The Cup of Joe Show

He blacked out in fifth grade.Years later, the silence from his wife was louder than any argument.That is when he put the drink down.
Nic R. grew up in rural Ohio where drinking was just part of life. It was a town where everyone knew your name and your business. Boredom filled the gaps and alcohol filled the boredom. What started with an early blackout in childhood turned into years of reckless drinking, totaled cars, and what felt like harmless slap on the wrist consequences.
But behind closed doors, the cost was real. Verbal abuse. Emotional distance. A marriage on the brink. When his wife refused to live in another alcoholic home, her silence became the wake-up call Nic could not ignore.
Since March 23, 2025, Nic has been building sobriety one day at a time. In this episode of The Cup of Joe Show, he shares how accountability, social media community, fatherhood, and an openness to spirituality are reshaping his life. From a blackout kid to a present father, Nic is proof that you can choose a different story before it is too late.
📌 Follow Nic’s sober journey on TikTok @nic.rossiter5
📌 I Surrender All: Linda K.’s 35 Years of Gratitudehttps://joevalentino1269.podbean.com/e/i-surrender-all-linda-k-s-35-years-of-gratitude/
🙏 Please like, share, and subscribe to The Cup of Joe Show so more people can hear stories of hope and transformation.
🌟 For daily encouragement, visit Daily Ponderables — your source for inspiration 365 days a year.
The Cup of Joe Show explores the journey of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction—one story, one conversation, and one step at a time. New Episode Every Thursday at Noon.

For over 5 years, he could not stay sober more than three days. One phone call changed everything.
Mike L. grew up outside Chattanooga carrying fear, shame, and chaos from a violent alcoholic home. Drinking and drugs started early and by his twenties he was cycling through institutions, courtrooms, and jobs that ended as fast as they began. Alcohol became the solution until it became the problem.
After years of arrests, isolation, and thoughts of suicide, Mike locked himself in a hotel room and surrendered completely. What followed was not instant relief but a series of unlikely reconnections, old names resurfacing, and a sponsor who had been waiting for him all along.
In this powerful episode of The Cup of Joe Show, Mike shares how willingness, forgiveness, and learning to guard his peace transformed his life. From surviving addiction to finding purpose in small daily victories, this is a story of hope, humility, and what can happen when you finally answer the call.
📌 If you or someone you love is struggling, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for 24/7 support.
🎧 Related Episode Hunter H Finding Identity Sobriety and an Unlikely Hero
🙏 Please like, share, and subscribe to The Cup of Joe Show so more people can hear stories of hope and transformation.
🌟 For daily encouragement, visit Daily Ponderables — your source for inspiration 365 days a year.
The Cup of Joe Show explores the journey of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction—one story, one conversation, and one step at a time. New Episode Every Thursday at Noon.

She drank for four decades. Success never slowed it down. A hospital bed and a desperate prayer finally did.
Karen B. spent forty years drinking while building an impressive life on the outside. From a college basketball scholarship to coaching elite programs, from becoming a top sales performer to owning her own company, Karen, the Window Lady, looked successful and unstoppable.
Behind closed doors, alcohol slowly took control. Wine at lunch became liquor in the morning. Shaking hands replaced steady confidence. Multiple DUIs, failing health, and isolation led her to a hospital where doctors could not say if she would live or die.
What followed was a moment of complete surrender and a simple prayer that changed everything. In this episode of The Cup of Joe Show, Karen shares how recovery restored her faith, healed family relationships, and gave her a design for living that no amount of success ever could.
This is a story of resilience, humility, and proof that it is never too late to recover.
🙏 Please like, share, and subscribe to The Cup of Joe Show so more people can hear stories of hope and transformation.
🌟 For daily encouragement, visit Daily Ponderables — your source for inspiration 365 days a year.
The Cup of Joe Show explores the journey of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction—one story, one conversation, and one step at a time. New Episode Every Thursday at Noon.

He picked a date to die and instead found the power of surrender to a new way of life.
Derrick G shares a raw and unforgettable story of trauma, addiction, and transformation. Raised in a single-family home with deep Indigenous roots, Derrick grew up surrounded by fear, abuse, and loss. After his mother’s death at fourteen, alcohol became the way he finally felt able to breathe.
What followed was a life of escalating chaos including violent blackouts, addiction fueled rage, prison time, and devastating consequences that cost him his marriage, career, home, and freedom. Derrick describes the terrifying reality of alcoholism when control disappears and destruction takes its place.
At his lowest point, after deciding on a date to end it all, a series of unexpected moments led him to full surrender and a willingness to do something different. Through sponsorship, step work, and a spiritual awakening, Derrick’s life was rebuilt piece by piece, much like the art of Kintsugi where broken pottery is restored with gold.
Today, he lives a life grounded in humility, purpose, and service. Derrick’s story reminds us there is a miracle uniquely designed for each of us when we stop fighting and seek the power that can truly change us.
📌 If you or someone you love is struggling, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for 24/7 support.
🙏 Please like, share, and subscribe to The Cup of Joe Show so more people can hear stories of hope and transformation.
🌟 For daily encouragement, visit Daily Ponderables — your source for inspiration 365 days a year.
The Cup of Joe Show explores the journey of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction—one story, one conversation, and one step at a time. New Episode Every Thursday at Noon.

Maybe I can hear one thing to help me not drink today.
Garrett W. grew up in a small cotton mill town in West Georgia with a stable family, loving parents, and every opportunity to succeed. Alcohol was normal in his world, but once he found it in college, it quickly became the solution to restlessness, discomfort, and belonging.
What followed was a slow progression through consequences, geographic moves, career success that masked inner turmoil, and a marriage that unraveled alongside his drinking and opioid use. From teaching Spanish and traveling the world to losing everything he worked for, Garrett shares how alcohol quietly took control of his life.
The turning point came after a relapse in treatment and a simple question from a roommate that led to a spiritual awakening on Father’s Day June 19, 2016. That day Garrett became willing to hear one thing that would help him not drink for just one day.
Today Garrett lives a life rooted in recovery, service, and spiritual growth. As a trusted member of his home group and current DCM, he shares how sponsorship, prayer, and community transformed his life from surviving to living with purpose.
This episode is for anyone who feels hopeless, lost and wondering if it is truly possible to change.
📌 If you or someone you love is struggling, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for 24/7 support.
🙏 Please like, share, and subscribe to The Cup of Joe Show so more people can hear stories of hope and transformation.
🌟 For daily encouragement, visit Daily Ponderables — your source for inspiration 365 days a year.
The Cup of Joe Show explores the journey of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction—one story, one conversation, and one step at a time. New Episode Every Thursday at Noon.

What does real trust look like in recovery? Not just believing it might work, but climbing in and letting it carry you forward
In this powerful episode of The Cup of Joe Show, Jeff W. shares his journey from a childhood shaped by anxiety and alcohol to a life grounded in trust, service, and sobriety. What began as a spiritual experience with drinking slowly turned into daily use, legal consequences, and a dangerous mix of substances that nearly cost him everything.
Jeff opens up about lowering his standards to match his behavior, searching for solutions in church, relationships, and geography, and eventually reaching a point of deep emotional darkness. The turning point came when he finally asked for help and trusted someone else to guide him through recovery.
Jeff explains the difference between hope and trust, and how getting in the wheelbarrow changed his life. Today, sobriety has allowed him to rebuild his relationship with his son, be present during his mother’s passing, serve others in recovery, and create a strong blended family with his wife Anna.
This episode is a reminder that recovery is not about certainty. It is about trust, community, and the courage to climb in even when the ground feels far below.
📌 If you or someone you love is struggling, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for 24/7 support.
🙏 Please like, share, and subscribe to The Cup of Joe Show so more people can hear stories of hope and transformation.
🌟 For daily encouragement, visit Daily Ponderables — your source for inspiration 365 days a year.
The Cup of Joe Show explores the journey of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction—one story, one conversation, and one step at a time. New Episode Every Thursday at Noon.

He thought he was different. Turns out he was just sick and once he stopped drinking his life finally started.
David T. has been sober since July 2, 2018, but his road to recovery took him through isolation, secrecy, military discipline, and ultimately incarceration. A shy kid who felt like an outsider after moving to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, David discovered alcohol early and immediately remembered how it made him feel inside. By adulthood, drinking had become something he hid, something that followed him into marriage, the Army, and eventually into serious consequences.
Stationed in Alaska and later Fort Bliss, Texas, David’s drinking escalated without accountability. Rehab, seizures, divorce, homelessness, and a DUI on a military base followed. Faced with a choice to get sober and deploy or leave the military, David chose what alcohol demanded. It was not until extradition, jail time, and eventually serving a sentence in a New Mexico prison that the illusion finally broke.
David describes suffering from terminal uniqueness until recovery showed him, he was not alone. Through working a program and committing to service, especially bringing recovery into prisons, his life began to change. Today he is sober, married, a proud bonus dad, and grounded in a life filled with creativity, service, and purpose.
This is a raw and hopeful conversation about surrender, accountability, and what real freedom looks like.
🙏 Please like, share, and subscribe to The Cup of Joe Show.
🌟 For daily encouragement, visit Daily Ponderables — your source for inspiration 365 days a year.
The Cup of Joe Show explores the journey of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction—one story, one conversation, and one step at a time. New Episode Every Thursday at Noon.

God didn’t wake up this morning and think He was me… so maybe I don’t need to wake up thinking I’m God.
Scott S. has been sober since April 16, 2012, but his journey to recovery was anything but straightforward. Growing up with low self-esteem, ADHD, and a household where drinking felt normal, Scott learned early that alcohol gave him something he didn’t have on his own. By his teens, blackouts and excess were already part of the picture, and as adulthood unfolded, pills, vodka, broken relationships, and a familiar pattern of self-destruction followed.
After returning to Knoxville, Tennessee, Scott’s drinking escalated until coworkers stepped in and encouraged him to seek help. Early sobriety found him spending long days at the Park 40 Clubhouse, learning how to live without alcohol and wrestle with the hardest part of recovery for him, fitting in without drinking.
What finally stuck was a simple but profound truth: he wasn’t in charge. Letting go, letting God, and embracing the power of powerlessness reshaped his life. In sobriety, Scott became a father again, remarried, rediscovered creativity through designing and fixing things, and learned that service doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes it looks like holding a door, returning a cart, or showing up for someone else.
This episode is an honest conversation about control, humility, slowing down, and finding meaning beyond the chaos.
🌟 For daily encouragement, visit Daily Ponderables — your source for inspiration 365 days a year.
The Cup of Joe Show explores the journey of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction—one story, one conversation, and one step at a time. New Episode Every Thursday at Noon.

This is a powerful conversation about emotional sobriety, the healing power of service, and what happens when we finally become willing to learn who we are.
Dave S. has been sober since January 1, 1987, but his recovery journey didn’t begin with confidence or clarity. It began with loneliness, despair, and a deep belief that alcohol was the solution.
Growing up in Connecticut as the son of an alcoholic, Dave learned early how to stay busy so he wouldn’t have to feel. Bullied, isolated, and emotionally overwhelmed, his first drink as a teenager felt like relief. That sense of ease followed him into the Navy, marriage, and adulthood, but the loneliness never left. Jobs were lost, relationships unraveled, and eventually his first wife told him she didn’t want to be married to a drunk.
Dave’s turning point came in a bar, glass raised, when he looked up and said, “God, if this is all there is, I don’t want it anymore.” What followed was an awakening that sobriety alone wasn’t enough. He lacked emotional sobriety and the tools to live life on life’s terms.
His early recovery began in Al-Anon and Adult Children of Alcoholics meetings, until a “little old lady” lovingly told him he was in the wrong rooms. That nudge led Dave to Alcoholics Anonymous, where everything changed. He found a sponsor, a community, a future wife, and people who showed him how to grow up emotionally, not just stop drinking.
Service became the foundation of his sobriety. From making coffee to chairing meetings to co-chairing the New England Conference of Young People, Dave learned that service is not about status, but about involvement. Today, he serves as District Chair for Corrections, bringing hope into prisons and jails and helping people who feel forgotten find a way forward.
Dave remains teachable, grounded, and deeply committed to helping others learn how to live. As he puts it, recovery isn’t about giving fish, it’s about teaching people how to fish.
🌟 For daily encouragement, visit Daily Ponderables — your source for inspiration 365 days a year.
The Cup of Joe Show explores the journey of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction—one story, one conversation, and one step at a time. New Episode Every Thursday at Noon.

It’s ok to care for people as long as you continue to care for yourself.
Christina H. grew up loving the wide-open outdoors of Wyoming, always playing the role of the helper, the fixer, the one who held everything together. That instinct followed her into adulthood and eventually into a marriage affected by alcoholism, where love slowly turned into chaos, confusion, and an exhausting illusion of control.
In this deeply honest episode of The Cup of Joe Show, Christina shares how trying to fix her husband’s drinking by drinking alongside him only deepened the pain. Fertility struggles, unanswered prayers, and nights of waiting for someone who didn’t come home left her feeling broken and punished. Everything changed when a simple question cracked the door open: Has your life been affected by someone else’s drinking?
After scoring 100% on the Al-Anon questionnaire, Christina walked into her first meeting and found something she had been searching for her entire life: calm. With the help of a sponsor, the first three steps, and a higher power found in nature, she began learning how to let go without giving up, how to care without controlling, and how to choose peace over being right.
Christina talks openly about divorce, starting over, and the powerful tools that guide her recovery today: pausing before reacting, practicing H.A.L.T., using a God Box to let go, daily readings from Courage to Change, and the life-saving practice of connection through sponsorship and service.
Now married to her best friend, Pete M., and living a life grounded in honesty and spiritual growth, Christina shows what’s possible when we stop fixing others and start caring for ourselves.
This episode is for anyone who has loved an alcoholic, lost themselves trying to help, or wondered if peace was ever possible.
🙏 Please like, share, and subscribe to The Cup of Joe Show.
📌 Mentioned in this episode:
🔗 Has your life been affected by someone else’s drinking?Take the Al-Anon self-quiz for newcomers.
🔗 Illusion of Control: Pete M. Goes All-InThe Cup of Joe Show episode featuring Pete M.
🌟 For daily encouragement, visit Daily Ponderables — your source for inspiration 365 days a year.
The Cup of Joe Show explores the journey of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction—one story, one conversation, and one step at a time. New Episode Every Thursday at Noon.