Lesli Baker: A Story of HopeLesli Baker: A Story of Hope
Finding Hope
Lesli Baker shares how her husband's relapse during COVID pushed her into obsession, then into setting firm boundaries and seeking help. She talks about finding warmth and understanding in Finding Hope groups and learning that she needed her own recovery as much as her husband needed his.
27:16•3 Aug 2026
Lesli Baker on Being the "Detective" Wife and Finding Her Own Path to Hope
Episode Overview
- Addiction can return even after years of sobriety, especially when circumstances change, such as Lesli losing her sense of smell during COVID.
- Constantly monitoring and trying to catch a loved one drinking can harm the partner’s mental and physical health.
- Clear boundaries, including asking a loved one to leave, can be a turning point for both parties in seeking proper help.
- Family members benefit from attending support groups like Finding Hope to learn about addiction, the brain, and healthy responses.
- Loved ones don’t have to wait for the addict to seek recovery; they can start their own healing and education immediately.
“I was obsessed with it. It was ruining my health, trying to keep him healthy.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? This conversation between host Amy LaRue and guest Lesli Baker follows that question from a wife's perspective, offering a mix of honesty, humour, and hard-won hope. Lesli shares how her "fairy tale childhood" and church-going upbringing left her totally unprepared for addiction.
She'd known her husband Sean had some issues with drinking, but when he quit as soon as they married, she thought, "OK, that was easy" and assumed he was fixed. Everything changed when COVID hit and she lost her sense of smell. Sean realised she could no longer detect alcohol and began drinking again, and Lesli became, in her own words, a full-time "detective"—getting up at night, checking his car, obsessively hunting for evidence. "I was obsessed with it.
It was ruining my health, trying to keep him healthy," she says. That obsession eventually led her to a crucial boundary: asking Sean to leave and giving him three clear options, one of which was going to Hope is Alive. As he entered sober living, Lesli began her own recovery by joining a Finding Hope group.
She describes walking into that first meeting, hearing other stories, and feeling "warmth" as she realised she was "among your people" who understood without judging. Lesli talks about learning that addiction is a disease of the brain, grappling with relapse, and the unique challenges wives face compared to parents. She also explains why she insisted Sean stay the full length of his programme, saying she needed those extra months for her own healing and to build trust.
Her encouragement to others is simple and strong: "Don't wait until they go into recovery. You can go ahead and go to Finding Hope first." If you're worn out from playing detective or feeling alone in a spouse or loved one’s addiction, could connecting with "your people" be the next brave step you take?
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