
E130: Navigating Life as an Adult Child of an Alcoholic with Jody Lamb
12/30/24 • 35 min
Jody Lamb, a personal growth author and advocate for adult children of alcoholics, shares her transformative journey of healing from the impact of her mother's alcoholism. Through her experiences and insights, Jody emphasizes the importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing self-care, which allowed her to reclaim her life and find happiness. She recounts her pivotal moment at the age of 26 when she realized that she needed to focus on her own well-being rather than trying to fix her mother. The conversation delves into the significance of community support, such as Al Anon meetings, and how they helped both Jody and Tammy navigate their own paths to healing. Jody also highlights the necessity of inner child work, encouraging listeners to reconnect with their younger selves and acknowledge their feelings as a vital step towards recovery and personal growth.
In this episode, we are thrilled to welcome Jody Lamb, a personal growth author and advocate dedicated to helping adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) heal from their past and create their dream lives. Jody's journey of resilience and healing comes from her own experience growing up with an alcoholic mother, which deeply shaped her mission to support others who have faced similar challenges.
Since 2009, Jody has been sharing her insights and practical strategies with a global community of ACOAs, empowering them to break free from the limitations of their past. Her middle-grade novel, you can grab it here, is Easter Ann Peters' Operation Cool, received the prestigious Foreword Reviews' 2012 Book of the Year Award, celebrated for its realistic portrayal of parental alcoholism. Through her writing and coaching, Jody offers simple yet powerful strategies to overcome the struggles that come with being an adult child of an alcoholic and lead a peaceful, fulfilling life.
On her website, JodyLamb.com, she continues to share resources and guidance to help individuals heal from the wounds of their childhood and transform their lives. In this episode, Jody discusses her personal journey, the common struggles faced by ACOAs, and the empowering practices she uses to help others reclaim their personal power and build a life aligned with their true selves.
If you're an ACOA or know someone who is, this episode is packed with insight and encouragement to help you move from surviving to thriving.
Hey there, I’m so glad you’re tuning in! If this episode resonated with you, there’s more support waiting. I help adult children of dysfunction reclaim their voice, set boundaries, and rewrite their life story with confidence and clarity. 💛I am an international inspirational speaker, NLP practitioner, Trauma Informed ACOA Coach, and Best-selling Author. But more importantly, I am your friend who wants you to live your best life EVER!
🆓 Signature Course – Trials to Triumph: An Adult Child's Emotional Freedom Blueprint
This course is designed to help you unpack the past, embrace your truth, and build emotional freedom—without overwhelm.
👉 Start here: www.tammyvincent.com/course
🎯 Work With Me – 1:1 Coaching, Group Programs, and Support
If you're ready to dig deeper into healing, boundaries, and stepping into your next chapter, I’d love to walk alongside you.
👉 Learn more: www.tammyvincent.com
📬 Send Me a Voice Message
Got a question, a comment, or something to share after listening to the episode? Leave me a voice message and you might be featured in an upcoming show!
🎙️ SpeakPipe: www.speakpipe.com/TammyVincent
📺 Check Out My YouTube Channel
For more healing tools, short trainings, and inspiration, be sure to visit my YouTube channel.👉 Adult Child of Dysfunction YouTube Channel
🌟 Book Me as a Speaker for Your Event
Are you looking for a speaker to inspire and empower your group on healing, personal growth, and setting boundaries? I'd love to collaborate with you!
👉 Book a time to chat: https://calendly.com/tammyvincent/speakers-event-chat
🫶 Let’s Connect
📩 Email: [email protected]
📱 Text: 513-280-3555
🌟 If this episode helped you, please share it with a friend, leave a review, and hit follow. Every share helps break generational cycles and bring healing into more lives.
Jody Lamb, a personal growth author and advocate for adult children of alcoholics, shares her transformative journey of healing from the impact of her mother's alcoholism. Through her experiences and insights, Jody emphasizes the importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing self-care, which allowed her to reclaim her life and find happiness. She recounts her pivotal moment at the age of 26 when she realized that she needed to focus on her own well-being rather than trying to fix her mother. The conversation delves into the significance of community support, such as Al Anon meetings, and how they helped both Jody and Tammy navigate their own paths to healing. Jody also highlights the necessity of inner child work, encouraging listeners to reconnect with their younger selves and acknowledge their feelings as a vital step towards recovery and personal growth.
In this episode, we are thrilled to welcome Jody Lamb, a personal growth author and advocate dedicated to helping adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) heal from their past and create their dream lives. Jody's journey of resilience and healing comes from her own experience growing up with an alcoholic mother, which deeply shaped her mission to support others who have faced similar challenges.
Since 2009, Jody has been sharing her insights and practical strategies with a global community of ACOAs, empowering them to break free from the limitations of their past. Her middle-grade novel, you can grab it here, is Easter Ann Peters' Operation Cool, received the prestigious Foreword Reviews' 2012 Book of the Year Award, celebrated for its realistic portrayal of parental alcoholism. Through her writing and coaching, Jody offers simple yet powerful strategies to overcome the struggles that come with being an adult child of an alcoholic and lead a peaceful, fulfilling life.
On her website, JodyLamb.com, she continues to share resources and guidance to help individuals heal from the wounds of their childhood and transform their lives. In this episode, Jody discusses her personal journey, the common struggles faced by ACOAs, and the empowering practices she uses to help others reclaim their personal power and build a life aligned with their true selves.
If you're an ACOA or know someone who is, this episode is packed with insight and encouragement to help you move from surviving to thriving.
Hey there, I’m so glad you’re tuning in! If this episode resonated with you, there’s more support waiting. I help adult children of dysfunction reclaim their voice, set boundaries, and rewrite their life story with confidence and clarity. 💛I am an international inspirational speaker, NLP practitioner, Trauma Informed ACOA Coach, and Best-selling Author. But more importantly, I am your friend who wants you to live your best life EVER!
🆓 Signature Course – Trials to Triumph: An Adult Child's Emotional Freedom Blueprint
This course is designed to help you unpack the past, embrace your truth, and build emotional freedom—without overwhelm.
👉 Start here: www.tammyvincent.com/course
🎯 Work With Me – 1:1 Coaching, Group Programs, and Support
If you're ready to dig deeper into healing, boundaries, and stepping into your next chapter, I’d love to walk alongside you.
👉 Learn more: www.tammyvincent.com
📬 Send Me a Voice Message
Got a question, a comment, or something to share after listening to the episode? Leave me a voice message and you might be featured in an upcoming show!
🎙️ SpeakPipe: www.speakpipe.com/TammyVincent
📺 Check Out My YouTube Channel
For more healing tools, short trainings, and inspiration, be sure to visit my YouTube channel.👉 Adult Child of Dysfunction YouTube Channel
🌟 Book Me as a Speaker for Your Event
Are you looking for a speaker to inspire and empower your group on healing, personal growth, and setting boundaries? I'd love to collaborate with you!
👉 Book a time to chat: https://calendly.com/tammyvincent/speakers-event-chat
🫶 Let’s Connect
📩 Email: [email protected]
📱 Text: 513-280-3555
🌟 If this episode helped you, please share it with a friend, leave a review, and hit follow. Every share helps break generational cycles and bring healing into more lives.
Previous Episode

E129: Empathy, Boundaries, and Re-Parenting: Lessons from Sarah Shields
In this heartfelt episode, we welcome Sarah Shields, a Master Life Coach, communications consultant, and fervent learner, who shares her deeply personal journey of navigating a challenging family dynamic while learning to set boundaries and re-parent her inner child. Sarah opens up about the struggles of balancing her innate people-pleasing tendencies with the needs of her younger self, who desperately sought protection and validation.
Growing up in a large Italian family, Sarah took on the role of protector and mediator, trying to bridge the gap between her narcissistic father and younger sibling. For decades, she believed it was her responsibility to parent her father while holding the family together. But over time, she realized that her efforts came at a significant cost to her own emotional well-being.
Sarah recounts her father’s shift from being the life of the party to creating harmful narratives, lies, and pain that fractured her family. For years, she excused his behavior with compassion and empathy for his upbringing, but by 2021, she reached a turning point. It was time to stop playing mediator and prioritize her own healing.
In this episode, Sarah shares how re-parenting her younger self has been transformative—not just for her but also for her sibling. She explains how understanding family dynamics, establishing firm boundaries, and healing from the inside out have improved her relationships with her sibling, partner, and mother. Sarah also reflects on how these lessons have shaped her career, communication skills, and coaching philosophy.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone navigating the aftermath of dysfunctional family dynamics, struggling with people-pleasing, or looking for inspiration to re-parent their inner child and live a life of authenticity and empowerment.
To find out more about Sarah visit:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560180342936
https://www.instagram.com/ground_grow_coaching/
To Also Learn More About her Corporate Programs, you can visit https://www.agilityforall.com/home Below is a brief summary
From Innovation to Impact (I2I). Here is a brief summary:
I2I is a comprehensive, one-year journey is designed to empower organizations to:
- Maximize impact and efficiency
- Develop robust capabilities from ideation to implementation
- Cultivate strong, adaptive leadership teams
- Foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement
Our I2I program leverages a hybrid approach of coaching, facilitation, and training to deliver lasting organizational capabilities. Some key benefits include:
- Reducing implementation time by up to 80%
- Minimizing risks and reducing product rework by up to 75%
- Building scalable processes for sustainable growth
- Enhancing stakeholder engagement and team alignment
Hey there, I’m so glad you’re tuning in! If this episode resonated with you, there’s more support waiting. I help adult children of dysfunction reclaim their voice, set boundaries, and rewrite their life story with confidence and clarity. 💛I am an international inspirational speaker, NLP practitioner, Trauma Informed ACOA Coach, and Best-selling Author. But more importantly, I am your friend who wants you to live your best life EVER!
🆓 Signature Course – Trials to Triumph: An Adult Child's Emotional Freedom Blueprint
This course is designed to help you unpack the past, embrace your truth, and build emotional freedom—without overwhelm.
👉 Start here: www.tammyvincent.com/course
🎯 Work With Me – 1:1 Coaching, Group Programs, and Support
If you're ready to dig deeper into healing, boundaries, and stepping into your next chapter, I’d love to walk alongside you.
👉 Learn more: www.tammyvincent.com
📬 Send Me a Voice Message
Got a question, a comment, or something to share after listening to the episode? Leave me a voice message and you might be featured in an upcoming show!
🎙️ SpeakPipe: www.speakpipe.com/TammyVincent
📺 Check Out My YouTube Channel
For more healing tools, short trainings, and inspiration, be sure to visit my YouTube channel.👉 Adult Child of Dysfunction YouTu...
Next Episode

ADHD, Bipolar Disorder Or Simply Childhood Chaos? Does It Matter?
In this episode of Adult Child of Dysfunction: Thriving After Chaos, we’re exploring the overlapping behaviors of ADHD, bipolar disorder, and the experiences of children raised in dysfunctional or alcoholic families. These conditions and circumstances can often look similar, making it challenging to pinpoint the root cause of certain struggles. By comparing them side by side, we shed light on how to approach these challenges with clarity and compassion.
The Overlapping Behaviors
ADHD is often characterized by inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Bipolar disorder, on the other hand, is defined by mood swings that alternate between manic highs and depressive lows. However, children raised in chaotic or dysfunctional households can display behaviors that resemble both conditions, creating a confusing picture for parents, educators, and even mental health professionals.
For example, hypervigilance—common in children from unstable homes—can mimic ADHD’s inattention or restlessness as the child is constantly scanning for danger. Similarly, mood swings triggered by environmental stressors can look like the mood episodes seen in bipolar disorder. These overlaps highlight the importance of understanding the context behind the behavior.
Other shared challenges include emotional dysregulation, low self-esteem, sleep disturbances, and social difficulties. While ADHD and bipolar disorder are driven by neurological or chemical factors, children from dysfunctional families often struggle due to the unpredictability and emotional instability of their environment. Recognizing the difference is key to finding the right path forward.
Why Getting a Diagnosis is Empowering
Receiving a diagnosis, while potentially overwhelming at first, is a powerful step toward healing and growth. Here’s why:
- Validation: It affirms that your struggles are real and not a personal failing, offering relief from years of self-doubt or shame.
- Support and Tools: A diagnosis unlocks access to resources, such as therapy, medication, or strategies specifically tailored to help you thrive.
- Improved Relationships: Understanding your condition allows you to communicate your needs and boundaries effectively, improving how you connect with others.
- Self-Awareness: A diagnosis encourages you to reflect on your patterns, triggers, and strengths, sparking growth and transformation.
- Empowerment: It doesn’t define you—it’s a tool that helps you take control of your life and move forward with clarity and confidence.
Conclusion
This episode is a reminder that you are not your diagnosis, your circumstances, or your past. Whether you’re dealing with ADHD, bipolar disorder, or the effects of growing up in a dysfunctional family, understanding these patterns is the first step toward breaking free from them. With the right support and tools, you can transform your challenges into strengths and live authentically.
If you want to discover how to break free from any patterns that are holding you back and live the life you deserve, come work with me. Together, we can chart a path toward the freedom, peace, and fulfillment you’ve been searching for.
Hey there, I’m so glad you’re tuning in! If this episode resonated with you, there’s more support waiting. I help adult children of dysfunction reclaim their voice, set boundaries, and rewrite their life story with confidence and clarity. 💛I am an international inspirational speaker, NLP practitioner, Trauma Informed ACOA Coach, and Best-selling Author. But more importantly, I am your friend who wants you to live your best life EVER!
🆓 Signature Course – Trials to Triumph: An Adult Child's Emotional Freedom Blueprint
This course is designed to help you unpack the past, embrace your truth, and build emotional freedom—without overwhelm.
👉 Start here: www.tammyvincent.com/course
🎯 Work With Me – 1:1 Coaching, Group Programs, and Support
If you're ready to dig deeper into healing, boundaries, and stepping into your next chapter, I’d love to walk alongside you.
👉 Learn more: www.tammyvincent.com
📬 Send Me a Voice Message
Got a question, a comment, or something to share after listening to the episode? Leave me a voice message and you might be featured in an upcoming show!
🎙️ SpeakPipe: www.speakpipe.com/TammyVincent
📺 Check Out My YouTube Channel
For more healing tools, short trainings, and inspiration, be sure to visit my YouTube channel.👉 Adult Child o...
Adult Child of Dysfunction - E130: Navigating Life as an Adult Child of an Alcoholic with Jody Lamb
Transcript
Well, good morning everybody, and welcome back to another episode of Adult Child of Dysfunction. Today we have with us a very, very special guest because it's somebody that I've been following her work and her podcast or her, her blog and everything for years and years and years. But today we have with us Jody Lamb. She's a personal growth author dedicated to helping adult children of alcoholics heal from their past and create their dream lives. Her resilience and ded
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