Episode 41 | The #RecoveryFirst Podcast with Mike Todd & Guest Carleah SummersEpisode 41 | The #RecoveryFirst Podcast with Mike Todd & Guest Carleah Summers
The Recovery First Addiction Recovery Podcast by Freedom Recovery Services of Greenville
Host Mike Todd talks with advocate and congressional candidate Carleah Summers about her journey as a mum in early recovery and her work creating housing and support for people affected by addiction and incarceration. Their conversation touches on trauma, treatment, stigma, and why people in recovery need a seat at the political table.
1:00:55•8 Oct 2021
From Wet Onesies to Washington: Carleah Summers on Recovery, Motherhood and Congress
Episode Overview
- Motherhood in early recovery is described as one of the hardest tasks, with limited resources and housing driving Carleah to create support for women and children.
- Carleah’s pathway includes abstinence, the 12 steps, sponsorship and a strong spiritual focus, which she credits as central to her long-term recovery.
- Personal experiences with parental and spousal incarceration fuel a strong stance that treatment and getting to the root causes should be prioritised over prison.
- As a minority woman, Carleah notes she has to work twice as hard for respect in the professional and non-profit arenas but refuses to let that stop her.
- Running for Congress, she wants issues facing recovery communities, especially housing and support after treatment, to be widely known and discussed.
“No one can speak for us but us.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation between host Mike Todd and guest Carleah Summers gives a raw, often funny, and deeply human look at that question.
Carleah, a person in long-term recovery, wears more hats than most people have socks: State Lead at the Maryland Recovery Advocacy Project, Executive Director of Nathan's Ridge structured sober living for men, founder of Rainbow of Love Recovery Foundation, and provider of a home for women and children through Andrea's House. On top of all that, she’s running for Congress in Maryland.
She shares the moment that changed everything: coming home to her 10‑month‑old son, tear‑stained and soaked from crying, and her mother saying, “You have got to get some help.” From there, she describes entering treatment, embracing abstinence and the 12 steps, sponsorship, and a strong spiritual foundation: “Without God in my recovery, I would not be where I am today.” You’ll also hear honest talk about fathers’ incarceration, trauma, and why both Mike and Carleah are so passionate about treatment instead of prison.
As Mike jokes, the real question is, “When do you sleep?” The heart of the episode is Carleah’s story as a mum in early recovery. Carleah speaks openly about barriers as a minority woman, the grind of working multiple jobs to support her child, and her drive to create housing for women, children, and men leaving incarceration. There’s plenty of laughter too, from joking about crab prices in Maryland to Mike’s dream of knocking on doors for her campaign.
Yet the message stays sharp: “No one can speak for us but us,” Carleah says, arguing that people in recovery belong at decision‑making tables, including Congress. If you’re curious how lived experience, advocacy, and politics collide in recovery, this one might have you asking what part you could play next.
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