The Family Side of Addiction & Recovery (Trudging With The Millers)
The Family Side of Addiction & Recovery (Trudging With The Millers)

RAW Recovery Podcast

Dion, his wife Shannon and their daughter Kira talk openly about how alcoholism affected their family, from emotional distance and guilt to separation and repair. They share what helped each of them, including Al-Anon, accountability and hard boundaries, while showing that healing a family is a slow, messy and ongoing process.

HonestAuthenticInspiringSupportiveHealing

57:17•2 May 2026

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The Millers Get Honest: Addiction, Family Fallout and Finding Their Way Back

Episode Overview

Alcoholism affects the whole household, leaving spouses and children feeling physically surrounded yet emotionally alone.
Partners often stay because they see the sober person underneath and hold on to that potential, even when others don’t understand.
Education and support groups like Al-Anon and Alateen can help family members see their own part, set boundaries and reduce enabling.
Allowing natural consequences for the alcoholic, rather than rescuing them, can be key in motivating change.
Recovery doesn’t fix a family overnight; rebuilding trust and reshaping patterns takes years of consistency, honesty and small daily choices.

“I knew I was hurting you all. I knew I was. But the denial ran so deep, I couldn’t help myself.”

What are the common struggles and victories in addiction recovery? This conversation with the Millers lays it all bare, warts, swearing and freezer wallets included. RAW Recovery keeps things conversational and messy in the best way, as Dion, his wife Shannon (Al-Anon) and their daughter Kira (in recovery) talk honestly about what addiction does to a family. This isn’t a tidy before-and-after story.

Shannon shares what it’s like to love someone whose “marriage” to alcohol felt more real than the one at home, admitting, “It was more important than me… you weren’t wrong.” Kira brings in the next generation’s view, explaining how growing up with alcoholism made chaos feel normal and later fed into her own drinking: “I wasn’t shown what love was from a male aspect… I wasn’t really given a clear picture of what that was supposed to look like.” You’ll hear them talk about: - Being “physically there but not emotionally” for kids.

It’s about the years in between – the fear, the denial, the love, and the constant “do I stay or go?” questions that partners and kids quietly carry. - Why partners stay, even when everyone else is telling them to leave. - The guilt parents carry, and the difference between guilt and being completely to blame. - The quiet power of Al-Anon, Alateen and education for family members.

- How recovery can, at times, feel like it pushes the family into the background. There’s humour too – like the infamous wallet-in-the-freezer story – which keeps the conversation from feeling heavy, even when they’re talking about rock bottoms and separation.

If you’ve ever wondered what addiction looks like inside a home, from the spouse on the sofa to the teenager in the garage, this raw family chat might help you feel a bit less alone and maybe ask yourself: what’s my limit, and what help do I deserve right now?

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