I own it, I did that, not proud, but that was me, and when I face it, I take back a little dignity, not looking for excuses, I just want to be free from power.

Weakness had on me.

Free, free, free, free, free.

Hi, everyone, and welcome to the bubble hour where real people tell real stories of addiction and recovery.

I'm Gene McCarthy, recovery author, blogger, and podcast host.

I've been chronicling my adventures in life after alcohol since my first day of sobriety over nine years ago in my blog, Unpickled,

and in books like the Unpickled Holiday Surravel Guide and my recently

released poetry collection, The Ember Ever There. I tell my stories there and I hold space for

your stories here. And today I am holding space for a fellow from Tampa, Florida with 25

years of recovery. His name is Ben Heleldvon, and he is here to share

his story with us. Hi, Ben. Welcome to the bubble hour. Hi, Gene. Thank you so much for having me

as we were talking before, hit and record. I'm a huge fan for how you are sharing the message

of recovery and the possibilities and that it is possible.

So as somebody in recovery, I'm grateful to you and honored to be on your show.

Thank you so much.

That means a ton to me.

And I'm glad you're here.

Thank you for taking the time today to share your story and your message of hope with others.

Let's jump right into it, Ben. Tell us about yourself. Tell share your story and your message of hope with others. Let's jump right into it,

Ben. Tell us about yourself. Tell us your story. Well, without doubt, my name is Ben, and I am an alcoholic and an addict. I got sober on November 3, 1994, in San Francisco. I do live in Tampa, Florida, but I am from San Francisco,

and I probably will be saying that for the rest of my life, although I've lived in Tampa for 20

years. But I grew up in San Francisco. I grew up to a pretty you know, pretty normal family. I guess the definition of normal depends,

...