Rekha's Persistence and Resilience on the Road to Recovery

Rekha's Persistence and Resilience on the Road to Recovery

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation on Recovery Coast to Coast shines a light on Rekha, a woman in her early fifties whose drinking escalated from casual to all‑consuming dependence, and who now treats recovery as “very, very sacred”. Host Neil Scott chats with Rekha about just how bad things got: drinking at work, hiding alcohol behind bushes, and feeling her body insist that without alcohol she would “die”.

There’s no glossing over the messier parts either—her partner calling the police, a DUI at home, homelessness, the sudden loss of her mum, and a fractured relationship with her children. Yet throughout, you’ll hear a steady thread of persistence and resilience as she keeps putting one foot in front of the other. Rekha talks candidly about entering Milestones Women’s Recovery as an outpatient, feeling completely out of place, then gradually finding connection with other women in the programme.

A fellow client gently nudged her towards a local AA meeting, which she describes as “horrible and wonderful” in those early months: three meetings a day on a bike, a mushy brain slowly clearing, learning to feel feelings instead of drowning them. She’s honest about not doing AA “the suggested way”, taking time before choosing a sponsor and working the first step properly.

Today, she calls recovery “freedom” and explains how sobriety has allowed her to rebuild her life, including becoming a certified recovery mentor working with others like herself. The episode closes with actor Ed Begley Jr. sharing how a forgotten AA phone number in his wallet became his version of “in case of fire, break glass”, leading him into long‑term recovery.

If you’re juggling family, grief, legal trouble or just a stubborn ego while trying to stop drinking, Rekha’s story might leave you asking: what small step could I take today toward my own freedom?