I am never alone, because the Holy Spirit is with me – Mike's storyI am never alone, because the Holy Spirit is with me – Mike's story
Real Recovery
Bill Arnold and George P. Fraser talk with Mike, who shares how perfectionism, bipolar disorder and alcohol led from corporate success to jail, and how faith and Step 10 practices support his sobriety today. The conversation highlights daily spiritual self-checks, proper mental health treatment and the comfort of knowing the Holy Spirit is always with him.
49:37•7 Jun 2026
From Boardroom to Jail Cell: Mike’s Story of Faith, Sobriety and Never Being Alone
Episode Overview
- Step 10 is a daily “spot check” that highlights both wrongs and the good things God is doing, helping to keep relapse at bay.
- Honesty about being wrong, without rationalising or minimising, brings freedom and keeps relationships cleaner.
- Co-occurring conditions like bipolar disorder can drive drinking, and getting the right medical treatment and medication can be crucial for stability.
- Jail and other painful experiences can become spiritual turning points, revealing that God’s presence and a Bible can be enough when everything else is stripped away.
- Serving others through mentoring and 12-step work strengthens personal sobriety and reinforces the truth that, through the Holy Spirit, no one is ever truly alone.
“Maybe that three months I spent in jail was one of the best things that ever happened to me.”
What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? Real Recovery brings together faith, humour and hard-won experience as Bill Arnold and George P. Fraser sit down with Mike, a former high-flying financial professional whose life crashed from boardroom to jail cell. The episode starts with a practical chat about Step 10 of the 12 steps – the daily habit of taking personal inventory and promptly admitting wrongs.
George explains how this practice keeps him sober and spiritually grounded, checking questions like, “Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?” and watching for relapse warning signs such as irritability, selfishness and pride. Then Mike steps in with a striking contrast: a childhood on a Minnesota farm with 11 siblings, an intense drive for perfection, and a performance-based sense of worth.
He shares how success, status and money once defined his happiness, until a series of traumas – his lake home burning down, divorce, retirement, and an undiagnosed bipolar type 1 – pushed him into a three-year drinking binge and three DWIs. “It’s a long way from being in a boardroom to being in a jail cell,” he says wryly. Jail, however, becomes a turning point.
Mike recalls standing “with nothing but a Bible” and realising, “Who needs anything more?” He now calls those three months “one of the best things that ever happened to me.” From there, he talks about proper bipolar treatment, consistent medication, and how God uses his story so he can mentor younger men in both 12-step settings and church.
Throughout, the show speaks directly to Christians in recovery, people with co-occurring mental health issues, and anyone who feels they “don’t want to die, but don’t want to live.” The message is simple and comforting: with Christ and the Holy Spirit, you’re never really on your own. Could your next honest self-check be the start of a new chapter too?
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