Tara Peterson Voices Her Victories | Episode 503Tara Peterson Voices Her Victories | Episode 503
The Way Out | A Sobriety & Recovery Podcast
Tara Peterson shares her journey from cocaine, crack and alcohol addiction through multiple treatment attempts into faith-centred recovery. She reflects on denial, grief, AA, daily gratitude and building a faith-based recovery programme while offering strong reassurance that hope is still possible.
1:54:47•25 May 2026
From Cocaine Chaos to Voices to Victories with Tara Peterson
Episode Overview
- High-functioning addiction can hide in plain sight; work, family and outward success don’t mean substances aren’t a serious problem.
- Denial around alcohol or drugs often persists even after major consequences, and sometimes it takes someone else plainly saying “you’re an alcoholic” for the truth to land.
- Repeated treatment stays can still be valuable if approached with willingness; going in as a “sponge” and engaging with every group made Tara’s third stay different.
- Daily practices such as gratitude journalling, prayer and simple moments of thanks (even for hot water and soap) can anchor recovery and shift perspective.
- Faith-based support, AA and community allowed Tara to turn her deepest shame into a way to serve others through storytelling, a book and a new recovery programme.
“There is so much hope for you. And if you don’t have hope in yourself yet, there’s so many of us that do have hope for you and don’t give up.”
What remarkable journeys have people faced head-on against addiction? Here, Tara Peterson takes centre stage, sharing how cocaine, crack and alcohol once ruled her life – and how faith, community and raw honesty are helping her build something entirely different. Tara talks about growing up in Wisconsin’s heavy drinking culture, struggling with undiagnosed ADHD and depression, and chasing that first hit of “clarity” from cocaine.
She’s brutally honest about high-functioning addiction – working long hours, holding a family together and still secretly smoking crack in her home office. Multiple treatment attempts, near-psychosis, and even testing positive for fentanyl she didn’t know she was using all show just how dangerous things became. Jason, hosting for The Way Out, keeps things relaxed and funny while still asking the hard questions.
Together they unpack denial (“I never thought I was an alcoholic”), the mental gymnastics of “controlling” use, and the moment her boyfriend finally said, “Tara, you’re an alcoholic,” which she describes as the jolt of truth she needed. The heart of the episode is Tara’s third trip to treatment, where she went in as a “sponge”, leaned into every group, started a daily gratitude practice, and had what she calls a clear encounter with God.
From there, her recovery took on a new shape: prayer, church, faith-centred AA, and the realisation that surrender isn’t weakness but relief. She now shares her story in meetings, has written a book titled *Voices to Victories*, and is helping build a faith-based recovery programme that links therapy, the 12 steps and spiritual growth.
Throughout, she keeps bringing it back to hope: “There is so much hope for you… and don’t give up.” If you’re juggling denial, faith questions or that “maybe I’m different” mindset, this conversation might be the nudge you didn’t know you needed. Where could you let go of control just a little today?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.
Related Episodes
Similar episodes from other shows in the catalogue.