Back to life, How to be Happy - Susie Pearl

Back to life, How to be Happy - Susie Pearl

What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? This conversation between host Janey Lee Grace and guest Susie Pearl gives a pretty strong answer.

A long-time non-drinker in the heart of celebrity PR, Susie talks about working with icons like Michael Jackson, Madonna and the Spice Girls, while quietly pouring her champagne down the sink because, as she says, "it tasted poisonous to me." Her boundaries around alcohol were strong from her teens, yet her life was thrown into chaos years later when a huge brain tumour was found and she was told she had about three weeks to live.

Susie describes a near-death experience in vivid detail, speaking of leaving her body, feeling pure love, and choosing to return because she’s a mum and has "work to do". A later brain scan showed the tumour had vanished, something her oncologist called a miracle. She shares how this shifted everything: she now sees people as deeply connected, feels there’s nothing to fear from death, and believes our thoughts and words carry far more power than most of us realise.

For anyone alcohol-free or sober curious, Susie’s story sits alongside Janey’s frank reflections on airport drinking culture, the importance of boundaries, and how hard it is to set them while still drinking. The chat moves into practical territory too: meditation as daily “secret sauce” for anxiety and stress, the value of disrupting old routines, and the joy of reclaiming creativity in simple ways like singing, dancing, painting or trying “all the ings except drinking”.

This episode will suit people who’ve quit booze or are thinking about it, and who are curious about going deeper into meaning, meditation and happiness. It’s relaxed, funny at times, and quietly challenges you to ask: if every day mattered, how would you choose to live alcohol-free?