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When a family is living through addiction, most of the focus falls on parents and spouses. But siblings carry their own kind of heartbreak, confusion, and hope.

In this episode of the Get Unhooked Podcast, Jason Coombs is joined by his brother Cory, his sister Melissa, and co-host Jennifer Chase for an honest conversation about the sibling experience in family recovery. They talk about loving someone from a distance, learning the difference between helping and fixing, and discovering that recovery can change the whole family, not just the person struggling.

You’ll hear how distance sometimes became a healthy boundary, why education helped replace judgment with compassion, how trust was rebuilt slowly over time, and what actually helped their parents during the hardest seasons. This episode is a reminder that showing up with love, honesty, and presence can matter more than having the perfect words.

If you have ever wondered what siblings feel, what they carry quietly, or how family healing really happens, this conversation will stay with you.

Show Notes
In Episode 47, Jason sits down with his brother Cory and sister Melissa to explore a side of family recovery that often goes unspoken: the sibling perspective. Together with Jennifer Chase, they unpack what it was like to love someone through addiction, support their parents from different distances, and watch recovery reshape the entire family system.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why family recovery can begin even before trust feels fully restored
• How geographic distance created natural boundaries during the chaos
• The different ways siblings process fear, confusion, and love
• How education helped replace anger and judgment with understanding
• Why trust is rebuilt slowly, honestly, and over time
• What actually helps parents in crisis and what does not
• Why listening matters more than interrogating
• How simple acts of presence can become powerful turning points in recovery

Episode Highlights:
[01:26] Jason reframes family recovery as a process separate from sobriety
[03:29] How distance became a protective boundary for sibling relationships
[09:22] Jennifer shares what she hopes to learn from a sibling perspective
[10:08] Cory reflects on a brotherly bond that never broke
[13:50] Cory shares the impact of attending Jason’s treatment graduation
[17:34] Melissa opens up about once believing Jason could “just stop”
[18:46] How reading recovery literature and attending family group changed Melissa’s understanding
[22:11] Why trust-building happens slowly and rarely in a straight line
[24:32] Cory explains how Jason’s recovery work became a mirror for his own growth
[30:22] What helped and what did not when supporting their parents
[38:41] Why listening matters more than asking more questions
[43:01] Jason closes with a reflection on showing

Join Jason Coombs LIVE each week for tips and tricks and LIVE Q&A’s. Go to https://www.liveunhooked.com/live-unhooked.

For information about treatment services visit https://www.brickhouserecovery.com/

For more information about Warrior Heart Bootcamp for men visit www.awarriorheart.com

https://awarriorheart.com/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Warrior Heart = 2026Brick100

To learn more about the women’s retreat, Heart of a Woman:
https://theheartofawoman.net/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Heart of a Woman = 2026Brick100

Send a text

Join Jason Coombs LIVE each week for tips and tricks and LIVE Q&A’s. Go to https://www.liveunhooked.com/live-unhooked.

For information about treatment services visit https://www.brickhouserecovery.com/

For more information about Warrior Heart Bootcamp for men visit www.awarriorheart.com

https://awarriorheart.com/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Warrior Heart = 2026Brick100

To learn more about the women’s retreat, Heart of a Woman:
https://theheartofawoman.net/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Heart of a Woman = 2026Brick100

Send a text

Episode 45: Jason Coombs on That Sober Guy Podcast with Shane Ramer

A wide-ranging conversation on recovery, faith, fatherhood, identity, and the daily work of staying sober.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How a legitimate injury and pain pills turned into a life-consuming spiral
• The collapse of an OxyContin supply chain and why heroin surged next
• What it’s like to survive homelessness in a brutal winter
• The moment a text from Jason’s mom disrupted a suicidal night
• “The gift of volition” and why lasting change has to become personal
• A simple reflection practice that builds momentum instead of shame
• The difference between the “smaller story” and the “larger story”
• A faith-rooted decision framework: study it out, choose, then take it to God
• Warrior Heart Retreat and the three pillars that wake a man’s heart up again
• How Jason now supports families who feel exhausted, scared, and alone

Timestamps

• [01:00] Crossover episode intro: That Sober Guy Podcast with Shane Ramer
• [01:43] Year-end reflection: journaling victories and lessons
• [08:11] Emotionally shut down, risk-taking, anxiety/ADHD self-medicating
• [12:05] The OxyContin ring and the spiral that followed
• [16:06] Homelessness, felony charges, surviving winter on the streets
• [17:21] Court-mandated treatment, five rehabs, psychosis before sobriety
• [23:07] The text from Mom that interrupted a suicidal moment
• [24:26] “Volition”: why internal motivation outlasts external pressure
• [26:13] From selling hot dogs to a calling to help families
• [30:26] Stepping out of the smaller story into the larger story
• [36:10] 12 Steps as a pathway to conscious contact and guidance
• [40:37] Decision-making: study it out, choose, take it to God
• [44:32] Warrior Heart pillars: battle, adventure, beauty
• [52:14] Retreat impact: stripping the crust, restoring identity
• [56:50] Resources for families: book, podcast, free tools

Quotes worth revisiting

• “External pressure can work for a season. Internal motivation is what lasts.”
• “You don’t just get out of the hole. You get outfitted to climb.”
• “A plan beats panic. Support beats isolation.”

Resources mentioned

• Brick House Recovery: (add your link)
• Get Unhooked Podcast: (add your link)
• Unhooked (book): (add your Amazon/Audible links)
• Warrior Heart Retreat: (add your link)
• That Sober Guy Podcast: (add show link)

For families who feel stuck

If you love someone who’s struggling, you’re not powerless and you’re not the cause. You may not be able to control their choices, but you can change how you show up, create healthier conditions, and get support for your own nervous system, boundaries, and peace.

Gentle note

This episode includes discussion of addiction, homelessness, and suicidal moments. If you or som

Join Jason Coombs LIVE each week for tips and tricks and LIVE Q&A’s. Go to https://www.liveunhooked.com/live-unhooked.

For information about treatment services visit https://www.brickhouserecovery.com/

For more information about Warrior Heart Bootcamp for men visit www.awarriorheart.com

https://awarriorheart.com/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Warrior Heart = 2026Brick100

To learn more about the women’s retreat, Heart of a Woman:
https://theheartofawoman.net/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Heart of a Woman = 2026Brick100