It is better to be Better - coffee with Author David Deane HaskellIt is better to be Better - coffee with Author David Deane Haskell
Sober.Coffee Podcast
Mike and Glenn chat with author David Dean Haskell about sobriety, codependency and inner child healing, framed by his personal experiences of trauma and mental health. The conversation focuses on why emotional recovery matters just as much as putting down the drink.
28:12•26 Aug 2026
It’s Better to Be Better: Inner Child Healing with David Dean Haskell
Episode Overview
- Stopping alcohol is essential, but deeper emotional and inner child work may be needed to feel genuinely better.
- Codependency can continue to cause pain and chaos even after sobriety, and can be addressed through dedicated work and support.
- Childhood trauma and abandonment may not "explain" alcoholism, but they can influence current emotional health and reactions.
- Spiritual experiences and 12-step programmes can support both sobriety and mental stability, sometimes more effectively than medication alone.
- If life still hurts, even without alcohol, it’s important to keep seeking help and answers rather than giving up on yourself.
“If you're in pain, keep seeking answers… don't give up hope on yourself because, you know, it's better to be better.”
Get ready to be moved by real-life accounts of how alcohol misuse, trauma and emotional pain can tangle together, and what it looks like to start untangling the mess. Mike and Glenn are joined by author David Dean Haskell, zooming in from Tokyo to talk about his book *Wounded Angels* and the idea that quitting drinking is just the beginning.
You’ll hear David describe alcoholism as a “spiritual malady” and share how, even after he stopped drinking, life still felt chaotic. Relationships kept blowing up, triggers kept coming, and he realised that codependency and old emotional wounds were still running the show. That’s where inner child work came in, inspired by his experience with Codependents Anonymous and years of digging into abandonment and loss.
The chat gets personal as David talks about losing his mother to suicide at four, growing up with an alcoholic father, and later becoming an alcoholic dad himself. He also talks about being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, coming off heavy medication under medical supervision, and finding more stability through 12-step work, routine, exercise, prayer and self-awareness.
Mike and Glenn relate with their own stories of childhood trauma, therapy, misdiagnoses and mountains of meds that didn’t really help until alcohol was removed from the picture. Together, they highlight a simple but challenging truth: sobriety clears the mud, and then the deeper emotional work can actually start. This episode is aimed at anyone who’s sober-curious, newly sober, or wondering why life still feels painful even after putting the drink down.
As David puts it, “If you’re in pain, keep seeking answers… don’t give up hope on yourself because, you know, it’s better to be better.” If alcohol is no longer working for you, what small step towards feeling better are you ready to take today?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.