S6 E4: Tarang Series: Lived Experience and RecoveryS6 E4: Tarang Series: Lived Experience and Recovery
Addiction Medicine Podcast
Host Pooja Mehta talks with Saisha Joshi and Reid Bowman as they share candid stories of substance use, culture and identity in AAPI communities. Their conversation reflects on stigma, family silence, college drinking and what truly supportive recovery spaces might look like.
53:24•11 Jun 2026
Lived Experience, Culture and Recovery in AAPI Communities
Episode Overview
- Addiction is often only recognised in AAPI families once it disrupts work, housing or outward success, leaving many ‘high-functioning’ people unseen.
- Lack of open discussion about family history and genetics can stop young people from understanding their own risk around substances.
- College environments, especially party-heavy campuses, can normalise heavy drinking and make early warning signs easy to dismiss.
- Supportive peers who listen without judgement and focus on someone’s own goals can be more helpful than dramatic reactions or panic.
- Building a more supportive AAPI culture may mean less competition, more pan-Asian solidarity and a willingness to update traditions with new knowledge.
“There’s a whole swath of middle ground where it can still be problematic, even if it’s not interfering with productivity or the way other people perceive you.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol and other substances, especially when culture, family expectations, and identity are all in the mix? This episode of the Addiction Medicine Podcast brings together host Pooja Mehta with guests Saisha Joshi and Reid Bowman to share raw, first-hand stories of substance use and recovery in Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.
Saisha, a 22-year-old Indian–Nepali peer support specialist and researcher, talks about how her substance use escalated in college from drinking at frat parties to prescription medications. She explains how addiction in her family was minimised as “oh, he just drinks a lot”, leaving her without language or guidance to understand risk or seek help. She describes feeling “not bad enough” to deserve support because she was still functioning on the surface.
Reid, a 27-year-old Korean–Caucasian adoptee, shares how growing up in a conservative white Southern family left him straight edge through school, only for things to spiral at university in New Orleans. A blackout night that ended in hospital became a turning point: “I realized, wow, that was not fun… and we’re never going to do that again.” He reflects on how attention and social validation fed his drinking, and how later he rebuilt a far more controlled relationship with alcohol.
Together, they talk about stigma, cultural silence, and the pressure to be productive and competitive. Both highlight how many AAPI families only talk about addiction once it threatens work, studies or public image, ignoring the “whole swath of middle ground” where people are quietly suffering. The conversation is thoughtful yet relaxed, with moments of humour alongside candid reflections on shame, identity and community. It’s geared towards healthcare professionals and anyone curious about lived experience in AAPI recovery.
You’ll come away asking: what would it take for your own community to feel safe enough for people to say, “I’m struggling,” and actually be heard?
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