From Survival Mode to Thriving: My Alcohol-Free Life Transformation | Valerie's Naked Life | EP 896

This Naked Mind Podcast

Annie Grace

Education, Self-improvement

4.7 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 11 April 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Trigger warning: This episode contains references to domestic violence, sexual assault, self-harm, disordered eating, substance use, and mental health crises. What does an alcohol-free life transformation actually look like from the inside? For Valerie, it looks like CrossFit at 4:30 AM, a flourishing marriage, a challenging career, and a self she genuinely loves for the first time at 36. But getting here meant surviving an abusive relationship, years of drinking as a survival tool, and a long search for belonging that took her to martial arts competitions in Korea, AA meetings, and finally a bookstore where Annie Grace's book changed everything. This is her story. Valerie and Coach Cole discuss: Growing up without consistent support and turning to alcohol as a survival tool from age 18 How a deeply abusive relationship pushed her drinking to its darkest point and left her searching for a way out The moment she put down her last drink without a plan and never looked back Why AA gave her community but not the alcohol-free life transformation she was truly looking for How Annie Grace's book found her in a bookstore and rewired the way she understood herself and alcohol Building her CrossFit community as the foundation of belonging, she had been searching for her whole life What spontaneous alcohol freedom feels like and why she has not had a single craving in 14 months Letting go of the need for family approval and turning compassion inward for the first time And more on healing, self-love, and the extraordinary life that opened up when she stopped drinking... Episode links: https://go.tnmprograms.com/start-here-quiz Related Episodes: Emotional Trauma Recovery with Dr. Melissa Kalt - Interview - EP 689 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-689-interview-with-dr-melissa-kalt/ Does Annie Grace think AA is wrong? - Reader Question - EP 324 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-324-reader-question-does-annie-grace-think-aa-is-wrong/ Overcoming Drinking Culture in Fitness - Where Are They Now? Molly - EP 695 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-695-naked-life-story-hayley-where-are-they-now-molly/ Ready to take the next step on your journey? Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, Quince, and Shopify. BetterHelp: BetterHelp is offering our listeners 10% off at betterhelp.com/nakedmind Quince: get free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/naked Shopify: Sign up for $1 month trial at shopify.com/mind

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to This Naked Mind with Annie Grace.
0:14.5	Hey everyone, thanks for being here with us today.
0:17.0	Before we get started, I want to offer a brief content note for today's podcast. In this
0:23.4	conversation, our guest shares her personal life experiences involving sex work, domestic abuse,
0:29.0	and trauma. If any of these feel uncomfortable or activating for you, please take care of yourself
0:34.7	in whatever way may feel right for you.
0:43.9	While listening, that might mean pausing, stepping away, or simply choosing to skip this episode.
0:49.1	Whatever you decide, I'm really glad that you're here in a part of this community.
0:50.5	Thank you.
0:53.2	Now let's dive into the podcast.
1:07.8	Hey, everybody. Welcome to the This Naked Mind podcast. I am Cole Harvey, and I'm filling in for the amazing Annie Grace. And today you get to listen as Valerie tells her story around her journey with alcohol. Hey, Valerie, good to have you on.
1:11.3	Thank you for having me. It is our pleasure. I'm so glad that you've decided to come on and tell your story for everybody out here listening. Yeah. And speaking of which,
1:17.1	why don't you just start from the beginning or wherever you feel is the best place for you to start.
1:22.5	Thank you. The one thing that I was recently reading, because the amount of times I've read Annie Graces,
1:29.1	this naked mind book was probably at least 100 times since I first discovered it last year.
1:34.8	Wow.
1:36.4	Yeah.
1:37.5	Yeah.
1:38.3	No one saves us but ourselves.
1:40.2	No one can and no one may.
1:42.3	We ourselves must walk the path, Buddha.
1:44.9	That quote, that chapter stands out a lot for me because, yeah, no one saves us.
	...

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