Marissa's story is proof that recovery isn't a single moment—it's a lifetime of choosing to keep climbing.

After years of addiction, living on the streets of San Francisco, countless attempts to get sober, and believing she still needed "one more weekend" before she was ready, Marissa finally reached the point every addict hopes to find: complete surrender.

What followed wasn't just sobriety. It was years of growth, healing, setbacks, resilience, and discovering that recovery continues long after the drugs and alcohol are gone.

In one of the most thoughtful conversations on Sicker Than Others, Marissa reflects on what it's like to look back after decades in recovery. She talks openly about trauma, relationships, grief, spirituality, parenting, community, and why recovery eventually becomes less about staying sober and more about learning how to truly live.

Her description of recovery as climbing a mountain is one you'll remember long after the episode ends. The climb never stops, but over time the steep peaks become wide plateaus, the falls become shorter, and life becomes something worth protecting.

This isn't just a story about getting sober.

It's a story about what happens when you keep showing up, one day at a time.

Produced by Jesse Solomon.

Resources

Beit T’Shuvah – Recovery, community, and treatment
https://www.beittshuvah.org

Support Beit T’Shuvah
https://beittshuvah.org/support/donate/

Alcoholics Anonymous
https://www.aa.org

Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA)
https://slaafws.org/newcomers/

Credits

Host: Seb Webber
Executive Producer: Jesse Solomon
Intro Theme: Jesse Solomon

Recorded live at Beit T’Shuvah
8831 Venice Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034

Production inquiries:
seb@magick-arts.com