Episodes

Live from the 2025 Echoes of Recovery retreat along Bear Creek in the Rocky Mountains our roundtable discusses the challenges of putting their confidence that their partners’ drinking is problematic into the right action steps. It is difficult. It is a process. Please listen if you could use some tips on putting knowing into action. If you love or loved an alcoholic, and your recovery could benefit from connection with people who understand, please check out our Echoes of Recovery program. If ...

New from Sober and Unashamed: “Do You See What I See?” We have published hundreds of essays on alcoholism, recovery, sex and intimacy, underlying issues, growth and progress. Maybe you love to read, but just don’t seem to find the time. We hope you’ll listen to this audio version of our latest written offering titled: “Do You See What I See?” To read this and much more, check out or Sober and Unashamed Blog.

Unfiltered and unprepped, Sheri answers a wide range of emotional and tactical questions about how she navigated Matt’s alcoholism and sobriety, and what she might have done if faced with different circumstances. Sheri earns here elite preferred status on this episode. If you love or loved an alcoholic, and your recovery could benefit from connection with people who understand, please check out our Echoes of Recovery program. If you would like to support the Untoxicated Podcast with an monthly...

New from Sober and Unashamed: “Insignificance” Maybe you are unaware of our hundreds of essays on alcoholism, recovery, sex and intimacy, underlying issues, growth and progress. Or maybe you love to read, but just don’t seem to find the time. We hope you’ll listen to our latest written offering titled: “Insignificance” To read this and much more, check out or Sober and Unashamed Blog.

We talked about the decision to stay or to go on Ep69. Ep214 and 217 were both roundtable episodes with people who had separated and divorced. On the flip side, Ep242 and 243 were roundtables featuring people who had decided to stay in their relationships. This episode is a twist on all of those discussions. The Ep302 roundtable tackles the topic of therapeutic temporary separation with the intent of getting back together. In some cases, the time apart helped the relationship, and in other cases...

Foreplay is often thought of as erotic touch intended for sexual stimulation. Sheri and Matt have conducted research with thirteen couples recovering their partnerships from alcoholism. The research indicates that establishing emotional intimacy in a relationship might be a much more effective form of foreplay with the potential to improve sexual satisfaction by 40%. That’s a big number. If you would like to support the Untoxicated Podcast with an monthly tax deductible $10 donation, please go ...

New from Sober and Unashamed: “An Open Letter to My Children” Maybe you are unaware of our hundreds of essays on alcoholism, recovery, sex and intimacy, underlying issues, growth and progress. Or maybe you love to read, but just don’t seem to find the time. We hope you’ll listen to our latest written offering titled: “An Open Letter to My Children” To read this and much more, check out or Sober and Unashamed Blog.

The Hummingbird Ninjas are the OGs of the Echoes of Recovery program – our support group for the loved ones of alcoholics. This reunion roundtable episode is an update on their progress in growth and discovery since their attendance at the first ever Echoes of Recovery live retreat in the summer of 2022 where they recorded Ep150. The changes are amazing. These women are thriving – some in relationships in recovery, and some leading their best lives post-marriage. Listen to their answers when ask...

New from Sober and Unashamed: “Dance Like Everybody’s Watching” Maybe you are unaware of our hundreds of essays on alcoholism, recovery, sex and intimacy, underlying issues, growth and progress. Or maybe you love to read, but just don’t seem to find the time. We hope you’ll listen to our latest written offering titled: “Dance Like Everybody’s Watching” To read this and much more, check out or Sober and Unashamed Blog.

Doing the hard work of recovery, for the former drinker and the partner, is how we reduce anxiety, regulate our nervous systems, start to rebuild trust, and grow to our potential. There is no bigger gift to our families than to prioritize our recoveries. Sheri and Matt discuss things that do not prioritize recovery work, and are, therefore, total crap. They also talk about ear hair and porn and Sheri’s cat’s popularity on YouTube, so hang on for twists and turns. If you love or loved an alcohol...

New from Sober and Unashamed: “Cabbage Overdose” Maybe you are unaware of our hundreds of essays on alcoholism, recovery, sex and intimacy, underlying issues, growth and progress. Or maybe you love to read, but just don’t seem to find the time. We hope you’ll listen to our latest written offering titled: “Cabbage Overdose” To read this and much more, check out or Sober and Unashamed Blog.

Kathy and Nikki have lived through the trauma and chaos of alcoholism. With both of their husbands now years into sobriety, Kathy and Nikki are evolving their recovery work into continued growth and self care with the Defining You podcast and facebook page. Are you curious about what’s next beyond recovery? Kathy and Nikki explore challenges and interests that might challenge and interest you, too. If you love or loved an alcoholic, and your recovery could benefit from connection with people wh...

New from Sober and Unashamed: “An Evolving Tradition” Maybe you are unaware of our hundreds of essays on alcoholism, recovery, sex and intimacy, underlying issues, growth and progress. Or maybe you love to read, but just don’t seem to find the time. We hope you’ll listen to our latest written offering titled: “An Evolving Tradition” To read this and much more, check out or Sober and Unashamed Blog.

For a long time – through early sobriety and years into growth and recovery – Matt shared the blame for his addiction with his father, with Big Beverage, with AA, and with other societal influences. He shared the blame because he couldn’t carry the stigma and burden himself. Only through the powerful recovery dimension of time can Matt own the blame for his addiction and peacefully release the people and institutions who served a vital role in helping him get over the guilt and shame. If you lo...

New from Sober and Unashamed: “Who the f&@% is this guy?” Maybe you are unaware of our hundreds of essays on alcoholism, recovery, sex and intimacy, underlying issues, growth and progress. Or maybe you love to read, but just don’t seem to find the time. We hope you’ll listen to our latest written offering titled: “Who the f&@% is this guy?” To read this and much more, check out or Sober and Unashamed Blog.

Sheri and Matt share findings about sexual desire discrepancy in relationships impacted by alcoholism from a year-long study of 13 couples now in recovery. Matt shares an unnecessarily large amount of data which Sheri tempers with eye rolls you can actually hear through your speakers. The bottom line: Alcoholism both exacerbates and results from sexual desire discrepancy, and the solutions are empathy, understanding, communication, and emotional safety. If you love or loved an alcoholic, and yo...

New from Sober and Unashamed: “Accumulation” Maybe you are unaware of our hundreds of essays on alcoholism, recovery, sex and intimacy, underlying issues, growth and progress. Or maybe you love to read, but just don’t seem to find the time. We hope you’ll listen to our latest written offering titled: “Accumulation” To read this and much more, check out or Sober and Unashamed Blog.

Billy Wynne has been a student of Buddhism and mindfulness for 30 years, and he teaches and is on the board at the Zen Center of Denver. Billy joins Sheri and Matt to talk about the philosophies and lived experiences featured in his new book, The Empty Path: Finding Fulfillment through the Radical Art of Lessening. Billy’s pursuit of material success conflicted with his Buddhist practices, and led him to medicate his stress and lack of fulfillment with alcohol. Now alcohol-free, he is the perfec...

New from Sober and Unashamed: “Momentum” Maybe you are unaware of our hundreds of essays on alcoholism, recovery, sex and intimacy, underlying issues, growth and progress. Or maybe you love to read, but just don’t seem to find the time. We hope you’ll listen to our latest written offering titled: “Momentum” To read this and much more, check out or Sober and Unashamed Blog.

Lasting sobriety and recovery from alcoholism requires both commitment and a plan, and the role of the partner in the recovery of the drinker is quite limited. On this episode, Sheri and Matt go into detail, and share lots of options, for what will, and will not, meet these two requirements leading to successful recovery. If you love or loved an alcoholic, and your recovery could benefit from connection with people who understand, please check out our Echoes of Recovery program. If you would l...

New from the “Underlying Issues” series on Sober and Unashamed: “Numbers” Maybe you are unaware of our hundreds of essays on alcoholism, recovery, sex and intimacy, underlying issues, growth and progress. Or maybe you love to read, but just don’t seem to find the time. We hope you’ll listen to our latest written offering titled: “Numbers” To read this and much more, check out or Sober and Unashamed Blog.

Lori is a five-time guest on the podcast for very good reason – she brings a fresh an intelligent perspective to every conversation. On this episode, Lori explains the emotional safety she is experiencing in her marriage, and how replacing bad memories with good combines with her faith, and her own person trauma and resentment processing work, to bring her joy and peacefulness. She does the work, and she lets time in sobriety work on her marriage. If you love or loved an alcoholic, and your rec...

Acute addiction gets all the headlines – when the drinker drinks too much and creates chaos and trauma. But the fog chronic alcoholism rolls into the spaces between drinks – when the alcoholic is temporarily sober but operating with a warped mind. The fog of chronic alcoholism impacts the loved ones and the drinker in different ways. If you love or loved an alcoholic, and your recovery could benefit from connection with people who understand, please check out our Echoes of Recovery program. If...

Rose stayed in her alcoholic marriage until she could stay no longer. The impact on her nervous system made her methodical and planned decision to separate her only choice. Listen to Rose reflect on the turning points she experienced as she felt her nervous system heal. If you love or loved an alcoholic, and your recovery could benefit from connection with people who understand, please check out our Echoes of Recovery program. If you would like to support the Untoxicated Podcast with an monthl...