From Pain Comes Power - words of recovery

"My body and brain both convinced we’re getting a bottle."In treatment, you are in a bubble—a safe space with structure, support, and meals provided. Eventually, you have to return to the real world and drive the same streets that hold your old issues and old habits .Six weeks sober and feeling strong, John T. was blindsided by a physical reflex triggered by a familiar liquor store . In this episode, we explore:The Physical Reflex: Why a craving isn't a sign of failure, but a "map" that needs reprogramming .The Strategy: How 20 years of campaigning didn't prepare John for a hijacked brain .The Re-Calibration: The power of speaking your truth out loud to an empty car to physically turn the wheel a different way .Recovery begins when words become actions. If you are navigating your own old maps today, remember: you are the one behind the wheel.

You never know the battles people are carrying.This poem is for Cindy —loved, respected, missed.If this hits close to home, you’re not alone.

"I wrote the word: Enough. I took a breath, thought about what that word made me feel, and just started writing."In this debut episode, John T. takes us back to the moment his old life collapsed. After 20 years in the high-stakes world of politics and fundraising, John found himself on a cold bathroom floor—a moment that led to his fourth trip to treatment in three years.On Day 8 of rehab, facing a blank page he’d spent a lifetime avoiding, he encountered a simple prompt: Write a poem. In this episode, you will hear:The Origin: The story of the "bathroom floor" and the realization that the life he was grasping for was finally falling apart.The Reading: John reads "Enough," the very first poem he wrote in treatment—the piece that unlocked 50 more poems in just ten weeks.The Backstory: A reflection on the "suffocating feeling of never being enough" and how putting heart to the page provided a release that years of strategy never could.This is the beginning of a journey to put the heart on the page, to breathe easier, and to discover that "enough" isn't a goal to be reached—it's a place to begin.Connect with the journey:Read & Listen: ⁠FromPainComesPower.ca⁠Subscribe: Look for From Pain Comes Power on Substack for early access to poetry and prose.Follow: Join the conversation on social media @FromPainComesPower. Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.

This one’s about that moment when your body reacts before your brain can catch up.When you’re safe, but it doesn’t feel safe.When the past shows up in the present like it never left.If this hits, you’re not the only one. Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.