My Last Relapse: Life in Recovery After Addiction

My Last Relapse: Life in Recovery After Addiction

My Last Relapse is the recovery podcast that says out loud what you’ve been secretly thinking about addiction, relapse, and recovery. Matthew Handy—who lived through two decades of drug use—cuts through the lies and fear-mongering that dominate traditional recovery programs. This isn’t about war stories or your worst relapse moments. It’s about the future—your future—without rigid rules, unrealistic expectations, or being told you don’t belong. This is real conversations about relapse, addiction, treatment, rehab, recovery programs, meetings, self-help, and the stigma that keeps people stuck. For anyone who feels burned out, left out, or cast out by traditional approaches, Matt and his guests offer radical honesty, practical insights, and a new way forward. Whether you’re battling substance use, struggling with sobriety, navigating withdrawal, dealing with cravings, or just tired of going through the motions, My Last Relapse is here to remind you: You’re in recovery when YOU say you are. For individuals, families, friends, and professionals who are done with the lies and ready for a future without using, this is your space. Today, Matt is one of the founders of Harmony Grove Behavioral Health, an intensive outpatient rehab program in Houston, Texas, created with his brothers after living the struggles of addiction and recovery firsthand. Their shared journey shaped who they are and inspired the creation of Harmony Grove, a place where authenticity and clinical excellence guide every step of the process. Together, they’ve built a program that feels real, meets people where they are, and provides tools for lasting success. About Harmony Grove Behavioral Health Harmony Grove delivers outpatient addiction and mental health treatment focused on wellness, creativity, and authentic human connection—providing a supportive space for healing that extends beyond traditional clinical care. Harmony Grove’s IOP in Houston, Texas, is more than a program; it’s a lifeline for those ready to take the next step in their recovery. We are ready to meet you where you are and find your unique path to change. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or struggling, you don’t have to face it alone. Reaching out for support is a sign of strength, and help is always available. If you or anyone you know needs help, give us a call 24 hours a day at 844-430-3060.

Episodes

March 21, 2026 134 mins
Over 20 years teaching high school, Aaron observed that his students’ lives and trajectories were effectively set by the time they graduated. 

Frustrated by an education system he viewed as compliance-driven and devoid of meaningful agency, he left to work in addiction and trauma recovery. He began noticing recurring patterns: victim thinking, codependency, and a clinical culture that prioritized diagnosis over genuine identity chan...
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Although Curtiss was sexually abused as a child, he did well in school and football until a humiliating pep‑rally incident in seventh grade led him to quit sports and start smoking weed. Drifting into fights, he landed in alternative schools and eventually dropped out. 

While his mother used crack and his father cooked meth for the Bandidos, he lived mostly with his grandparents while stacking up arrests and DWIs. 

For two decades, h...
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Jessica's childhood fractured early. Her alcoholic father went to prison for a DWI, and by the time she was six, her parents had divorced. Her mother remarried, folding the family into a blended household with an adopted stepsister who had split personality disorder. 

That stepsister would go on to accuse both her own father and Jessica's stepfather of molestation, and eventually began self-harming in front of the family. When the s...
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Rachel’s parents divorced when she was just a baby, and she lived with her mom, who struggled with alcoholism and mental health issues, while her older sister went to live with their dad.

By ninth grade, she was rarely at school, drinking heavily, and immersed in the punk scene.  She blacked out a house party and assaulted her cousin who called the police, leading her to hide out in a friend's basement for 2 months before fleeing to...
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Craig “Bubba” Norton was first exposed to addiction when his mother died from alcoholism in 1982. His father later entered treatment, and during a family program Craig realized at age 20 that he was also an alcoholic. After moving from North Carolina to Texas, his drinking escalated, leading to three DWIs and jail in 1987, where he decided to seek help.

He found early stability through work and AA but later stopped going to meetings...
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Nikki grew up in a small town with a mother who struggled with alcoholism and periods of abuse but was also loving and devoted. As a teen, she began using substances like weed, pills, and whippets. At 19, she sought help from a doctor but felt dismissed, and at 21, she entered her first treatment program.

Three months later, she met Curtis at an AA/NA club. Both had histories of addiction and legal issues. They married in 2015 and r...
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Richard Galvan began stealing, getting arrested and drinking vodka alone in sixth grade. He snorted and sold his Ritalin, stole his mother’s pills and drank cough syrup. By his early teens, he was selling pills, using meth, and became well known to the police.

Born in 1982 in the San Fernando Valley, by 10th grade, he started using heroin and spending time downtown near Skid Row. He was kicked out by both parents, lived with relativ...
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Judge Katrina Griffith grew up wanting to be a lawyer, encouraged by her mother during arguments with her older brother in "mom's court." As a teenager, she saw the juvenile system affect family members.

After college, she entered the University of Houston Law School focusing on juvenile criminal defense. In her 2L year, she joined the juvenile defense clinic. In her final semester, she took Professor Ellen Marrus’ child dependency ...
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Born and raised in East Texas, Randy Grimes grew up in church with an older brother and sister and played football and baseball. He attended Baylor University, where he had a strong football career and met his future wife on his first day. They married after his junior year.

In 1983, he was drafted in the second round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and moved to Tampa with his wife in a U-Haul. He soon began taking large amounts of opia...
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Jenifer grew up in a home marked by physical and verbal abuse, which shaped how she viewed trust and relationships. She got pregnant at 18 and had her son, Hunter, at 19, raising him mostly on her own. 

At 28, she married, but the relationship was unstable and ended in divorce due to her husband’s alcoholism. Jenifer built a 20-year career as a dialysis nurse but battled major depressive disorder.

She turned to alcohol to cope, which...
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Doug experienced abuse in early childhood, and at age 12 when his father left, he spiraled into severe depression, suicidality, and repeated psychiatric hospitalizations. 

As a teenager, he discovered alcohol and used it to manage his symptoms while earning a master’s degree in social work and working at a suicide hotline, even as hospitalizations and heavy drinking continued.

In his mid-30s, after a suicide attempt and abruptly quit...
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Born in Italy to Russian parents, Dan came to the U.S. as a baby and grew up in a highly driven immigrant community near Princeton, New Jersey. 

An only child, he was pushed hard to be successful in academics and athletics, with video games becoming an early escape. As a teenager, he turned to marijuana and alcohol, escalating after his mother passed away during his senior year. 

He headed to college in 2013, where he bounced between...
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Seeing him on this podcast for the first time in 13 years, Matt admits to his old friend Austin York that he robbed him during the chaos of their using days in Southern California.

Like Matt, Austin got into trouble very young, fighting in school and using drugs at a young age. His parents sent him away several times to try to get him back on track. He bounced around multiple high schools but never graduated, spending most of his te...
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After Cynthia was molested in childhood, she used food as a coping mechanism, developing bulimia and extreme body dysmorphia. As a teenager, vaccinations triggered hormonal and immune imbalances, causing mood changes and hives. 

When she became pregnant as a young adult, it motivated her to stop smoking and make healthier choices. She later married an alcoholic, leading to domestic violence and emotional turmoil. Because of her fait...
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Chris grew up in Odessa, Texas, in a home where alcohol and drugs were part of everyday life. At 15, he altered his birth certificate to work in the oil fields. By 19, he was drilling, and by 25, he was running crews—building a successful career.

Substance use resulted in four incarcerations, and by his last conviction he faced a potential life sentence. In prison, he began seeking faith and direction but his addiction destroyed his...
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Kratom is a plant-based substance that’s easy to find in smoke shops, gas stations, and even health food stores. Marketed as a natural remedy for pain, energy, or opioid withdrawal, it’s gained a reputation as a “safe” alternative.

But according to Houston addiction medicine specialist Dr. Kamal Shah, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

He’s seen firsthand how quickly people can become dependent, from those in long-term recovery...
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Growing up in Spring, Texas, Jordan was a standout student and star athlete. Raised in a supportive, yet strict household, he excelled in sports and academics, graduated near the top of his class, and was inducted into his high school’s Hall of Fame for football.

While attending Cornell University on a football scholarship, sports injuries shifted his focus from athletics to cocaine, ketamine, and marijuana. After graduation, he mov...
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At the age of 17, Robert entered treatment for the first time for heroin, painkillers, and Dilaudid addiction. Over the next few years, he cycled through nearly 60 detoxes and programs across the country, spending several years in and out of institutions. 

At 19, he moved to California for a fresh start—attending trauma therapy, enrolling in college, and playing football at Santa Monica College—until a fractured femur ended his athl...
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Rachel grew up in Louisiana in a family marked by loss. Her older sister died of leukemia at age seven, leaving deep grief that shaped her childhood. At 13, she experienced sexual abuse, and by 21, she lost her mother to untreated hypertension and heart disease—the event that sent her drinking spiraling out of control.

She developed depression and anxiety early on, and alcohol quickly became her way to cope. By 25, she was a new mot...
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Ted was sent to military school, later joined the Navy, and served during the Gulf War, stationed in Jacksonville and working drug interdiction missions off the coast of Venezuela. During his Navy service, he drank heavily, a habit he continued for years in New Orleans while working in the oil and gas industry, as drinking was embedded in the local social culture.

After several failed recovery attempts, Ted got sober in March 2017 a...
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