone and…

Lotta Dann talks about her latest book "The Wine O'Clock Myth," which takes a look at the way alcohol seeps into all aspects of life and why we need to take a strong stand against the persuasion of the alcohol industry. Lotta's blog is Mrs. D is Going Without. She is the author of two other books as well, Mrs. D. is Going Without and Mrs. D is Goin…

MaryBeth Murphy is a registered nurse and a holistic wellness and recovery coach. Her style as a integrative nurse coach is to combine her medical training with alternative therapies such as reiki, craniosacral therapy, crystal healing and armoatherapy to develop strategies to heal the body, mind and spirit and restore balance to the nervous system…

Dawn left home in 1979 and didn't look back. She left behind cold Canadian winters and a turbulent relationship with her parents, and headed to LA to embrace all the glamour of the late 70s: sex, drugs, and parties were her life. Her lifestyle was dangerous and dramatic, but eventually she tired of it and returned to Canada full of regret and shame…

Adam Fout is an addiction / recovery / mental health blogger and a speculative fiction / nonfiction writer in North Texas. Adam recounts his early experiences with drugs and alcohol, and describes how he tumbled instantly into addiction at a young age. His problems began to compound as drug use led to legal troubles, disrupted his education, and ca…

Heidi J. Dalzell, PsyD, is a Clinical Psychologist, with 25+ years experience specializing in addictive behaviors, eating disorders, and trauma. Dr. Dalzell has a busy private practice and also offers courses/ online coaching. Dr. Dalzell is prolific author covering subjects such as addiction, eating disorders, gender identity, mindfulness, racial …

Chekesha Kay Ellis had a busy, full life that she loved. The product of a strict upbringing, she worked hard at two jobs and had no interest in partying or trouble. But trouble found her. A fall at work resulted in an injury that required surgery, and she developed an addition to the pain medication she was prescribed in followup care. A dacade-lon…