Acceptance as Strength: Recovery and Rebuilding with Musician Ezra Vancil episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 10, 2026 · 1H 13M

Acceptance as Strength: Recovery and Rebuilding with Musician Ezra Vancil

from Midlife Circus · host Brent Drever & Rob Espenel

Message the ShowEzra Vancil got signed to a music label as a teenager and spent the years that followed living the life of a rock star. By 21 his label had dropped him with no plan B, and the next two decades were a collapse into addiction and isolation that nearly cost him his life more than once. The night he hit bottom at 40, he woke up on the kitchen floor to the realization that his life had to change. This conversation is the story of what happened next: how Ezra stopped running long enough to do the work of acceptance, and how that recovery became his next great act. During this episode, he picks up his mandolin and plays a brand-new song live, written with this conversation in mind.Links, resources, books mentioned:Join the Midlife Circus Community on Substack  Follow us: Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTubeVisit Episode WebsiteFollow Ezra Vancil - https://ezravancil.com (shop, book, vinyl, music), Instagram @ezravancil, search "Ezra Vancil" for his music on all streaming platformsTopics we are covering in this episode:Growing up in a traveling gospel bandGetting signed to a record label as a teenagerTwenty years of addiction and the slow collapseThe kitchen-floor moment at 40 that changed everythingWhy Ezra calls acceptance a strengthWalking away from a new record deal to choose familyMaking music with his daughter and building a business with his son

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 10, 2026

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Message the Show Ezra Vancil got signed to a music label as a teenager and spent the years that followed living the life of a rock star. By 21 his label had dropped him with no plan B, and the next two decades were a collapse into addiction and isolation that nearly cost him his life more than once. The night he hit bottom at 40, he woke up on the kitchen floor to the realization that his life had to change. This conversation is the story of what happened next: how Ezra stopped running long e...

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Acceptance as Strength: Recovery and Rebuilding with Musician Ezra Vancil

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