252 Odyssey House Journals - Rachel Liddell252 Odyssey House Journals - Rachel Liddell
Odyssey House Journals
Rachel Liddell recounts her path from teenage IV heroin addiction, homelessness and deep shame to seven years sober, motherhood and outreach work in Salt Lake City. The conversation highlights trauma, belief patterns, structured treatment and the power of choosing recovery-focused relationships and routines.
28:50•3 Jul 2026
From IV Heroin at 16 to Proud Mum: Rachel Liddell’s Remarkable Turnaround
Episode Overview
- Early childhood trauma and shame can fuel substance use from a very young age, especially when there’s easy access to medications and little emotional support.
- Repeated treatment stays may not stick until a person is ready and willing to accept help and follow others’ suggestions.
- Believing you are destined to be an addict reinforces dangerous cycles of homelessness, sex work and self‑destruction.
- Structured programmes like CATS in jail and consistent outpatient support can provide a crucial reset point and life‑saving stability.
- Building a life around parenting, meaningful outreach work and supportive relationships helps maintain long‑term recovery and a sense of choice and power.
“I can either delay the inevitable of feeling what I'm feeling by using substances, or I can be brave in the moment and face whatever's going on.”
What emotional and inspiring tales of recovery are out there? This conversation on *Odyssey House Journals* centres on Rachel Liddell, who went from being a full‑blown IV heroin addict at 16 to a sober, devoted mum with seven years in recovery. The chat, led by host Randall Carlisle with therapist co‑host Jackie Buckman, has a relaxed, joking tone at times, but it doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff.
Rachel talks about early childhood sexual trauma, stealing and sneaking substances as a kid, and raiding medicine cabinets by age 10. By her mid‑teens, she was deeply entrenched in addiction, cycling through treatment programmes, toxic relationships, jail, homelessness from Midvale to North Temple, and doing “all those never would I evers,” including selling her body. Shame and hopelessness were constant companions. She explains how she came to believe, “Clearly this is just my destiny.
I'm just going to be a junkie something for the rest of my life.” Jackie links this to the way trauma and powerlessness shape beliefs, especially for women. The turning point comes through drug court, multiple overdoses, and finally the CATS programme in jail run by Odyssey House. Rachel jokes about being a rebel, but describes learning to be “willing to take someone else's suggestions” as the game‑changer.
She stays sober through her mum’s suicide attempt, reaches out to her detective and therapist instead of using, and soon after finds out she’s pregnant. Her son, now nearly six, is her “velcro baby” and right‑hand man. These days she does street‑level outreach with groups like Be A Little Too Kind and Soap 2 Hope, handing out meals, hygiene items and harm reduction supplies, and surrounds herself with people who support her recovery.
Her outlook is clear: she always has a choice. “I can either delay the inevitable of feeling what I'm feeling by using substances, or I can be brave in the moment and face whatever's going on.” If you’ve ever felt stuck in old patterns or ashamed of your past, Rachel’s story might be exactly the reminder you need that change is still possible.
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