SHAIR 198: Unbroken with Hannah MirmiranSHAIR 198: Unbroken with Hannah Mirmiran
The SHAIR Recovery Podcast
Hannah Mirmiran talks with Omar Pinto about years of on‑off drinking through motherhood, treatment stays, a DUI and divorce, and what is helping her stay sober now. The conversation highlights shame, accountability, boxing, yoga and open honesty as central parts of her current recovery.
2:00:10•27 Nov 2018
Unbroken: Hannah Mirmiran on Sobriety, Shame and Starting Again
Episode Overview
- Shame and secrecy around drinking made it harder for Hannah to stay sober; speaking openly about alcoholism reduced her guilt and helped others.
- Structured support such as Hazelden, the Legacy Program and Soberlink breath testing gave her the accountability she needed.
- Boxing and yoga became central tools, helping her manage emotions, improve her health and build self‑respect.
- Divorce and custody battles were turning points that forced her to prioritise recovery and accept long‑term sobriety.
- Honesty with herself, her children and her community allowed Hannah to rebuild her life and even grow her therapy practice.
“Believe in yourself. Know that even though you feel like a piece of shit when you come in and when you start this, and there's very little hope, and life's hard, know that it's worth it, and your life can get better, and you're worth it.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? Hannah Mirmiran’s story is one that many quietly living with alcohol problems may recognise, especially parents trying to hold everything together. The episode centres on Hannah, a licensed psychotherapist, mother of three, and member of the SHAIR Recovery Community, as she talks with host Omar Pinto. She traces her drinking from a late start at university – “Some people start with Miller Lite.
I start with Goldschlager” – through early sobriety in her mid‑20s, then years of stop‑start drinking woven around marriage, motherhood, miscarriages and a demanding home life with twins and a stressed physician husband. Hannah lays out a raw pattern of doing recovery “perfectly”, relapsing, hiding bottles, going to multiple treatment centres including Hazelden and a women’s programme at the Legacy Program in Arizona, and even receiving a DUI while driving herself to detox.
She’s frank about shame, secrecy, legal trouble and the pain of her children seeing her drunk. What makes this episode especially relevant for people in or around addiction is how practical it feels. Hannah talks through the reality of trying to stay sober while raising three young children, working as a therapist, and going through a bitter divorce and custody battle.
Key tools emerge: daily breath tests with Soberlink for accountability, close work with a sponsor, long‑term therapy, meditation, and a serious commitment to boxing and yoga that led to losing 60 pounds and feeling “like a completely different person”. She also explains how publicly owning her alcoholism on social media reduced shame, strengthened her practice, and helped others speak up. Her message by the end is simple: you’re not broken beyond repair, and honesty plus support can change everything.
If you’re juggling family, work and alcohol, what might your first honest step look like today?
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