From Junkie to Judge: One Woman’s Triumph Over Trauma and Addiction - IV meth use as a teenager, surviving abuse, and finding recovery withOUT a Higher Power with Mary Beth O’Connor

TRIGGER WARNING**

Today Jeannine interviews Mary Beth O'Connor, retired federal judge, author and recovering addict. Mary Beth's book "From Junkie to Judge: One Woman's Triumph over Trauma and Addiction" chronicles the extreme abuse of her childhood, early drug use and ultimately is a guide book for anyone looking to find a recovery that is not centered around a Higher Power concept.

About Mary Beth:

For Mary Beth, childhood abuse and other traumas led to substance use disorder (addiction). 

Beginning with alcohol at age 12, she spent several years abusing various drugs. She found methamphetamine at 16 and started shooting up at 17. Mary Beth struggled with meth until she was 32 years old.

By incorporating ideas from multiple sources to build a secular (not 12-step or faith based) recovery plan that works for her, Mary Beth has been sober since 1994. She used similar techniques to address the trauma and related anxiety as well.

Mary Beth is a board member for LifeRing Secular Recovery and She Recovers Foundation.  She speaks on behalf of these organizations, about multiple paths to recovery, and about all topics related to substance use disorder and recovery. She also speaks about sexual abuse and rape, child abuse, domestic violence, ptsd, anxiety, and recovering from these as well.

Professionally, 6 years into recovery, Mary Beth attended Berkeley Law. She worked at a large firm in Silicon Valley, then litigated class actions for the federal government. In 2014, Mary Beth was appointed a federal Administrative Law Judge, a position from which she retired in 2020.

**depiction of sexual assault and physical and emotional childhood abuse throughout episode

Mary Beth website

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