Pondoff's Anonymous Season 3 Episode 26: "The Groceries That Saved My Life" featuring Ricky StewartPondoff's Anonymous Season 3 Episode 26: "The Groceries That Saved My Life" featuring Ricky Stewart
Pondoff's Anonymous
Ricky Stewart talks candidly about heroin, porn addiction, suicide plans and 30 rehabs, while sharing how sober living, faith and a bag of groceries helped him rebuild his life. The conversation focuses on structure, community and small acts of care as key parts of long-term recovery.
1:54:25•3 Aug 2026
The Groceries That Saved My Life: Ricky Stewart on Heroin, Porn and Sober Living
Episode Overview
- Sober living with structure, accountability and community dramatically improves the chances of staying clean beyond 30 days.
- Validation and attention can be as addictive as substances, and often sit at the core of long-term addiction.
- Relapse can erase years of sobriety in an instant emotionally, but honest support from sponsors and friends can interrupt the spiral.
- Practical acts of care – like showing up with groceries – can be life-saving when someone feels unable to reach out.
- Simple spiritual practices, such as writing daily letters to God, can help build a steady, personal foundation for recovery.
“"He said, 'No, I get to meet the man I talk to every day.'"”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This episode of Pondoff’s Anonymous follows Ricky Stewart as he talks openly about heroin addiction, porn addiction, suicidal thinking, and the everyday moments that kept him alive. You’ll hear Ricky explain what it was like growing up as the youngest of five and an identical twin in a house that looked respectable from the outside but was chaotic behind closed doors.
Validation became his first "high", and eventually heroin took that role, leading to 12 years of use and around 30 treatment centres. He describes getting the dealer’s phone number as a turning point, and overdosing on his very first shot in a Del Taco car park. Ricky and the hosts talk frankly about relapse after four years clean, sponsorship, and the terrifying honesty of praying to God for a way out while driving to pick up.
One of the most moving stories is "the groceries that saved my life"—his sponsor turning up with bags of food and love when Ricky was sitting in his garage planning to die, unable to open the door but still taking in the care left on his doorstep. Now Director of Hilljack House, Ricky explains why sober living is such a vital bridge after treatment, from strict drug testing to savings schemes that help residents leave with thousands in the bank.
There’s humour too—childhood stabbing over a crush, gym lunk alarms, and awkward dating app tales—but the heart of the episode is Ricky’s relationship with God, his son, and the recovery community. His son copying his habit of writing letters to God is a quiet, powerful win. If you’re wondering whether community, faith, and sober living can really change a life, Ricky’s story might be exactly what you need to hear today.
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