Ep 195. From Living in His Car to Getting His Daughter Back, with Dave McGrath

This week Ash sits down with Dave McGrath, a 47 year old carpenter and father who recently celebrated three years of sobriety. For a period of about nine months before rehab, Dave was living out of his car, seeing his daughter once every month or two, and losing himself completely to what he calls the alcoholic insanity. His rock bottom came in a friend's garage, staring at an extension ladder and a rope, before something in him snapped awake enough to call a rehab.

In this raw and honest conversation, Dave takes Ash through the chaos of early sobriety attempts that did not stick, the shame of losing contact with his family and his daughter, and the strangers along the way who quietly helped him find his footing, including a chance encounter on a footpath that led him to treatment. He also opens up about an unexpected and profound spiritual awakening in a church that changed the course of his recovery, and what it has taken to rebuild trust with the people he hurt along the way. This is a story about hope, redemption and never giving up.

Episode chapters:

00:00 Introducing Dave McGrath

03:21 The Photo: A Visitation Day With His Daughter

04:16 The Unmanageability of Alcoholic Insanity

05:55 The First Drink as a Child

09:30 Hating Who He Saw in the Mirror

10:41 The Craving He Could Never Control

15:14 Failed Attempts and Dry Spells

18:52 Cold Water Plunges at 2am

19:33 Rock Bottom: The Rope in the Garage