Recovered: Interviews with Alcoholics | Kim PorterRecovered: Interviews with Alcoholics | Kim Porter
The Magdalen House Podcast
Kim Porter recounts her journey from teenage drinking, repeated incarceration and failed attempts to control alcohol to finding a spiritual solution through the 12 Steps. She shares how desperation, community support and daily spiritual practice shape her life in recovery today.
36:40•4 Nov 2026
Kim Porter: From Prison Cells to Spiritual Awakening
Episode Overview
- Self‑will and personal promises could not keep Kim sober; she describes losing the power of choice in drink.
- Understanding alcoholism as an allergy of the body and an obsession of the mind helped her accept the need for a spiritual solution.
- A sponsor allowing her to drink led to the desperation and surrender she needed for a genuine Step One experience.
- Working all 12 Steps, including uncomfortable amends supported by prayer, became crucial to her recovered life.
- Carrying the message into prisons and staying active in community keeps her connected and strengthens her ongoing recovery.
“Alcohol was my master. I’d wake up in the mornings, I’d drink… it was everything.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? Kim Porter’s story might give you a few ideas. From her first drink at 15, alcohol quickly became “my master”, driving years of chaos, lost opportunities and repeated stints in county jail and prison. She describes herself as “the true Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, unable to recognise the person alcohol turned her into.
Kim talks frankly about trying every self‑help trick she could think of: swapping liquor for beer, over‑exercising, chasing structure through ROTC and cosmetology school, and making tearful promises in prison that she genuinely believed she’d keep. Each time, she drank again. What finally changed was her understanding of alcoholism as “a common problem, common solution” – a body and mind condition, not a lack of willpower.
She breaks down the allergy and obsession described in the Big Book, explaining how “most alcoholics… have lost the power of choice in drink” and why simply removing alcohol doesn’t fix the real issue. A pivotal moment comes when her first sponsor tells her, “If you feel like drinking, then you need to go drink,” allowing her to reach a true Step One experience instead of trying to white‑knuckle sobriety.
Kim’s second stay at The Magdalen House finds her desperate, praying outside the door and willing to do anything. This time, she follows through with the 12 Steps, including the amends she once refused, leaning on prayer and the courage to be uncomfortable. Today, she carries the message into prisons, supports women in the community, and talks about building a spiritual practice that includes listening, not just talking, to her higher power.
If you’ve ever wondered whether your drinking is “serious enough” or felt stuck between fear and hope, could Kim’s journey be the nudge you need to ask for help?
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