In this deeply moving episode of Eternally, Amy, Amy sits down with author Alex Konicke to explore the unthinkable — loving a family member through severe mental illness, surviving devastating loss, and choosing truth over silence. Alex shares the story behind his memoir Evil Among Us, chronicling the events that led to his mother’s death at the hands of his brother during a psychotic break, and the systemic failures that followed. Together, Amy and Alex discuss intuition, boundaries, grief, recovery, and the courage it takes to tell a story that could save lives.

Takeaways

• Why trusting your intuition in crisis situations matters
• The difference between compassion and enabling
• How systemic gaps in mental health care impact families
• The role of storytelling in trauma recovery
• What it means to survive — and still advocate for change

Key Timestamps

• 00:01 – Introducing Alex Konicke and Evil Among Us
• 00:06 – The warning signs and the hospital discharge
• 00:15 – Trusting your gut when something feels wrong
• 00:23 – Writing through trauma and grief
• 00:34 – Advocacy, accountability, and systemic change
• 00:44 – Alex’s mission moving forward

Notable Resources & Guest Links

Evil Among Us by Alex Konicke (Amazon)

Audible & Spotify Audiobook (launching January 19)

CTA

If this episode moved you, please share it with someone navigating mental health challenges or recovery. Your share could save a life.

Follow Alex: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/alexkonicke/⁠

Buy Alex’s Book: ⁠https://a.co/d/ibqqLsA⁠

For more from Amy Liz Harrison, visit ⁠www.amylizharrison.com⁠ and follow along on social @amylizharrison.

Be kind. Rewind. Thank you for the honor of your time. Take what you like and leave the rest behind.

Amy reunites with her dear friend Dr. Sarah Michaud for a rich, emotional Boozeless Book Club conversation about Charlotte Kasl’s “Many Roads, One Journey.” Together they unpack fear-based systems, patriarchal conditioning, codependency, and the long-term work of building identity outside dogma. It’s honest, layered, and exactly the kind of dialogue that reminds you you’re not alone on your own recovery path.

Key Takeaways

• Kasl’s work invites women to question rigid systems—religion, recovery, and culture—that shape identity through fear and shame.

• Amy reflects on trading one dogma for another and how belonging once overrode her self-trust.

• They examine how AA slogans, spiritual axioms, and “my way or the highway” thinking can unintentionally reinforce fear.

• Codependency runs deep, especially for women socialized to prioritize harmony over needs.

• Recovery is never one-size-fits-all—every person deserves a path that supports autonomy, dignity, and choice.

Timestamped Key Moments

• [00:00:00] Amy reflects on dogmatic rules, belonging, and fear-based conditioning.
• [00:01:00] Amy welcomes listeners back and introduces Dr. Sarah.
• [00:02:00] Amy discusses how she pushed Sarah into reading the book.
• [00:03:00] Amy reacts to the density of Kasl’s work.
• [00:04:00] Sarah connects the author’s religious background to her rebellious spirit.

Resource Links

• Many Roads, One Journey by Charlotte Davis Kasl

• Women, Sex, and Addiction by Charlotte Davis Kasl

• Leaving CrazyTown Podcast

Episode Description

In Part 2 of this two-part series, Amy Liz Harrison continues her powerful conversation with spiritual director Anne-Marie Cribben, creator of The Wellspring, a yearlong Celtic recovery journey. Together they dive deeper into ancestral healing, the courage to rest, and how even small rituals—a Popsicle in front of the fan, a cup of tea—can reconnect us to our worth and wonder. This episode is a gentle rebellion against hustle culture and a love letter to curiosity, self-compassion, and legacy in recovery.

• Rest and reflection are radical acts in a productivity-obsessed world.

• Generational trauma is real—and so is generational healing.

• Small rituals can become profound spiritual practices.

• Curiosity, not control, opens the door to deeper recovery.

• Living a life you’re proud to die of means honoring presence over perfection.
  

[00:25:00] The Wellspring in practice: healing through the seasons

[00:35:00] Generational trauma and rediscovering ancestral medicine

[00:44:00] Popsicles, rest, and redefining summer as sacred

[00:50:00] Permission to be still, curious, and imperfect

[00:58:00] Living a life you’re proud to die of — the legacy of recovery

• Guest: Anne-Marie Cribben – Thirsty for Wonder

• The Wellspring – Celtic Recovery Program

• Newsletter: Sign up via ThirstyForWonder.com

• Amy Liz Harrison: amylizharrison.com