A Parking Spot, a 150-Foot Cross, and the House She Hadn't Used In

Jen L. was sixty days sober and absolutely furious. She was on the fence — one direction led to a drink, the other to a meeting. The parking spot decided it. She walked in, heard everything she needed, and picked up her sixty-day chip. That was nearly three decades ago, and she hasn't stopped coming back since.

This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation on the Real Recovery Podcast, and if you've ever wondered what keeps someone in the rooms for twenty-nine years, Jen's story holds some answers. She's been Julie's friend since 1997, when she walked into Lunch Bunch as the second woman in a room full of men. Julie was the first. They've been walking this road together ever since.

He Named It, Then He Buried It

Six years old, choking on something, and his father handed him a beer. That was Devlin F.'s introduction to alcohol. By 24, he was smoking meth. By his late twenties, he was living on the streets of San Francisco's Tenderloin, running a system with his then-partner to rob people for drug money. By his early thirties, a needle was the only thing that made sense.

And then, in August of 2023, he stood at the edge and saw only two choices: find a new way to live, or jump off a bridge.

We've been doing this podcast long enough to know that every recovery story has a moment like this — a hinge. What sets Devlin's apart is what he did after he got sober. He did something we've never heard anyone do before: he gave his addiction a name. Bradley. His own government first name. And then he buried it.