Finding Sobriety, Strength, and Hope as an “Alcoholic in Long-Term Recovery”

This week’s podcast episode features one of our Recovery.com cohosts, Cliff McDonald! Cliff is the Chief Growth Officer at Recovery.com and identifies as an alcoholic in long-term recovery. In this episode, Cliff shares his recovery story and details his path as a successful entrepreneur, Wall Street businessman, coach, father, and mentor. 

You can find Cliff’s episode and listen to our past guests here. 

“A Ticking Time Bomb”

Cliff was raised in a robust Irish Catholic drinking culture. His father, a Boston police officer and professional boxer, along with his grandfather, a decorated World War II veteran, both drank heavily. Alcohol was a staple at family gatherings, where even as a child, Cliff had “sips of beer” and occasionally Jameson whiskey. By 13, Cliff had not gotten used to alcohol but to also anticipate opportunities to drink.

“I had this other life where I was getting severely intoxicated with my friends since I was 13 years old. And that was a secret. And that remained a secret for a long time, until it didn’t. So, I experienced wholeheartedly the progressive nature of this disease.”

Cliff played football in high school and at Dartmouth College, where he sank deeper into the party culture and drinking habits of fraternities. His once-stellar grades dropped. At this point, he started noticing how he drank more than everyone else and seemed more reliant on it, especially during the off-season.

Cliff followed most of his college peers to Wall Street and made a successful career. He married and moved to Madison, WI, where he opened and ran several Irish pubs. Then, his father passed away at just age of 55, which Cliff suspects was because of his drinking. 

The slow-burning fuse became a racing flame. 

Gradual Descent to a Public Rock Bottom

As Cliff navigated the challenges of losing his father, managing a business, and balancing the responsibilities of parenting and marriage, drinking shifted from a habit to a necessity. He expanded his career beyond owning Irish pubs by taking on the role of COO at a company. But during visits to check on the pubs, what started as a routine beer gradually escalated to a beer paired with a shot. About this, Cliff says, 

“So these little changes, right, over time, and then, the next phase, which ended up being this real, real chaos for about 18 months, two years, when I became severely alcoholic.”

After having one too many at a company party, Cliff was let go. In 2018, he went to rehab for the first time but checked himself out after 14 days. His counselor said he’d see him again. Cliff recalls, 

“So I went home here to Madison and I had 90 days of sobriety. Brutal sobriety. Not going to meetings, not having a sponsor, just white knuckling it.”

And then, 

“After 90 days, I decided that it would be okay to have a drink.”