030: "Gut Level Honest" George D. now 6 years clean, takes us through over 20 years of drug addiction, child abuse and recovery!030: "Gut Level Honest" George D. now 6 years clean, takes us through over 20 years of drug addiction, child abuse and recovery!
The SHAIR Recovery Podcast
George D shares how years of childhood abuse, addiction and homelessness led to treatment, spiritual awakening and six years clean. He talks about meetings, sponsorship, forgiveness and rebuilding his life as a father and husband through recovery.
54:28•8 Sept 2015
“Gut Level Honest” Recovery: George D on Abuse, Crack, and Six Years Clean
Episode Overview
- Get clean for yourself, not to win back partners, family members or material things: “Do it for yourself and watch the miracle.”
- Attend lots of meetings in early recovery (George suggests 90 meetings in 90 days) and treat them as seriously as you treated getting drugs.
- Work with a sponsor, follow suggestions like gratitude lists, and put recovery and a higher power before relationships, jobs or possessions.
- Drop the victim role and accept what happened; George found freedom by admitting he was no longer a victim and practising forgiveness.
- Stay connected: build a network, hang out after meetings, and be willing to help one person every day, even if that person is yourself.
“For you that's new in recovery, don't get clean for your mother, your brother, your sister, your wife, your dog, your cat. Get clean for yourself. Do it for yourself and watch the miracle.”
What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? George D’s journey from brutal childhood abuse and homelessness to becoming a loving father and husband is shared here with a rawness that’s hard to ignore. Six years clean at the time of recording, George looks back at over two decades of addiction and trauma, speaking with the kind of honesty that many people in early recovery quietly crave.
Hosted by Omar Pinto on The SHAIR Recovery Podcast, the conversation starts with George’s current life: 5 a.m. wake-ups, coffee, birds in the garden, long shifts at work, and regular meetings to keep his “spiritual tank full.” From there, he rewinds to being sexually and physically abused by his father, neglected at school, and then suddenly homeless when his sister exposed the abuse.
You’ll hear how a local church family, the Snyders, showed him unconditional love for the first time, never missing a single sports event. Yet even that safety wasn’t enough to stop addiction taking over when he started using alcohol and marijuana at 16, later moving on to crack cocaine and a habit that cost up to $2,000 a week.
George talks openly about sleeping in woods and crack houses, losing his marriage and children, and finally walking into treatment after freezing on the streets. His turning point came around nine months clean, “laid up in a fetal position” at his home group, when he finally accepted defeat and got truly honest. This episode is especially useful if you’re new to sobriety and battling resentment, shame or childhood trauma.
George shares clear, simple suggestions: 90 meetings in 90 days, get a sponsor, build a network, and above all, “Get clean for yourself.” His story might leave you asking: what would change if you stopped seeing yourself as a victim and started believing recovery could be yours too?
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