Today we have Dan. He is 44 years old from Denver, CO, and he took his last drink of alcohol in February of 2025. This episode is brought to you by: Sign up and get 10% off: Better Help Sober Link sign up and claim your $100 enrollment bonus Over the last six months, we have been working on a book called This is How We Quit. It is a compilation of 24 sobriety stories that will be released on August 31st, 2026. To coincide wi...
Today we have Dan. He is 44 years old from Denver, CO, and he took his last drink of alcohol in February of 2025.
This episode is brought to you by:
Sign up and get 10% off: Better Help
Sober Link sign up and claim your $100 enrollment bonus
Over the last six months, we have been working on a book called This is How We Quit. It is a compilation of 24 sobriety stories that will be released on August 31st, 2026. To coincide with the release, Recovery Elevator is doing a free online event to celebrate the launch. More details on that event are coming soon!
[03:15] Thoughts from Paul:
Paul shares with us his history with the guest today. They were close friends in high school; they played football together and drank plenty of beers at parties together. They lost communication over the years, but by happenstance and a lost wallet, they reconnected last year. Since then, they went on a trip to Sonora, Mexico to find reptiles and also went to their high school reunion together.
[05:49] Paul introduces Dan:
Dan is 44 years old, lives in Westminster, CO and took his last drink in February 2025. He was born and raised in Vail to wonderful parents and was close with his siblings. He is currently engaged and works in commercial construction sales. Dan enjoys spending time outside mountaineering, trail running and enjoying the arts. He recently rediscovered his love of reptiles and amphibians.
Dan says he was very shy and reserved growing up. He had his first drink right before freshman year of high school. He felt a sense of ease and that he could talk to people. He recalls thinking that this was the solution and how normal people must feel all the time. Through high school, Dan's drinking was minimal and he doesn't feel he ever was loss in control.
In college, Dan says his alcohol consumption went through the roof. Frequently drinking beers with friends at the dorms or at keg parties, Dan remembers the hangovers were pretty tough. He would focus on school during the week just waiting for Friday night. He felt the drinking was something he could control.
After graduating college, Dan went into the sales industry. He moved back to Vail and had a girlfriend and two roommates that he enjoyed drinking with. In the mid-2000's, Dan says the secrecy of his alcoholism began to rear its head. He was being told he drank too much. The signs were showing in his behavior, his hangovers were getting worse, he was missing work and other obligations.
In 2007, Dan began working in a resort community in Dominican Republic. A few years later he began using other drugs in addition to drinking daily. He continuously would try to hide how much he was using until a coworker pushed him into treatment.
After a divorce, Dan moved to Denver and thought drinking might be different this time. He thought he should be able to have a pint with friends after work, but within a few weeks he was drinking in the mornings to avoid the shakes. After his first DUI, Dan was able to get and stay sober from 2019 until 2022.
Once again, he thought things would be different. Over the course of two years, Dan was in and out of mental health and rehab facilities. He struggled to keep a job and went through a second divorce.
In mid-February last year, Dan's neighbor called a friend to check on him. Dan was taken to the emergency room not knowing who his friend was or where he was. He was just trying to escape the hallucinations he was having; drinking was fun for him anymore.
Dan began going back to 12 step programs after this and started working hard on his recovery. Over the past year, he has found a great job, has a fiancé that doesn't drink but knows his history, has been able to help other friends with their addictions, spend more time in nature, and finally loves himself again. Dan continues with his therapy and knows his story isn't over.
Recovery Elevator
We took the elevator down.
You got to take the stairs back up.
We can do this.
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