430 From Bars to Jars: How Joe Gallagher Turned Rock Bottom Into a Recovery Brand

In this episode of the One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast, Arlina sits down with Joe Gallagher - entrepreneur, author, and two-year sober miracle. Joe shares his journey from childhood trauma and 20 years of failed recovery attempts to launching a spaghetti sauce company 60 days sober and landing interest from 1,100 grocery stores. You'll hear how Joe finally surrendered after his fifth arrest and seventh suicide attempt, what made this recovery stick when the previous two decades didn't, and how service, community, and massive action became the foundation of both his sobriety and his business. His book "From Bars to Jars: A Saucy Redemption Story" is available now, and his honesty about childhood abuse, self-forgiveness, and faith makes this one of the most courageous conversations on the show. Guest Website: https://apastioli.com https://apastioli.com 👊🏼Need help applying this information to your own life? Here are 3 ways to get started: 🎁Free Guide: 30 Tips for Your First 30 Days - With a printable PDF checklist Grab your copy here: https://www.soberlifeschool.com ☎️Private Coaching: Make Sobriety Stick https://www.makesobrietystick.com Subscribe So You Don't Miss New Episodes! 0:00 - Intro and lightning round: books that helped in early sobriety 1:00 - Manifestation, Napoleon Hill, and how Joe used visualization to get into Piggly Wiggly 2:30 - Five daily practices that keep Joe grounded in sobriety 3:30 - Two years sober - and why year two was harder than year one 5:00 - Childhood: dirt poor, father's addiction, family dynamics 7:30 - Moving to Charleston, 10 years away from family, survival mode 8:30 - First drink at 13 at a cousin's wedding 10:30 - The roots of addiction: childhood sexual abuse, bullying, and violence at home 12:00 - Why men don't talk about sexual trauma - and why Joe does 13:30 - Forgiveness: forgiving others vs. forgiving yourself 15:00 - "From Bars to Jars" - the book origin story 16:00 - The last relapse: two years, physical deterioration, rock bottom 17:00 - First walk into AA in 2010 after 7th suicide attempt 18:00 - Resistance to God after childhood trauma in a church 19:30 - The final surrender: 5th arrest and dropping to his knees in a jail cell 21:00 - Going all in: 170 meetings in 90 days, all 12 steps in 90 days 22:00 - The three legacies and why service was the missing piece 24:00 - Forced entrepreneurship: couldn't get a job, made spaghetti sauce instead 25:30 - From a closet-sized kitchen to 1,100 stores waiting: the growth story 28:00 - Finding investors and a co-packer for 100,000 units 29:30 - Morning routine as an anchor for business and sobriety 31:00 - How he found Sober Founders and Andrew Lassise: a divine intervention