Ryan finally felt settled for the first time in his life at 24, until an ordinary Tuesday and a phone call at lunch changed everything, and this conversation is about the long road he walked back through grief, addiction, and recovery.
Ryan had married young and moved constantly, and for once life was quiet and coming together. Then his wife was killed by their next door neighbor on a morning that started like any other. What followed was almost twenty years Ryan spent trying to outrun that day, through a grief he could not process and an addiction that nearly ended his life. This is a story about sudden loss, complicated grief, sobriety, and the slow, honest work of coming back to yourself and finding a reason to keep going.
Please note this episode discusses loss, addiction, and recovery.
Guest Bio:
Ryan Roberts is a father of four and a full-time network engineer. He is the author of the memoir Fragmented: The Crossroads of Trauma, Addiction and Recovery. He has been sober since February 16, 2018, and his mission is to help people find recovery, hopefully sooner than he did, and to meet them wherever they are on their journey.
Find Ryan:
Digital Diatribe: https://thefangrytexan.com
Substack: https://substack.com/@digitaldiatribe
Chapters:
00:00 The phone call
02:00 Who Ryan is in 2026
04:00 Married young, always moving
08:00 Finding a sense of purpose
12:00 Finally feeling settled
16:00 The neighbor
18:00 The last ordinary morning
23:00 The call at lunch
26:00 Blacking out in the parking lot
30:00 Grief and drinking
38:00 Losing six years
43:00 The eighteen month binge
45:00 The turning point
46:00 Choosing treatment
48:00 Writing the book
51:00 Peace, presence, and grace
56:00 Where to find Ryan
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Keywords: grief, sudden loss, losing a spouse, addiction recovery, sobriety, complicated grief, alcoholism, finding purpose, memoir, The Life Shift Podcast
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