H.O.W.

H.O.W.

What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? This RAW Recovery Podcast episode hangs out with that question using three short words: Honesty, Openness, Willingness. Host Dion keeps things loose and real, chatting from his basement with cats, birthday plans and 80s glam rock all making an appearance. Between jokes about surrendering his bowels and singing Cheap Trick, he gets serious about how “Honesty, open mindedness, willingness. These are the essentials of recovery.” You’ll hear how he breaks H.O.W.

down into everyday actions rather than just a slogan. Honesty starts with two simple questions: do you think your life is unmanageable, and do you think you’re an alcoholic? Dion points out that nothing shifts until that’s admitted to yourself and another person, even if it’s just one trusted human. He stresses that newcomers need space to be “as honest as they can at the moment” and jokes, “You can’t bullshit a bullshitter,” while still emphasising compassion.

Openness, for him, means being willing to look at new ways of living and “stop fighting everything and everyone.” He talks about stepping back from social media arguments, considering humble work like delivering food, and how a single sentence from his therapist reframed his attitude by reminding him that helping people is what keeps him “bright eyed” and grounded.

Willingness shows up as the spark behind everything: going to a first meeting, starting the Daily Trudge, even spinning a random “topic wheel” live and trusting he’ll find something useful to say. The tone is relaxed, funny and a bit chaotic—in the best way—yet keeps circling back to one clear message: H.O.W. is simple, but not easy, and it’s meant to be used every single day. How might honesty, openness and willingness show up in your recovery today?