123. When the Diagnosis is Wrong with Ginger Smith123. When the Diagnosis is Wrong with Ginger Smith
Together S.O.B.E.R.
Louise Barnett talks with 89-year-old author and retired clinician Ginger Smith about alcoholism, trauma, misdiagnosis and dementia. Their conversation traces how Ginger moved from addiction and hospice care to long-term sobriety, advocacy and a meaningful later life.
46:20•15 Jun 2026
Wrong Diagnosis, Right Recovery: Ginger Smith on Sobriety, Dementia and Starting Again at 89
Episode Overview
- Alcoholism can creep in gradually, especially when drinking feels social or normalised, making early awareness and boundaries crucial.
- Long-term rehab, peer support groups and staying close to sober friends were central to Ginger’s 35 years of sobriety.
- Mental health labels can be incomplete or wrong; medication loads and diagnoses may change over time, so second looks matter.
- Childhood trauma and complex PTSD can shape a lifetime, but therapy, honesty and storytelling can help shift deeply rooted patterns.
- Even after dementia, addiction and severe losses, it’s possible to build a meaningful later life through advocacy, friendship and service to others.
“There is a way out. My story isn't everybody's, but if I can find some people that can aspire to lead a good, healthy life.”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? This conversation between host Louise Barnett and 89-year-old guest Ginger Smith is aimed straight at anyone juggling sobriety, mental health diagnoses and a messy past that refuses to stay quiet. Ginger, a retired speech-language pathologist who worked with neurologists at Stanford and UCSF, shares how her life spiralled from a promising career and family life into alcoholism, homelessness, and severe mental health struggles.
Diagnosed with bipolar disorder "when it was kind of fashionable" and later with dementia so advanced she was placed in hospice, she describes being written off more than once — and then slowly coming back. You’ll hear about her 35 years of sobriety, nine months in alcohol rehab, and the practical boundaries she still keeps: no alcohol at home, no bars, strong sober friendships, and deep respect for how "insidious" alcohol can be.
Louise and Ginger talk frankly about misdiagnosis, overmedication (Ginger recalls being on around 30 medications), and how her psychiatrist later removed bipolar from her chart after significant change in her health and life. Ginger also opens up about complex PTSD rooted in childhood abuse, a strict religious boarding school and undiagnosed kidney disease, and how therapy, advocacy work and writing her book *Dementia Denied* helped her face the "down and dirty" parts of her story.
Louise relates with her own experience of bipolar disorder, mania and family estrangement, making this feel like two survivors comparing notes rather than a distant interview. Stylistically, the episode feels like an honest kitchen-table chat: candid, occasionally funny, and unafraid of difficult details. It’s especially suited to people in sobriety or mental health recovery who worry they’ve "ruined everything" and need proof that life can still hold meaning, connection and purpose.
If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late to change, Ginger’s story might make you think again — what chapter could you start writing next?
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