Rising from the Ashes: Tim Lineaweaver's Journey to RecoveryRising from the Ashes: Tim Lineaweaver's Journey to Recovery
The Recovered Life Show
Tim Lineaweaver shares how alcohol and cocaine addiction shattered his life and how treatment, meetings, and commitment helped him build nearly four decades of sobriety. His story focuses on family loss, a powerful rock bottom, and the long-term rewards of choosing recovery.
12:18•1 May 2025
Rising from the Ashes: How Tim Lineaweaver Rebuilt His Life in Recovery
Episode Overview
- Childhood in an alcoholic, abusive home set the stage for Tim’s early alcohol and cocaine use.
- Escalating to smoking cocaine led to rapid losses: marriage, finances, and temporary custody of his daughter.
- A devastating blackout at his daughter’s christening pushed Tim to seek help from his therapist and enter treatment.
- Early sobriety was emotionally intense, but daily meetings, therapy, group work, and sponsorship kept recovery front and centre.
- Tim believes anyone can get sober if they commit and keep going after relapse, and says long-term recovery is deeply worth the effort.
“"Smoking cocaine was the single worst decision I've made in my life."”
Get ready to be moved by real-life accounts of addiction and recovery as The Recovered Life Show shares Tim Lineaweaver’s story of falling apart and slowly rebuilding a life worth living. Hosted by sober coach Damon Frank, this "How I Did It" episode is aimed at people who are sober, sober-curious, or feeling stuck in active addiction and wondering if change is actually possible.
Tim speaks plainly about growing up in an alcoholic home with an abusive father and the chaos that shaped his early years. He recalls his first blackout at 18 or 19 and how things escalated from drinking and snorting cocaine to smoking it. In his own words, "Smoking cocaine was the single worst decision I've made in my life," and within a year he’d lost his marriage, his money, and even temporary custody of his daughter.
The turning point comes after a blackout at his daughter’s christening, when he wakes up "completely defeated" and finally calls his therapist, who finds him a bed in treatment. That small "inkling of hope" leads him into therapy, group work, daily AA and NA meetings, and sponsorship. He jokes that the first month of sobriety was "a bit of a rock fight", but he made recovery his top priority.
Now around 40 years sober, Tim shares how his life has changed: a 32-year marriage, three children, four grandchildren, a long career as a therapist working with addicts and people with trauma, and the ability to "hold my head up and respect myself".
His message to anyone on the fence is simple and direct: "You can do it, and man, is it ever worth it." If you’re unsure whether sobriety is possible for you, Tim’s story might make you ask: what if your own "inkling of hope" is closer than you think?
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