RE 587: Schedule What?RE 587: Schedule What?
Recovery Elevator
Paul challenges the logic of drug schedules and highlights alcohol’s overlooked harm while Will shares his journey from malt liquor mornings and suicidal thoughts to detox, AA, and meaningful work in recovery. The conversation shows how honesty, support, and service reshaped his life into one filled with travel, creativity and connection.
45:39•18 May 2026
Schedule Lists, Malt Liquor Mornings and a First Sober Day in Times Square
Episode Overview
- Drug scheduling lists can give a false sense of what is dangerous; alcohol’s absence from the schedules does not reflect its real harm.
- Honesty with employers, family, and therapists (“burning the ships”) can create accountability and momentum for genuine change.
- Short-term detox or treatment is often just the start; ongoing support through meetings, therapy, and community is crucial.
- Service work and helping others in recovery can strengthen one’s own sobriety and provide a sense of purpose.
- Sobriety can open doors to meaningful experiences such as travel, creative projects, and deeper, shame-free relationships.
“Each time in my life, you know, it's made me stronger and I've felt like, wow, this actually isn't that bad. I'm going to get through it and thank God I'm not drinking because that would make this a whole lot worse.”
How do different strategies aid in addiction recovery? This conversation on Recovery Elevator blends sharp commentary on drug policy with a raw, very human story of getting sober and staying that way. The episode opens with Paul Churchill correcting two big misconceptions: how many Americans actually drink and where alcohol sits in the US drug scheduling system. Spoiler: it doesn’t.
Paul calls the schedule list “laughable at best” and points out the absurdity of alcohol and tobacco being exempt while far less deadly substances are tightly categorised. He doesn’t mince words: “Alcohol, guys, you already know it. It’s a poison… it’s garbage, it’s total shit.” From there, the focus shifts to Will, a 32-year-old postal worker from New Hampshire, who stopped drinking on 5 October 2019.
Growing up in a strict religious home, being homeschooled, and feeling painfully isolated, Will later swung hard into drinking alone in tiny shared flats, cheap malt liquor, and eventually a DUI. His story edges into very dark territory, including suicidal thoughts and standing on the edge of a winter bridge. A short stay in detox, a hesitant start with AA, and a brutally honest therapist become turning points.
Will describes how multiple failed attempts, “burning the ships” by telling his bosses and family, and a final hidden relapse led to his actual day one – waking up with booze on his breath on the way to New York, then spending his first sober day wandering Times Square and Central Park.
Over six years, his life shifts from shame and isolation to service work in a recovery centre, long-term therapy, and a deeper relationship with his imagination, writing, and travel – including a three-week stay in France. His message is simple: sobriety isn’t about saying no forever, it’s about saying yes to real experiences, connection, and giving back. What new first could sobriety make possible for you?
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