A Different Path to Recovery - One Woman's JourneyA Different Path to Recovery - One Woman's Journey
Recovery Coast to Coast
Neil Scott talks with singer–songwriter Paris Mas about her history of heavy drug use, near-death experiences and the role music plays in her more than two years of sobriety. The episode highlights her unconventional path away from substances, the rebuilding of family ties, and a closing reflection from Elton John on finding himself in recovery.
33:06•3 Sept 2026
From Fentanyl to Street Songs: Paris Mas and a Musical Road to Recovery
Episode Overview
- There are many paths to recovery, and Paris shows that a self-directed route, supported by treatment when needed, can work for some people.
- Music and creativity can act as powerful anchors in sobriety, offering structure, purpose and a way to process painful experiences.
- Letting go of using friends, even while still caring about them, may be essential to protect early recovery.
- Family often needs to step back for their own safety, but relationships can rebuild slowly as recovery becomes consistent.
- Personal honesty – stopping the lies to oneself and others – is central to sustained sobriety, whatever approach is used.
“You can come from someone who, like myself, who's an addict, who's an alcoholic, who did major drugs, who has died and came back to life four different times… and do what I'm doing when I got sober.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This episode centres on Paris Mas, a 33-year-old singer–songwriter who swapped fentanyl, meth and crack for a microphone and a portable speaker, and has stayed sober for more than two years through music. Host Neil Scott keeps the tone warm and conversational as Paris traces her story from early childhood trauma and wealth-tinged confusion to hardcore addiction.
She talks about starting cigarettes at 13, alcohol at 15, and then moving through “every single drug that you can think of,” including seven years on PCP and three and a half years on fentanyl. Her account of withdrawal is blunt and unfiltered, from physical collapse to the shame of paramedics finding her in a wrecked bed. Paris explains how outpatient treatment, frequent relapses, and the loss of a close friend finally pushed her to quit for good.
She’s honest about doing much of the work outside traditional 12-step rooms, stressing that “there are many paths to recovery” and that her path is fuelled by sheer determination and a deep need to stop lying to herself. The heart of the episode is how singing became her lifeline.
Busking in parks, posting covers online (starting with Kelly Clarkson’s “Sober”), and working with a vocal coach helped her reconnect with the “girl dancing in front of the mirror” before drugs took over. Now, she sees herself as a singer, storyteller and healer, using music to reach kids and anyone stuck where she once was.
Neil rounds things off with a brief reflection from Elton John on how sobriety helped him “re-find” himself, underlining the shared theme: recovery can rewrite a life in ways you might not expect. It leaves you asking: what passion could be your own path out of addiction?
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