188: Alcoholic Attorney Regains Custody And Becomes Sober CEO With Marsha Stone188: Alcoholic Attorney Regains Custody And Becomes Sober CEO With Marsha Stone
The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast
Marsha Stone grew up in Southern Georgia to a family that struggled with generational alcoholism. She eventually married her best drinking buddy and quickly had three kids, then just as quickly she was alone. The responsibility of raising them fell squarely on her shoulders and the fear of how she would care for them left her with many sleepless nights. In law school, her alcoholism took off, but she told herself it was all reasonable. Anyone in her difficult situation would do the same thing.
58:43•13 Jun 2023
From Courtroom Chaos to Sober CEO: Marsha Stone’s High-Functioning Alcoholism Exposed
Episode Overview
- High intelligence and strong willpower cannot out-think alcoholism; relying solely on your brain can become your biggest liability around drinking.
- Checking boxes in recovery (meetings, sponsors, routines) may not be enough without genuine surrender, spiritual change and rigorous honesty.
- Serious consequences such as losing a career or custody can, for some people, be the shock that finally breaks denial and brings willingness.
- Talking openly about addiction within families can give children the language and safety to ask for help earlier and with less shame.
- Integrative approaches that combine medical care, lifestyle changes, community and education can support ongoing mental health and recovery.
“It's a hard thing when you've been able to rely on your brain to make decisions, to set goals... and when it came to alcohol... my willpower... was of absolutely no avail.”
Get ready to be moved by real-life accounts of what happens when a ‘high-functioning’ life collides with untreated alcoholism. This conversation follows Marsha Stone, an attorney from the Deep South who grew up in a family marked by generational drinking, married her best drinking buddy, had three children in quick succession – and then watched alcohol rip everything apart.
You’ll hear how she pushed through law school as her drinking escalated, convinced that “anyone in her difficult situation would do the same thing”, and later ended up sneaking cocaine into the courtroom. When her disease finally caught up with her, the bar associations closed in, she surrendered her law licence for five years, and custody of her four children was handed to others. Marsha is brutally clear that she needed those consequences for alcoholism to “really get my attention”.
The episode speaks directly to high achievers who rely on their brains for everything. Marsha explains the terror of making a firm decision every morning not to drink, only to feel herself “starting to change my mind” by late afternoon: her willpower was “of absolutely no avail”. She and host Ashley swap stories about being smart, driven women whose logic and project management skills simply couldn’t out-think addiction.
There’s honest talk about relapse, “forensic analysis” of what went wrong, and the difference between ticking recovery boxes and having a genuine spiritual shift. Marsha shares how rigorous honesty, community, and a willingness to follow directions finally shifted everything – not only for her, but for her children, who later came to her for help and found their own recovery.
By the end, she’s a sober CEO building mental health and recovery programmes, yet she keeps the focus on service: using her experience to reduce shame and normalise open conversations about addiction. If you’ve ever thought the rules don’t quite apply to you, this one might hit uncomfortably close to home – in the best way. What if your greatest strength isn’t your clever mind, but your willingness to let someone else guide you for a while?
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