SMART Recovery® Podcast

Jan Folk was a high powered businesswoman for years, battling sexism in the male-dominated insurance industry. At the same time she was struggling with alcohol-use disorder and kept ending up in crisis. After a couple of attempts to stop drinking she finally realized that the only way she was going to change her behavior was if she looked deep inside and made the decision for herself. That is when she learned about SMART and has embraced recovery. Jan decided to share her story by writing a memoir, Hell in High Heels: How I Conquered My Demons, about her life as a business owner, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. She chronicles her childhood and rise to prominence, love of dogs, and shares a story about how one might possibly lose a private plane.

Keith Johnston is the Founder and Executive Director of Running2bwell, a nonprofit organization that helps those struggling with mental health and/or addiction issues become more physically and socially active. He decided to start the effort after a friend lost his son to heroin addiction and he wanted to try and contribute something positive to society. Keith turned to exercise, since it had always been helpful when he was attempting to manage his own meantal health and addictions, and now facilitates walking/running groups and SMART meetings. In this podcast, he talks about research that links exercise to greater mental clarity and many other benefits. He also shares his belief that not only do we all have issues of some kind, we all have a responsibility to contribute what we can to make the world a better place.

Jonathan Hunt-Glassman struggled with drinking too much for years, and tried many ways of changing his relationship to alcohol. But it wasn't until a doctor suggested he try medication that things got better. Based on his experience, he decided to start a company, Oar Health, which offers a way for individuals to investigate whether medication might be useful in their own recovery. In this podcast, Jonathan is joined by Oar Health's Chief Clinical Advisor Dr. Josh Lee, an addiction medicine specialist, researcher, and Professor of Population Health and Medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.