Shortcut: How I changed after 37 years of addiction, drama and hopelessness

Australian True Crime

Meshel Laurie

True Crime

4.6 • 979 Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 2023

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.

Robyn Lewis’s life was, frankly, hectic and destructive for 37 years. Multiple addictions, trauma from a brutal childhood, crime…she was just trying to survive. Robyn had tried and tried to change her life and then something happened. Now she’s sharing her story with her community and now, with us, to show that change is possible.

And a note before listening - Our guests share their experience. Each person has their own way they deal with life. So if there’s something you hear that prompts questions for you whether it’s about mental health, medication, ways of dealing with certain situations, make sure you speak to someone you trust like your doctor, counsellor, specialist.

More info:

Robyn talks on WIN News about her ice addiction (Video, 31 August 2017)

Robyn addresses Griffith Community Drug Action Team (Video, 8 Novmber 2017)

Robyn Lewis knows a bit about drug addiction in regional NSW (Sydney Morning Herald)

There’s a number of services and programs for addiction. Robyn mentioned SMART Recovery. For more information on other options and services go to Turning Point Australia’s national addiction treatment, training and research centre.

For Support:

Lifeline on 13 11 14

13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples)

Blue Knot Foundation - National Centre of Excellence for Complex Trauma

Sexual assault and family violence services in your State

CREDITS:

Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram

Co-Host: Emily Webb. You can find her on Instagram here

Guests: Robyn Lewis

Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/australiantruecrime.

Become a subscriber to Australian True Crime Plus here: https://plus.acast.com/s/australiantruecrime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	We're bringing Australian True Crime live to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne this July,
0:04.3	and I have to tell you that Brisbane sold out already.
0:07.4	Good for you, Brisbane, so we've quickly added a second show.
0:10.3	Now we can't keep adding more shows, so please make sure you get your tickets. Our special guests,
0:15.2	our forensic criminologist Santee Mallet in Brisbane and Sydney and the one and only Charlie Bazzina in
0:19.9	Melbourne. There'll be a Q&A of course so you can ask your own burning questions on the night but you have to book quickly.
0:26.0	The producers of this podcast recognize the traditional owners of the land on which it's recorded.
0:37.0	They pay respect to the Aboriginal elders past, present and those emerging.
0:45.0	The following podcast contains accounts of child sexual assault.
0:51.0	Listener discretion is advised.
0:54.0	People don't realize what's going to happen to them.
0:57.0	They don't have any choice.
0:58.0	I chose to take drugs, but I didn't choose to become an addict and spend almost 40 years of my life addicted and control.
1:07.1	I never believed that the life I was living in. I never believed that I deserved that.
1:11.7	I always knew that I was better than that, but I just couldn't get out.
1:16.1	Once I got in and those handcuffs went on, those drug handcuffs, there's no way I could get out. We hear some extraordinary experiences on this podcast and often from our listeners.
1:33.2	And this week's guest is Robin Lewis, who is one of those listeners.
1:37.6	Her email hit our inbox and what she shared made us want to know more. Robin spent decades coping with the aftermath of a frankly brutal childhood,
1:47.0	and not surprisingly, her adult life hasn't been great.
1:51.0	But things change and in Robin's case dramatically. And she's using
1:56.1	those decades of chaos to give people who are in a similar situation some hope. I won't say
2:01.8	anymore so let's hear it from Robin and a note before listening.
	...

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