The Alchemy of Recovery with Elli Rose Cikovic | Episode 508

The Alchemy of Recovery with Elli Rose Cikovic | Episode 508

Curious about how others manage the messy, non-linear path to sobriety? This conversation with author and young person in recovery, Elli Rose Cikovic, gives a very real look at what it can actually look like to quit drinking and then later give up weed too. Elli talks openly about having two clean dates – one for alcohol and uppers (4 May 2022) and a newer one for weed (18 June 2025).

She jokes about being "California sober" for a while, but makes it clear that weed eventually became a full-time job: smoking from early morning, planning life around blunts, and realising it had shifted from fun to pure maintenance. Quitting it brought 21 days of hellish withdrawal, but then, as she puts it, "on day 22, I forgot I ever smoked." The chat doesn’t shy away from tough subjects.

Elli shares about childhood sexual trauma, complex PTSD and how EMDR, therapy and spirituality are now key parts of her healing. She and Jason compare experiences of blackout drinking, sexual harm, and that eerie feeling of having "hundreds" of nights you can’t remember but your body clearly does.

Elli wrote *The Diary of a Twenty-Five-Year-Old Alcoholic* while still using weed, and she’s candid about that too – the book is a raw diary of chaos and early sobriety rather than a neat recovery manual. She’s already writing again, seeing her story and pain as "alchemy" – turning damage into something useful for others. This episode suits anyone who’s wondered if weed "really counts", those with multiple clean dates, or people carrying trauma into recovery.

You’ll hear about daily routines (walking, journalling, whole foods), spiritual nudges, and the blunt reminder: "Addiction is not your fault, it’s your responsibility." It might just get you asking what your next step could be.