I want to bring to your attention Anne Costa’s recent interview with Keaton Douglas, founder of the iThirst Initiative. (I wrote a short post on them once before.) 

You can find  Anne’s interview right here on YouTube, or on these other fine podcast services.

“iThirst” stands for “The Healing Initiative – Recovery, Spirituality, Twelve step.” They fulfill a dire need for an organized Church response to the problem of alcohol, drug, and behavioral addictions. From their site, “iThirst: Empowering the Church to be a Resource for those Suffering from Addictions and Their Families.”They also partner with Catholic in Recovery.

The interview is very well done (which I can personally attest to as Anne interviwed me earlier this year.) Although Keaton Douglas is not an alcoholic or addict, she has recovered from personal trauma which had embedded in her a deep resentment for which she returned to the Church to resolve. Her interview reminded me of the insidious nature of resentments and how they impede true spiritual growth and healing. (I still harbor resentments from 20 years ago; things are what they are and they dwell in the dark recesses of my mind, emerging as an accompaniment to stress and anxiety. Perhaps all of us have those “voices in our heads” that rent space there; my voices are those resentments. I keep them at bay, most of the time. I’m OK with their renting space as they provide fuel for my drive to write fiction.)

One thing I discovered from Anne’s interview with Keaton that I’m really excited about is that Shalom World TV will be hosting “Unshackled.” From iThirst’s promo page:

“Addiction is tearing families and lives apart. It’s time to act.”

What if the greatest danger to your family isn’t what you think? Beyond cyber attacks, viruses, or global crises, there’s a silent epidemic touching countless lives: addiction. Shalom World, in partnership with the iTHIRST Initiative, presents Unshackled, a groundbreaking series tackling addiction head-on with faith, hope, and healing.

You can hear “about the upcoming TV Series “UNSHACKLED” right here, and another promo here. It is scheduled to debut in the Spring of 2026. I will post updates as I learn more about the show or when it debuts.

Shalom World TV, despite the Jewish name, is a Catholic television service. You can find them on YouTube, and if you have a streaming device or a Roku or Amazon Fire TV, just look up “Shalom World TV” and you can add them to your streaming channels. To be sure you’d have the right channel, their logo is on the right side of the Unshackled banner just above this.

You can learn more about iThirst on their About Us page.  PLEASE take the time and explore their site, it’s a treasure of information. They even have recovery groups in Catholic parishes, however, try as I might, I cannot find a directory of these on their site. 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)