S8 Episode #18- Recovery, Compassion & The God Who Restores with Caroline Beidler

THE ONE WITH CAROLINE BEIDLER

This week we are excited to welcome author, speaker, and managing editor of Recovery.com, Caroline Beidler to the podcast! Caroline joins us for a tender, hope-filled conversation about addiction, healing, and the God who never stops pursuing His children. With honesty and warmth, she shares her own journey from addiction to recovery, the spiritual formation that reshaped her life, and the profound role community plays in healing. Her new book, When You Love Someone in Recovery, is a compassionate guide that reframes recovery beyond sobriety and equips families with practical tools, scientific insight, and a posture of love. Caroline opens up about shame, belonging, God’s patience, and the beauty He brings from ashes, reminding listeners that no story is too broken for redemption. If you or someone you love has been touched by addiction, or if you simply need a fresh reminder of God’s restoring love, this episode will meet you with truth, gentleness, and deep encouragement.

More About CARoLINE

Caroline Beidler, MSW, is an author, speaker, and managing editor of Recovery.com, where she combines research and expert insight on addiction and mental health. Drawing from her own recovery journey, she is the founder of the Women's Recovery Leadership Foundation and helps others find healing through her newsletter and podcast, Circle of Chairs, which reaches thousands weekly. She is the author of three books, Downstairs Church, You Are Not Your Trauma, and When You Love Someone in Recovery: A Hopeful Guide for Understanding Addiction.

Her own lived experience in addiction, mental health, and trauma recovery inspires her to help other others find recovery in all its varying forms. In four short years, she has built a global network of recovery supporters through her storytelling platform and accompanying newsletter, Circle of Chairs which reaches thousands weekly. She is a creative and visionary, founding an annual global event on International Women’s Day with different sponsoring organizations each year that brings in thousands of supporters, along with co-leading a global research initiative on family recovery with leaders around the world. Her writing is described as funny, gritty, relatable, and insightful. When she isn’t writing, speaking, or building community, Caroline lives in Eastern Tennessee with her husband and seven-year-old twins where she enjoys hiking in the mountains and building up her community’s local recovery ministry.

About HER LATEST BOOK

[Press Release] When You Love Someone in Recovery is a lifeline for families navigating the pain and uncertainty of addiction. With empathy, clarity, and deep professional insight, author and recovery expert Caroline Beidler offers a powerful redefinition of recovery - not as a destination marked by sobriety, but as a shared journey of connection, faith, and renewal for the entire family. In a world overwhelmed by loneliness and disconnection, Beidler’s message brings healing and the reminder that no one has to walk this road alone.

Many of us know someone walking through addiction recovery—but few of us truly understand what that journey means. Drawing from her own journey of sustained recovery and her years of professional experience in the field, Beidler reimagines the complex and often painful realities of recovery into simple, shareable wisdom for those in recovery and the people who love them. Challenging traditional approaches like “tough love” she instead champions a compassionate path built on four key principles: hope, wellness, community, and service.

When You Love Someone in Recovery, offers practical, compassionate guidance on how to:

·       Communicate effectively with a loved one in recovery

·       Set healthy boundaries grounded in love and respect

·       Nurture your own well-belling while supporting someone on their recovery journey

Through reflection exercises, brain-based research, and real-life stories from families who have been there, readers will find not only clarity but also courage for their own healing journey.

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SHOW NOTES

Finding Hope in God's Love

Caroline shared her spiritual journey, beginning with feelings of loss and seeking as a young girl, which later led her to church in her early 20s. She described her baptism at age 22 on Easter Sunday as a significant moment in her relationship with Jesus. When Jes asked about advice for those struggling with shame and feeling unlovable, Caroline emphasized that God sees people as His beloved daughters and can bring beauty from ashes, encouraging listeners not to give up hope and to trust in God's promise of new creation.

Journey of Healing and Recovery

Caroline shared her personal journey through addiction and recovery, emphasizing how her experience with trauma and substance use led her to understand the importance of healing and community support. She discussed how recovery has become a spiritual formation process for her and how her personal healing has enabled her to help others. Jes referenced a biblical verse about God not wasting suffering, and Caroline agreed, highlighting the transformative power of recovery communities and the miracles she has witnessed within them.

God's Patience in Personal Recovery

Caroline shared her personal recovery journey, emphasizing how she learned about God's patience and mercy through her struggles. She described feeling broken and ashamed, but eventually discovered she could have an honest relationship with God, even expressing anger and questioning His presence during difficult times. 

Caroline explained how a church service experience helped her understand God's ever-present love and presence throughout her journey, from childhood to the present conversation. 

Hopeful Guide to Understanding Addiction

Caroline  discussed her new book When You Love Someone in Recovery: A Hopeful Guide to Understanding Addiction, which aims to redefine recovery beyond sobriety and provide families with hope and practical strategies. 

She shared insights about the neuroscience of addiction, emphasizing how the brain can heal through recovery, and recommended leading with love rather than focusing on concepts like enabling or tough love. The book will be released on April 7th, and Caroline suggested that families struggling with addiction should consider reaching out to their community and faith networks when they feel unable to love their loved ones independently.

“God never wastes our suffering—

He patiently walks with us until the places we thought were dead

begin to breathe again.”

- Caroline Beidler

NEXT STEPS

Here are a few action steps to help you dip deeper this week!

  1. Talk to God about your own story and reflect on His patience. Ask Him where He might be inviting you into deeper healing, honesty, or hope. Journal about a moment when you sensed God’s mercy in your own struggles or seasons of shame.

  2. Lift up a loved one—or yourself—asking God to surround that journey with love, strength, and community.

  3. Read Caroline’s book, When You Love Someone in Recovery, for practical tools, compassionate insight, and a deeper understanding of addiction and healing.

Thank you, as always, for listening! Please remember that everything we do is funded by those who benefit from our ministry. Our ministry a 501(c)3, so your contribution is tax-deductible.

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  • The Collected Podcast is a production of Collected Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping disciples of Jesus discover and live from their true identity in Christ, recognize and walk in their divine purpose within the Kingdom of God, and experience growth in their capacity for mature, healthy relationships.

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  • The Collected Podcast is produced by Jes French and edited by Jacob Early. Cover art designed by Ben Biondo.

Most Recent, Podcast Episodes, hope, InspirationJessica BiondorecentComment