About this episode

Anna Donaghey talks with Andrew Drasen about his journey beyond sobriety, exploring themes of identity, purpose, and healing after addiction and loss.

How do you truly start over, and what does real reinvention look like? In this episode, Anna Donaghey talks with Andrew Drasen, author, speaker, and survivor about life beyond sobriety, diving into identity, purpose, and hope. Andrew’s journey goes far beyond addiction, spanning imprisonment, loss, and the search for meaning. He shares his struggles with self-image, rebellion, and choices that led to incarceration, as well as the heartbreak of losing loved ones, including his fiancée Caroline. Together, Anna and Andrew explore how we cling to unsustainable identities, and how radical acceptance, creative rebuilding, and writing his memoir A Vision of Hope became acts of healing. This conversation is a reminder that change is possible. Healing isn’t the end, it’s the beginning. Here are the Highlights: 00:00 Rethinking drinking and identity 01:15 Andrew’s story: addiction, loss, and the reckoning 02:42 Childhood, self-image, and early substance use 04:04 Identity as “life of the party” and rule-breaking 07:58 The snowball effect: risky behaviour and its consequences 09:40 False bravado, ego, and self-worth 13:01 First arrest and inevitability of trouble 15:49 Escalating to heroin…

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