Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, my name is Oliver Books. Today, I’m talking with Danny O’Connor—a former U.S. Olympic boxing team member and world title contender. But his biggest fight wasn’t in the ring. Danny battled anxiety, substance use, and personal struggles that nearly took everything from him. Now, he’s using his experience to help others through DO Boxing Academy, a program that combines boxing, fitness, and mindfulness to support young people. You can follow Dann...
In this episode of Recovery Stories Have Power, Oliver Books sits down with Morgan Godvin—a writer, public health advocate, and researcher focused on drug policy and overdose prevention. Morgan shares her journey from opioid use and four years in federal prison to working on policy reform, touring with Minnesota hip-hop group Atmosphere to distribute naloxone, and traveling internationally—even with a felony record—to support community health efforts. They discuss her experience in the legal ...
Kicking off Season 3! In this powerful premiere episode of Recovery Stories Have Power, host Oliver Books sits down with Joseph Green, CEO of LMSvoice—a spoken word artist, educator, and advocate for recovery. Joseph shares his deeply personal journey, from his early days in theater and poetry to his struggles with substance use disorder and ultimate path to long-term recovery. Through his art and advocacy, he illuminates the power of storytelling in healing and social change. Together, they ...
Hello and welcome to another episode of Recovery Stories Have Power, my name is Oliver Books. On today's episode our host, Tyler Brandon, interviews Tim Snyder and Mike Oxley of the "Talkin' Trash" Recovery podcast. "Talkin' Trash" is self-described as an "honest" and "raw" podcast that's pretty off-the-cuff. Tyler joined them on their show recently as well. Content warning for this episode: Some of the language our guests use to self-identify is not language that Faces & Voices of...
Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, my name is Oliver Books. On today's episode I had the privilege of speaking with former US Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams. Dr. Jerome Adams is a Presidential Fellow and the Executive Director of Purdue’s Health Equity Initiatives as of October 1, 2021. He is also a Distinguished Professor of Practice in the departments of Pharmacy Practice and Public Health. As the 20th U.S. Surgeon General and a prior member of the President’s Coron...
Hello and Welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, my name is Oliver Books. On today’s bonus episode we’ve got our host Tyler Brandon on the ground at last September’s event the National Rally for Recovery which took place in Chicago. Tyler interviewed some of the volunteers and attendees about the event. After that we’ll jump into some clips from my trip down to Cedar Rapids, Iowa where I talked with folks at the Mobilize Recovery bus tour stop. Thanks for listening! Thoughts? Guest sug...
Throughout the month of September we’ll be releasing video podcast episodes every week to celebrate Recovery Month with you. We have several terrific guests from all around the recovery field who will share their journey into advocacy with us while sharing info from behind the scenes of some major change making organizations. These conversations cover several parts of the recovery advocacy and activism space, and all have one very important through-line. You can help. This work is not out of ...
Throughout the month of September we’ll be releasing video podcast episodes every week to celebrate Recovery Month with you. We have several terrific guests from all around the recovery field who will share their journey into advocacy with us while sharing info from behind the scenes of some major change making organizations. These conversations cover several parts of the recovery advocacy and activism space, and all have one very important through-line. You can help. This work is not out of ...
Throughout the month of September we’ll be releasing video podcast episodes every week to celebrate Recovery Month with you. We have several terrific guests from all around the recovery field who will share their journey into advocacy with us while sharing info from behind the scenes of some major change making organizations. These conversations cover several parts of the recovery advocacy and activism space, and all have one very important through-line. You can help. This work is not out of ...
Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, my name is Oliver Books. On today's episode I had the chance to interview Lionel Oglesby, Equity Officer for the Legal Action Center. Lionel has been in the advocacy field for quite some time, and we dive into how his work has evolved throughout his time at the Legal Action Center. We get into how equity practices can influence better recovery outcomes, no matter where you are, and how intersectionality can bridge sociocultural divides. We had...
Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, my name is Oliver Books. On today’s episode, our host, Psalm Bigham interviews Tara Moreno-Wallen, executive director of Serenity House in Flint, Michigan. If you’ve attended one of our Recovery Leadership Summits you might recognize Tara from a leadership breakout, or from the opening session meditations. Tara and Psalm dive into the story of serenity house, creating safe space and resources for women in recovery spaces, and a boundaries appr...
Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, My name is Oliver Books. This is the final episode in our series of video podcasts filmed at Faces & Voices of Recovery’s annual Recovery Leadership Summit in Denver, CO. On today's Episode I am joined by Patrick J. Kennedy. During his time in Congress, Patrick J. Kennedy was the lead author of the landmark Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (Federal Parity Law), which requires insurers to cover treatment for mental health and ...
Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories have Power, my name is Oliver Books. We are so excited to bring you four very special podcast episodes throughout the months of June and July. The Recovery Leadership Summit hosted nearly 500 people from all across the recovery space. We had four amazing keynote speakers, and came together as a community to learn and grow from one another. On today’s episode I had a conversation with Dr. Corrie Vilsaint. Dr Vilsaint is a recovery scientist who serv...
Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories have Power, my name is Oliver Books. We are so excited to bring you four very special podcast episodes throughout the months of June and July. The Recovery Leadership Summit hosted nearly 500 people from all across the recovery space. We had four amazing keynote speakers, and came together as a community to learn and grow from one another. On today’s episode I sit down with Dr. Haner Hernandez. Haner is a veteran of the health and human services fi...
Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, my name is Oliver Books. On today’s episode, our host, Tyler Brandon chats with Yo' Sis. Yo' Sis is a prolific spoken word artist whose works have been heard around the country, and whose video reading of her poem, Gwendolyn (https://youtu.be/-f1w25sjHwU) was featured at our Recovery Month Luncheon last September in Washington DC. In todays discussion, Tyler and Yo' Sis dive deep into creativity, community, and living in recovery. ...
Hello and welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, my name is Oliver Books. On today’s episode, our host, Psalm Bingham converses with Mark Sanders. In addition to being a LCSW, and CADC, Mark Sanders is the founder of The Online Museum of African American Addictions, Treatment, and Recovery. The museum website (https://www.museumofafricanamericanaddictionsrecovery.org/) is host to dozens of articles and accolades that connect at the intersection of Black History and Recovery. Thoughts? Guest...
On this bonus episode of Recovery Stories Have Power, we’re joined by Phil Rutherford, outgoing Chief Operating Officer at Faces & Voices of Recovery, and newly-appointed Strategy Lead for Substance Abuse at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing He reflects on his time with our organization and what lies ahead in both his career and the recovery space. Season 2 premiers January 25, 2024, then new episodes will release February 15, 29th, and the second and fourth Thursday of each month...
Welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, a Faces & Voices of Recovery Podcast. My name is Oliver Books. Throughout the rest of 2023, we’ll be releasing bonus episodes of our podcast. In today’s episode I had the opportunity to speak with Chris Tait, a rock musician with the band Electric Six, and Director of a musician-focused RCO in Detroit, MI called Passenger Recovery. Passenger Recovery aims to provide recovery connection and access to touring musicians who might otherwise have a diffi...
Host(s): Krissi Jacob Guest(s): Amanda Muller & Laura Pegram, NASTAD (National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors) Description: Welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, a Faces & Voices of Recovery podcast, my name is Chelsey Cusimano. In episode 4, my friend & guest host Krissi Jacob had the opportunity to connect with Amanda Muller and Laura Pegram. Amanda and Laura both work with NASTAD, or the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors. ...
Host(s): Oliver Books & Chelsey Cusimano Guest(s): Colin Askey & Amy Evans, Love in the Time of Fentanyl Description: Welcome to Recovery Stories Have Power, a Faces & Voices of Recovery podcast, my name is Chelsey Cusimano. Oliver and I had the great pleasure of talking with Colin Askey and Amy Evans this week. Colin directed Love in the Time of Fentanyl, a moving documentary that premiered earlier this year and focuses on the Overdose Prevention Society – a supervise...