Episode 353: Art Dielhenn's Journey: From TV Director to Author and Coach, Finding Humor and Healing in Recovery
The Addicted Mind Podcast
Duane Osterlind, LMFT
4.7 • 655 Ratings
🗓️ 29 September 2025
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Art Dielhenn's journey from directing beloved TV classics like Sister Sister and Punky Brewster to becoming an author and career coach is nothing short of remarkable. Facing his own struggles with addiction, Art found recovery and shared his insights through two humorous and insightful books, "Get Out of Your Head, It's a Mess in There" and "Addiction is a Family Disease." Join Art as he discusses how the pandemic spurred his writing endeavors, weaving humor with heavy topics to make them more approachable. With artist Clemmy McWilliam-Le Busque's lively cartoons, Art's books illustrate the chaotic yet relatable inner workings of our minds, making recovery both accessible and entertaining.
Art's personal stories add depth and authenticity to the conversation, especially as he navigates the profound grief of losing a child to addiction during the pandemic. He opens up about how he found comfort and creativity through writing, illustrating how humor and shared wisdom can coexist with sorrow to aid healing. By exploring internal reconciliation and the liberation found in truth, Art underscores the universal nature of recovery, emphasizing resilience and the relentless drive to rebuild after life's challenges.
In this episode, you will hear:
- Art Dielhenn's transformation from TV director to author and career coach, using humor to tackle recovery topics.
- The impact of the pandemic as a catalyst for Art's writing journey and creative expression.
- Art's personal experiences with grief and addiction, illustrating the healing power of humor and community.
- Exploration of the universal nature of recovery, focusing on resilience and rebuilding after adversity.
- Collaboration with artist Clemmy McWilliam-Le Busque to bring Art's vision to life through lively, humorous illustrations.
- The role of humor in recovery, making heavy topics more approachable and emphasizing the joy found in shared recovery experiences.
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Episode Credits
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | All right, everyone, welcome to another episode of the Addicted Mind podcast. |
| 0:09.0 | I'm your host, Dwayne Austerland, and I am so glad you can join us today. |
| 0:14.0 | Our guest today is Art Deal Hand, an author and coach who brings a human, hopeful hopeful and even humorous perspective to the challenges |
| 0:23.2 | of recovery. Many might know art from his extensive career directing over 300 episodes of |
| 0:29.5 | television for shows like Sister Sister and Punky Brewster, but his life took a new direction |
| 0:36.1 | after he confronted his own addiction. |
| 0:38.9 | Now in long-term recovery, Art is a certified professional career coach who uses his insight, |
| 0:45.4 | empathy, and humor to reshape the conversation around healing. |
| 0:50.7 | He believes that recovery doesn't have to be a somber process. |
| 0:54.6 | In fact, he says it's more effective and more human when laughter is part of that journey. |
| 1:00.4 | So in our conversation today, Art will share his personal story and discuss how it led him to create two unique books with great cartoon humorous illustrations. The first one, get out of your head. |
| 1:14.0 | It's a mess in there. And the second addiction is a family disease. And the moment I saw his work, |
| 1:20.8 | the combination of art and humor spoke to me. And I knew I had to have art on the show, and I think you're going to get a lot out of this |
| 1:29.5 | episode. So, if you find value in the Addicted Mind podcast, please consider taking a moment |
| 1:36.1 | to rate and review us in your podcast app. Your support truly means a lot to help us reach |
| 1:41.3 | others who need to hear these stories. |
| 1:50.2 | And also, don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Blue Sky, and Threads for the latest updates. |
| 1:51.3 | All right. |
| 1:53.5 | Now let's begin this episode. |
| 1:58.4 | All right, everyone. |
| 2:00.8 | Welcome to another episode of The Addicted Mind podcast. |
| 2:07.2 | I've got Art Deal Hand with me, and we're going to talk about both of your books. And I have to say, as we were talking, before we even started recording, how I love your books, I love the accessibility of your books. |
... |
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