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.

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

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

I write the blog Unpickled where I've been chronicling life after alcohol since my first day of sobriety nine years ago.

I tell my story there and I invite you to share your stories here.

Now, today we meet Lucy Hall, a woman in successful long-term recovery for more than 30 years.

She's the founder of the Mary Hall Freedom House for Women in Atlanta, Georgia, the author of

Hope Dealer, a complete guide from rehab to recovery, and the subject of a fantastic documentary called

Hope Village. Lucy Hall, welcome to the bubble hour. I thank you, Jean, and thank you for that

introduction. I'm honored to hang out with you for a little bit. So thank you for having me.

Oh, it's so good to be together. I've spent the past couple days just immersed in your work.

And Lucy, you are a woman in motion. So I'm grateful that I caught you for an hour of your time.

And I want to start by having the listeners of myself just get to know you a little more.

So please tell us about yourself and tell us your story.

Absolutely. My name is Lucy Hall, as you've said, and I'm a person in long-term recovery.

And what that means for me, it's been over 30 years since I've had any mind or mood-altering substance.

And I'm grateful to God to be able to be alive today and to share that.

And so when God rescued me, he had a plan in mind, which I just know in my bottom,

you know, it came by way of you have the right to remain silent.

And I'm sure people in recovery can relate to that.

...