She thought she was going on a date.

Instead, he took her to her first NA meeting—and that moment changed everything.

After years of heavy drinking, drug use, and a near-fatal overdose, Katerina knew she needed to stop… but had no idea how. What started as confusion and frustration inside that meeting quickly turned into something unexpected: connection, honesty, and the realization that she wasn’t alone.

In this episode, she shares the moment that shifted her path, how addiction took over her life, and what finally helped her begin the journey to recovery.

Sometimes the thing you need most shows up when you least expect it.

00:00 Introduction
00:19 Childhood & Early Exposure to Alcohol
01:00 Drinking Becomes a Daily Habit
02:00 Life in Colombia & Escalating Drug Use
04:00 Daily Drug Cycle & Loss of Control
05:00 Overdose & Waking Up in the Hospital
06:20 Trying to Stop But Can’t
09:50 First NA Meeting Experience
11:30 Asking for Help & Going to Rehab
13:00 Early Recovery Struggles
15:00 Returning Home & Rebuilding Life
16:30 Recovery Routine & Personal Growth
17:30 Moving to the U.S. & New Opportunities
19:10 Relapse After Success
20:30 Loss, Grief & Finding Recovery Again
21:50 Discovering Multiple Pathways to Recovery
23:20 Advice for Someone New in Recovery

----Across the Web----

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Margaret Lloyd Seger shares her recovery story—getting sober at just 25 years old and transforming her life into one of purpose, research, and impact.

From early struggles with alcohol and Adderall to becoming a PhD researcher studying addiction and pregnancy, her journey highlights the reality of addiction, the difficulty of early recovery, and the hope that keeps people going.

This conversation dives into:

• What early addiction really looks like
• The hardest parts of early recovery
• How recovery can rebuild a life
• The truth about substance use during pregnancy
• Why people deserve recovery—no matter what

Recovery is possible. And it starts one day at a time.


0:00 – Margaret introduces herself (15 years in recovery)

1:05 – “I had a great childhood… still became an alcoholic”

1:40 – First exposure to drinking & drugs

2:27 – Early red flags: “I only wanted to drink to get drunk”

3:00 – Why addiction is hard to see when you’re in it

4:00 – Loss + addiction getting worse

5:00 – The moment it finally clicked

5:25 – First recovery meeting at 25

6:10 – “Drugs and alcohol stopped working”

7:30 – Early recovery was the hardest thing she’s ever done

8:00 – 10 days sober… nervous system completely shot

9:15 – Surviving early recovery (meetings + “hope shots”)

10:45 – Rebuilding life in recovery

13:30 – Working with kids affected by addiction

16:50 – Her focus now: pregnancy & addiction

20:40 – Research + TikTok education

22:10 – Cannabis use during pregnancy

24:45 – The risks most people don’t realize

28:50 – Advice for someone in their first 24 hours

----Across the Web----

🌎 CCAR Website https://www.ccar.us

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🎙Recovery Matters Podcast (Apple Music): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

🎙Recovery Matters Podcast (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/1wGUMMO...

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Christina didn’t just watch addiction from the outside—she lived it as a sister, trying to make sense of behaviors that didn’t add up, while the rest of her family struggled to even acknowledge what was happening.

In this episode, she shares the quiet warning signs she first noticed, the isolation of carrying that awareness alone, and the emotional rollercoaster of loving someone through years of opioid addiction, relapse, and loss.

But this isn’t just a story about grief—it’s about what came after. After losing her brother, Christina turned pain into purpose, building a new model inside schools that focuses on connection over punishment—giving students support instead of isolation.

This conversation is for anyone who has loved someone through addiction… and wondered what more could have been done.


00:00 – Intro & Christina’s story
01:00 – Early signs of addiction
03:30 – Denial, isolation, and confusion
07:30 – From pills to heroin
10:00 – Rehab, relapse, and reality
13:00 – Loving someone through addiction
16:45 – Loss and grief
17:30 – Turning pain into purpose
19:00 – Changing how schools handle addiction
23:00 – Supporting teens before it’s too late
27:00 – Why every school needs this model
30:00 – Advice for early recovery
31:30 – Closing thoughts

----Across the Web----

🌎 CCAR Website https://www.ccar.us

✉️ Donate: https://ccar.us/donate/

🎙Recovery Matters Podcast (Apple Music): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

🎙Recovery Matters Podcast (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/1wGUMMO...

🗣Recovery Matters Podcast TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@recoverymatterspodcast?

🗣Recovery Matters Podcast Instagram https://www.instagram.com/recoverymatterspodcast/

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