There are some people who make you feel safe the moment you meet them.
My friend Erin Smith is one of those people.
She has an extraordinary gift for making others feel seen, heard, and loved, but that gift was born out of her own journey through anxiety, addiction, heartbreak, healing, and recovery.
In this episode of There Is Always a Way, Erin shares how losing her identity after a sports injury eventually led her into addiction at a young age. She talks honestly about depression, psychiatric treatment, abstinence, finding recovery, navigating heartbreak, rediscovering faith, and learning that healing doesn’t happen in isolation.
One of my favorite moments in this conversation comes when Erin describes receiving a simple hug from someone she’d never met at her very first recovery meeting.
Sometimes hope doesn’t arrive with answers. Sometimes it arrives through another human being. This conversation is about so much more than recovery.
It’s about belonging. I so hope you’ll listen.
Erin wanted to make sure I shared ways to connect with her and other resources if you are struggling.
StepOne Service
Alcoholics Anonymous
12-step fellowship information for Narcotics Anonymous
For families/loved ones: Here or Here.
And if this conversation resonates with you, I hope you’ll continue listening to the other extraordinary guests in this limited series – Heather, Adam, and Laura. Every story is different. Every path is unique. Together, they remind us of one simple truth that has become the heartbeat of this series—and of my own life:
There isn’t one right way to redefine your relationship with alcohol… but there is always a way.
If any part of this conversation felt familiar… if you found yourself quietly thinking, “I’ve never said that out loud, but I’ve felt it,” I want you to know something: I see you. You’re not alone, and you don’t have to figure this out by yourself. That’s exactly why I created the ReDefining Sober™ app. It’s the support I wish I’d had—a compassionate, personalized space filled with daily guidance, reflections, coaching, meditations, and practical tools to help you build a healthier relationship with alcohol and, more importantly, a life that feels like yours again. Learn more at ReDefiningSober.com or download the app at studio.com/danielle.
xo, Danielle
