The Recovery Guide

Guardian Recovery
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Biweekly

The Recovery Guide is hosted by Michael Herbert, a person in long-term recovery with over 35 years clean and nearly four decades of experience in addiction and mental health. This show expands the conversation beyond abstinence, exploring the tools, mindset, health practices, and life rebuilding strategies that create lasting recovery. If you or someone you love is navigating addiction, this podcast offers practical guidance, hope, and a reminder that you don’t have to do it alone.

  1. 1d ago ·  Video

    "I Was Superman for Everyone Except Myself"

    By the time Adam Jablin was 30, he had the life he was supposed to want. A family business he'd spent his life stepping into, a wife, a home, a body he'd sculpted through years of competitive bodybuilding. From the outside, he was the guy who had it figured out. Inside, he was drowning. Alcohol and pills had become the only way he knew how to keep playing the role everyone needed him to play—provider, protector, the one who always had it together. He calls it being "Superman." Not a compliment. A cage. It took his family staging an intervention to get him into treatment. There, for the first time, Adam started separating who he actually was from the role he'd been playing since he was a kid. He got sober in 2006 and never looked back, but the real work wasn't recovery. It was learning to take the cape off. Years into his sobriety, success found him anyway: a business he helped build and sell, rooms full of multimillionaires who wanted what he had. And that's when he learned the harder lesson—the achievement never fills the hole. He's watched people with everything he once thought he wanted still feel like it's not enough, because "enough" was never something money could buy in the first place. With host Michael Herbert, Adam gets into what it took to stop being everyone's hero and start being human. It's a conversation about what's really underneath the armor high-achievers build, and why taking it off is the only way anything actually gets better. Follow Guardian: https://www.instagram.com/guardianrecovery/ This episode is sponsored by Guardian Recovery. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health challenges, Guardian can help. Visit https://www.guardianrecovery.com or call 888-721-3790 for confidential support and guidance.

  2. Aug 11 ·  Video

    She Skipped Rehab and AA—Here's How Melissa McGovern Got Sober Anyway

    For years, Melissa McGovern tried to get sober on her own terms—cutting out alcohol for a while, feeling great, then slowly letting it creep back in under the guise of moderation. The cycle repeated more than once. Then one of the worst things imaginable happened: she lost her best friend, who had spent years cycling in and out of rehabs and homeless shelters. Melissa coped the only way she knew how: by binging food and alcohol. By summer 2023, her health finally caught up with her. A doctor's visit confirmed it: her bloodwork came back elevated across the board, her liver enzymes higher than they'd ever been. Her doctor laid out the usual next steps—medication, local AA meetings. Melissa took neither. She started walking instead, filled the silence with sober podcasts, and stumbled into an online sober community that gave her the support of meetings without the room. Within three weeks, she started to feel like herself again. Three years later, Melissa's still alcohol-free, and she's turned what she found for herself into something she now offers to others. Through coaching and sober retreats, she's built her own version of that community, helping people who are sober curious or ready for a change find a path that actually fits them, instead of the one they're told they're supposed to take. With host Michael Herbert, Melissa gets into why she doesn't call her sobriety journey "recovery," why she doesn't identify with the word "alcoholic," and why none of that matters nearly as much as the life she's built without alcohol in it. Her take: there's no single right way to get sober, and the people who've found their own way there tend to be the most supportive of someone else finding theirs. Follow Guardian: https://www.instagram.com/guardianrecovery/ This episode is sponsored by Guardian Recovery. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health challenges, Guardian can help. Visit https://www.guardianrecovery.com or call 888-721-3790 for confidential support and guidance.

  3. Aug 4 ·  Video

    "It's Far More Cultural Than Financial"

    The assumption is almost always money. If someone in a Black community isn't getting access to treatment, the reason "must be" that they can't afford it. Rick Hubbard has a hard piece of evidence against that. There was a nonprofit, state-funded treatment center where care cost nothing at all, and the problem existed at that level just the same. What's actually in the way is often shame and stigma attached to acknowledging there's a problem at all. And for generations, the church has been the cornerstone—the first and often only place a family brings anything difficult. That shapes more than where someone goes for help...it shapes how the problem gets named and what gets blamed for it. These are natural barriers, built into how difficulty gets talked about rather than obstacles anyone put there on purpose, which is why they're so easy to miss. Rick has had this conversation with clinicians deeply committed to helping anyone who walks through the door, and found many of them genuinely surprised the barriers exist. None of it dismisses cost. Plenty of people are kept out of care by their circumstances. But a program built around money alone will keep missing the people who never make the call. With host Michael Herbert, Rick talks through what he learned taking outreach and community education directly into African American communities. Follow Guardian: https://www.instagram.com/guardianrecovery This episode is sponsored by Guardian Recovery. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health challenges, Guardian can help. Visit https://www.guardianrecovery.com or call 888-721-3790 for confidential support and guidance.

  4. Jul 28 ·  Video

    "90% of My Healing Came After Five Years of Sobriety"

    Eight and a half years into recovery, and Kevin Lanning puts most of his healing in the last two.   For five of those years he stayed sober and did the work as it was handed to him—made amends, kept commitments, sponsored others. And was still, by his own description, mentally all over the place. He estimates about ten percent of his healing happened in that stretch.   The start was its own problem. Kevin didn't get sober because he believed he could. He'd been someone who thought they can't recover. So he took the leap of faith without the belief and let it catch up. His verdict now: he was wrong the whole time he told himself it wasn't possible.   What eventually moved the rest was purpose. Two years ago he started the podcast, and giving back reached something the first five years hadn't.   With host Michael Herbert, Kevin also gets into the anxiety and depression he was carrying early on and the three pillars—mental, spiritual, physical—holding the whole thing up today.   Follow Guardian: @guardianrecovery   This episode is sponsored by Guardian Recovery. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health challenges, Guardian can help. Visit https://www.guardianrecovery.com or call 888-721-3790 for confidential support and guidance.

  5. Jul 20 ·  Video

    Parenting Through Addiction Without Losing Yourself

    Keesha Scott knows addiction from the inside. As an author, a podcast host, and the co-founder of Guardian Recovery, she's built her life's work around helping others navigate parenting and addiction, but her own story runs deeper than her title.   A mother in recovery herself, Keesha has spent years loving a child through the very disease she's fought firsthand. She gets candid about the grief of losing her son's father to an overdose, and the "true PTSD" that lives underneath a parent's fear when addiction has already taken someone once.   But the heart of this conversation is something more personal: learning she can't put her own life on hold, waiting for everyone around her to be okay first. As she puts it, if she waits until everybody "lands," she'll be her mother's age before she ever finds happiness.With host Michael Herbert, Keesha opens up about parenting in recovery, the slow work of forgiveness, and why the hardest conversations are so often the ones that set us free.   Follow Guardian: https://www.instagram.com/guardianrecovery/   This episode is sponsored by Guardian Recovery. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health challenges, Guardian can help. Visit https://www.guardianrecovery.com or call 888-721-3790 for confidential support and guidance.

  6. Jul 14 ·  Video

    Loving an Addict, Losing Yourself: How Codependency Shapes a Marriage

    Shon Tripp grew up in a one-room shack with an outhouse in unincorporated Johnson County, one of five kids in a family where addiction and mental illness went unnamed — just "dysfunction." She became the family caretaker before she understood why, and found her calling in the kitchen, turning whatever was in the cabinet into a meal for her siblings. Years later, Shon met her husband, a man in recovery who was honest with her from the start about sobriety coming first. That honesty cracked open her own codependency: the control, the resentment, the belief that if she just managed everyone else's life well enough, she'd be safe. In this conversation with host Michael Herbert, Shon traces her path from unprocessed childhood trauma to marriage counseling, "Codependent No More," and the slow work of becoming an equal partner instead of a parent. Today she's a professional chef at a rehab facility, where she's learned that a plate of food can be its own form of dignity, love, and healing — for her clients and for herself. Follow Guardian: https://www.instagram.com/guardianrecovery/ This episode is sponsored by Guardian Recovery. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health challenges, Guardian can help. Visit https://www.guardianrecovery.com  or call 888-721-3790 for confidential support and guidance. 0:00 Cold Open 1:03 Welcome to The Recovery Guide Podcast 1:23 Meet Shon: Chef Since Age 16 2:04 Growing Up in a One-Room Shack 3:14 Becoming the Family Caretaker 3:30 Addiction Nobody Called Addiction 6:18 Feeding the Homeless: Selfish or Self-Caring? 7:22 The Time She Didn't Want to Be Here 10:00 Meeting Her Husband in Recovery 12:34 Realizing She Was Codependent 13:11 Marriage Counseling & Codependent No More 15:33 How Recovery Changed Her Marriage 16:58 Chef Inside a Rehab Facility 20:25 Heal Your Care Bear

  7. Jul 7 ·  Video

    He Lost Everything to Addiction... Then Built a Multi-Million Dollar Business

    What happens when someone loses everything... and decides to rebuild from the ground up? Derek Lewis shares his remarkable journey from addiction, multiple arrests, and prison to becoming the owner of one of South Florida's largest electrical companies. Derek opens up about the denial that kept him trapped, the relapse that nearly cost him everything after four years of sobriety, and the mentors who refused to give up on him. He explains how recovery became more than simply staying sober—it became a blueprint for building a successful business, raising a family, and giving others the same second chance he was given. This conversation explores addiction, resilience, entrepreneurship, discipline, faith, and the power of consistent action. Whether you're in recovery, love someone who is, or simply need encouragement to keep moving forward, Derek's story is proof that your past does not determine your future. Follow Guardian: https://www.instagram.com/guardianrecovery/ Learn More About Dereks company: https://www.instagram.com/razorbackelectric/  This episode is sponsored by Guardian Recovery. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health challenges, Guardian can help. Visit https://www.guardianrecovery.com  or call 888-721-3790 for confidential support and guidance. 00:00 Introduction 02:00 Early Addiction & Legal Trouble 06:45 First Experience in Recovery 09:20 Returning Home & Relapsing 10:45 Prison Changes Everything 15:15 A Second Chance in Florida 18:20 Losing Four Years of Sobriety 20:10 Rock Bottom & Starting Over 22:30 Building Razorback Electric 28:05 Success, Leadership & Giving Back 30:30 Marriage, Family & Fatherhood 33:00 Redefining Recovery 35:20 Faith, Business & The Future 40:00 Final Thoughts

  8. Jun 30 ·  Video

    What to do When Your Loved One Refuses Treatment

    In this episode, Craig Robinson shares how his own recovery journey reshaped his life, gave him a deeper sense of purpose, and ultimately led him to help families navigate one of the most painful situations imaginable: watching a loved one struggle with addiction while refusing help. The conversation explores why intelligence, success, and problem-solving skills can sometimes work against someone in addiction, and why recovery often requires humility, honesty, and a willingness to let go of old ways of thinking. Craig and Michael also unpack the difficult role families play in recovery, especially when love turns into enabling. They discuss why setting and holding boundaries can be one of the most loving things a family can do, even when it feels painful in the moment. The conversation also dives into the Marchman Act, how it works in Florida, who may qualify, and why it can be a critical legal tool when someone is impaired, unsafe, and unable to recognize their own need for care. Follow Guardian: https://www.instagram.com/guardianrecovery/ Learn More about the Marchman Act: https://robinsoncasey.com/ Follow Craig: https://www.instagram.com/thecraigr/  This episode is sponsored by Guardian Recovery. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or mental health challenges, Guardian can help. Visit https://www.guardianrecovery.com  or call 888-721-3790 for confidential support and guidance. 00:00 – Introduction 01:57 – Early exposure to AA, NA, and recovery 05:13 – How addiction and substances have changed 10:27 – Why recovery opens life back up 13:47 – Treatment, ego, and being challenged 17:13 – Boundaries, consequences, and enabling 20:15 – When someone chooses jail over treatment 22:31 – Recovery is not about perfection 23:10 – Living an exciting life in recovery 25:57 – Why earning things builds self-esteem 28:22 – Finding purpose through recovery 30:29 – Honesty, shame, and personal growth 36:01 – Success, humility, and imposter syndrome 39:23 – Therapy, natural strengths, and helping others 42:18 – Addiction in high-functioning professionals 44:29 – Blending law, recovery, and social work 49:13 – Addiction as an equal opportunity illness 53:19 – The future of the Marchman Act 56:27 – Does involuntary treatment work? 59:14 – Hitting bottom and finding humility 01:02:27 – Why clinicians need to understand the Marchman Act 01:05:00 – Treatment length and early recovery 01:07:03 – Who is the Marchman Act for? 01:16:42 – How to connect with Craig Robinson 01:18:02 – Closing thoughts

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

The Recovery Guide is hosted by Michael Herbert, a person in long-term recovery with over 35 years clean and nearly four decades of experience in addiction and mental health. This show expands the conversation beyond abstinence, exploring the tools, mindset, health practices, and life rebuilding strategies that create lasting recovery. If you or someone you love is navigating addiction, this podcast offers practical guidance, hope, and a reminder that you don’t have to do it alone.

Information

  • Creator
    Guardian Recovery
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Recovery Guide

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