The Day I Chose Recovery Over Death — and Never Looked Back (Ep 192)
The Day I Chose Recovery Over Death — and Never Looked Back (Ep 192)

Genuine Life Recovery with Jodie Stevens

Sean Beem shares how a chaotic, violent upbringing, addiction and suicidal thoughts led him to a life-changing AA meeting and long-term sobriety. He explains how faith, therapy, exercise and serving others now shape his work in Folsom Prison and his ongoing recovery.

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45:25•10 Jun 2026

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Choosing Sobriety at 27: Sean Beem’s Fight for Life and Faith

Episode Overview

Sobriety must be treated as the top priority, especially when addiction and mental health issues have led to legal trouble or crisis.
Support groups like AA or Celebrate Recovery, combined with therapy, provide structure, accountability and shared experience that most people cannot find on their own.
Exercise, good nutrition and active routines help manage anxiety, depression and restlessness, particularly in early recovery.
Writing down past experiences and talking them through with a sponsor or therapist can break long-standing patterns shaped by trauma.
Serving others and giving back – whether through mentoring, coaching or simple acts of kindness – brings a deeper sense of joy than any high ever did.

“Alcoholism and drug addiction is a bully… Are you going to let it whoop you, or are you going to whoop it back?”

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation between host Jodie Stevens and long-time friend Sean Beem takes you right into the messy, honest middle of that question.

Sean talks through a childhood steeped in alcoholism, biker culture, violence and chaos, with a mother deep in addiction and a father who partied hard while insisting he “put a roof over your head… I can do what I want to do on the weekend.” Early arrests, drugs, raves and a Dui followed, even after time in the military. By 27, living in Maui, he was sitting on a beach seriously considering suicide, convinced he couldn’t stop drinking or using.

What changed? A missed work shift, two concerned co-workers at his door, and a boss who gave him one last chance. A manager gently told him, “You need to get help. You can’t do what you’re doing alone.” That night he walked into his first AA meeting, and he hasn’t had a drink since.

Three days earlier, his mum had prayed, “God, bring my son to the rooms of AA and whatever you do with him after that is up to you.” The episode is packed with straight-talking recovery wisdom. Sean shares how AA’s 12 steps, Romans 12 and years of counselling helped him rewire a brain shaped by trauma, anxiety and rage.

Now a veteran correctional officer at Folsom Prison, he uses his story to challenge incarcerated men to treat addiction like a bully: “Are you going to let it whoop you, or are you going to whoop it back?” You’ll hear practical encouragement on meetings, exercise, therapy, faith and the simple power of giving back. If you’re hanging on by a thread, this candid story might be the nudge that reminds you there’s still hope and help available.

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