The Life With: an Alcoholic
If you've been Googling "how to live with an alcoholic" at 2 a.m., this show is for you.
Most addiction content talks about the alcoholic. This one talks about you, the spouse, the partner, the woman who is quietly losing herself trying to hold everything together while someone she loves falls apart.
Hosted by Jennifer Randall Young, The Life With: an Alcoholic gives you tools, not platitudes. Real frameworks, honest conversations, and quick wins you can use today whether you're deciding to stay, thinking about leaving, or just trying to remember who you were before all of this.
You don't have to have it figured out to start reclaiming your life. You just have to start.
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Why You Feel Like You’re Losing Your Mind in This Marriage
Host Jennifer Randall Young interviews listeners about why anger and distrust persist after a partner's sobriety, offering a practical repair list for relationship healing.
15 Sept 2026
The Hidden Reality of Living With a High-Functioning Alcoholic
Jen explains "good day amnesia," helping listeners distinguish fleeting moments from lasting patterns in relationships with alcoholics.
8 Sept 2026
He's Not Changing, But You Can: Reclaiming Your Power
Jennifer Randall Young shares five ineffective attempts to fix her husband's drinking and reveals how shifting focus to her own needs empowers her to move forward.
25 Aug 2026
Why You Don't Have to Leave (Yet)
Jennifer, creator of Life With An Alcoholic, guides listeners through a "third path" to clarity and self-trust when loving someone who drinks, offering a framework to rebuild your inner life.
11 Aug 2026
You Are Not Codependent: Reclaiming Yourself
Host Jennifer Randall-Young interviews Pete Rubenis, CEO of SMART Recovery USA, about setting healthy boundaries and reclaiming oneself when affected by a loved one's drinking.
5 Aug 2026
You're Not Codependent: Reclaiming Yourself After His Drinking
Alisha Bloss and Damian Bloss share their journey of rebuilding marriage and trust after 20 years of addiction, offering insights into navigating recovery together.
9 Jul 2026
Boundaries for Staying, Not Leaving
Host Jennifer Randall Young interviews women on setting personal behavioral boundaries to maintain their well-being while staying with an alcoholic partner.
2 Jul 2026
Letting Go: The Driveway Realization
Jennifer Randall-Young shares her driveway realization about letting go of her husband's alcoholism, discovering self-healing and a renewed sense of purpose.
25 Jun 2026
Living with a Shadow: Understanding Functional Alcoholism
Host Jennifer Randall-Young interviews listeners about the subtle signs of functional alcoholism, empowering partners to validate their experiences and understand the impact on their lives.
23 Jun 2026
Finding Clarity: Stories of Strength and Healing from Alcoholism
Lauren Nicole Butler shares her journey of breaking codependency and reclaiming her power by setting boundaries and healing her nervous system after her father's alcoholism.
16 Jun 2026
She Watched Alcohol Detox Nearly Kill Her Boyfriend
Alcohol Detox, Toxic Relationships, and Finding Yourself Again | Kristen’s 15-Year Sobriety Story
Kristen shares how dating a high-functioning alcoholic in her 20s led to a terrifying alcohol detox crisis: after she returned from a family trip, her boyfriend attempted to quit drinking alone, hallucinated, jumped from a moving car, and was hospitalized and placed in a medically induced coma for a week. The experience prompted Kristen to stop drinking, and she has remained sober for 15 years; her ex also stayed sober, though they eventually separated. The conversation explores how addiction fuels manipulation, gaslighting, isolation, and “fixer” dynamics, why alcohol detox can be dangerous, and how limited resources and stigma in healthcare leave partners unsupported. They discuss small steps like tracking drinking objectively, setting boundaries, and prioritizing self-care. Kristen also describes her current work in leadership development and her book, The Mama Bear Leader.
00:00 Kristen Joins The Show
00:58 Why Share This Story
01:37 High Functioning Alcoholism
03:09 Detox Turns Dangerous
04:32 Aftermath And Sobriety
05:07 Host Relates Her Experience
08:11 Losing Yourself In Addiction
12:07 The Impossible Choice
13:54 The Fixer Trap
16:34 Rationalizing And Mirages
18:58 When It Seems Fine
19:50 When Denial Is A Sign
20:15 One Week Reality Check
21:40 Hidden Bottles And Games
23:53 After Loss Seeking Support
24:46 Hospital Discharge No Plan
26:02 Living In Relapse Fear
27:50 Calling 911 And No Options
29:13 Stigma In The ER
31:23 Small Steps Self Care
33:37 Life After Addiction Story
34:18 Mama Bear Leadership Work
36:38 Book Plug And Farewell
Learn more about Kristen here; www.themamabearleader.com/podcast (http://www.themamabearleader.com/podcast)
For more resources and tools;
Life With app
https://www.thelifewith.com/ (https://www.thelifewith.com/)
Impossible Choice Action Guide
https://impossiblechoice.co/action (https://impossiblechoice.co/action)
[COMING SOON] Impossible Choice app
Your FREE Reality Check;
https://yourrealitycheck.lovable.app (https://yourrealitycheck.lovable.app)
9 Jun 2026
Why You Keep Trying To Fix His Drinking
Stop the Research Spiral: You Can’t Cure His Drinking (Reclaim Yourself First)
Jennifer Randall-Young introduces The Life With An Alcoholic, a show focused on supporting women who are holding everything together while someone they love is falling apart. She shares how she spent years in a “research spiral,” searching for medical explanations and fixes for her partner’s drinking, and explains that this isn’t a character flaw but a coping strategy that provides a sense of control. Using the Al-Anon framework—“you didn’t cause it, you can’t control it, and you can’t cure it”—she describes the turning point of realizing information is useless without the alcoholic’s willingness. She offers a free six-minute Reality Assessment, reframes healing as independent from his rock bottom, and introduces a “third path” of reclaiming yourself first, including a one-hour experiment and a live workshop on “the impossible choice” and its six pillars.
00:00 Welcome and Purpose
00:34 My Research Spiral
01:47 Why It Never Works
03:15 Three Cs Framework
04:35 Closing the Laptop
05:05 Reality Assessment Tool
05:40 Stop Waiting to Heal
07:04 The Third Path
08:51 One Hour for You
10:03 Workshop Invitation
10:46 Final Encouragement
10:57 Outro and Next Steps
2 Jun 2026
Stop Feeding His Sobriety: A Survival Manual
Stopping Him From Drinking Isn’t My Job: 5 Things I Quit Doing Host Jennifer Randall-Young introduces The Life with an Alcoholic, a show focused on the woman managing life alongside an alcoholic partner, and shares that after eight years trying to make her husband stop drinking she realized “stopping him from drinking is not actually my job.”
She describes five things she stopped doing: buying alcohol, pouring his drinks, letting him drive, narrating/explaining him to others, and researching his alcoholism late at night, and explains what returned when she stopped her nervous system, her opinions, her laugh, and her attention.
She reframes the key question from how to make him stop drinking to what she is spending her attention on, calling the effort unpaid labor. She promotes a free “reality check” assessment, her book Life With An Alcoholic, and a $27 course,
The Impossible Choice, and encourages viewers to stop doing one of the five things this week. 00:00 Welcome and Who This Is For
00:34 The Moment I Quit Managing
02:57 Stop Buying Alcohol
03:57 Stop Pouring His Drinks
05:16 No More Driving
05:47 Stop Covering for Him
06:43 Stop Late Night Research
08:00 What You Get Back
09:47 The Attention Reframe
10:17 Book and Next Steps
10:59 One Thing to Do This Week
12:00 Help Choosing Stay or Go
12:46 You Are Not Crazy
13:46 Final Wrap and Resources
30 May 2026
The Woman Who Survived Losing Herself
Stop Trying to Fix Him: How to Stop Losing Yourself Married to an Alcoholic Jennifer Randall Young introduces The Life With An Alcoholic as a show for women holding everything together while a partner’s alcoholism escalates, focusing on the quiet ways the spouse changes: hypervigilance, constant scanning, backup plans, and losing her sense of self.
She explains that the grief many feel is often for the woman they were before survival mode took over, and emphasizes that exhaustion comes from capability, not weakness. She offers a free six-minute “reality check assessment” to clarify where viewers are in the process, then shares a key reframe: instead of asking how to make him stop drinking, ask how to stop losing yourself.
She assigns one next step: write down something you used to love, something you’re tired of pretending is fine, and one person you haven’t been honest with, as a first move toward reclaiming your life.
00:00 Welcome and Who This Is For
00:34 The Quiet Disappearing
02:38 What Survival Mode Looks Like
04:11 Grieving the Old You
06:03 You Are Capable Not Weak
06:39 Reality Check Assessment
07:08 The Reframe That Changes Everything
07:33 Three Shifts When You Choose You
09:15 One Small Step Tonight
10:37 You Are Not Crazy
11:19 Subscribe and Weekly Support
11:39 Final Wrap and Next Steps
28 May 2026
The Silent Strain of a Functional Alcoholic Partner
Living With a Functional Alcoholic: You’re Not Crazy, You’re Carrying Too Much Jennifer Randall Young introduces The Life with an Alcoholic, a show focused on women holding life together while a loved one’s drinking escalates, and describes the isolating reality of living with a “functional” alcoholic whose public life looks fine.
She recounts common experiences like counting bottles at night, secret 2–3 AM Google searches, clearing search history, and feeling traumatized and alone with the “data” others don’t see. She explains why friends and family defend the version of him they know, and shares a 2019 story of calling 911 for a wellness check while traveling for a major presentation.
Jennifer teaches the “three Cs” (you didn’t cause it, can’t control it, can’t cure it), urges redirecting energy back to self-care, offers a private 10-minute “reality check assessment,” and previews next week’s episode on a “third path” beyond Al‑Anon or leaving.
00:00 Welcome to the Show
00:34 Who This Channel Is For
01:02 The Hidden Bottle Count
02:12 What Functional Really Means
03:47 The 2 AM Reality Check
05:11 You Are Not Crazy
05:37 Quick Assessment Tool
06:27 Why No One Sees It
08:17 The 911 Hotel Story
10:28 The Three Cs Framework
11:38 Stop Trying to Control
12:15 Your Exhaustion Explained
13:17 The Third Path Forward
14:08 Subscribe and Next Week
15:09 Final Wrap and Resources
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqDABW8THxg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqDABW8THxg)
Who has been a guest on Life With: an Alcoholic
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Jen
Jennifer
Pete Rubenis
Damian Bloss
Alisha
Reach and audience
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Contact Life With: an Alcoholic
Guest appearances
Books guests
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