In this episode of The TruthSeekah Podcast TruthSeekah speaks with Marilyn L. Redmond about overcoming addiction, religion and the 12-step program. Marilyn Redmond has had her share of ups and downs in life and lived through some pretty traumatic experiences. She is a survivor of intense spousal abuse where her husband tried to kill her on multiple occasions, this led her to substance and alcohol abuse to cope with these intense situations. At her wit’s end Marilyn found solace in the alcoholics Anonymous program and found beauty in the 12-step program as she begin to walk them out. Marilyn now focuses on the spiritual aspects of the steps and uses them to help others overcome their addictions.
At the end of the interview I share some of my personal stories dealing with family members who suffered from alcohol addiction and drug abuse. The story usually does not have a happy ending. Most people suffering from these addictions end up hurting the people they love and creating bad memories in the minds of those who truly care for them. It never ends well. Thankfully there are people who care enough to help people work through and overcome their addictions whether it be Alanon (AA and the 12 Step Program) or even churches that offer Celebrate Recovery Classes. I have personally seen many people restored after lifelong struggles with addiction. The curse must end with us, if not it will be passed down to the sons and daughters of future generations. Like father – like son is the old familiar narrative but the curse can be reversed and restoration is possible. Over the years I have seen many christians cringe at the thought of the 12 Step program. In their mind Jesus is the only answer (because it was their answer) and they scoff at the idea of 12 steps saying that it only takes one step and that’s towards Jesus. Many people are co dependent upon religion and they are able to lay their burdens down at the feet of Jesus and trade their burdens. The problem with being codependent is that they still cannot function outside of the church. many of those people fall right back into addiction if something goes wrong between them and their church. What is interesting about Alanon and the 12 Step program is that the steps seem practical. The steps seem the prepare the person consciously to walk in forgiveness and make amends with the people that they have wronged.
