The Road to Hope: The Church's Response to the Crisis of Addiction

Written By PS Team

Addiction is messy, addiction is sometimes bloody, and it's a place holy people haven't always gone, until now. Jim and Meghan sit down with Keaton Douglas to explore how the Catholic Church can become a true resource for those struggling with addiction and the families who love them. Drawing from her own story of loss, healing, and an unexpected call to ministry, Keaton shares how her book The Road to Hope and new series Unshackled are helping families find their way back to hope. With honesty and deep faith, she reminds listeners that no one is meant to walk the road to recovery alone.

What’s in this episode:

  • Keaton's journey from a career on Wall Street to Catholic ministry

  • The reach of iTHIRST across parishes, prisons, and reservations

  • The meaning behind the name iTHIRST and its acronym

  • The launch of Unshackled, a new series on Shalom World TV

  • Insights from her book The Road to Hope, written with Lindsay Schlegel

  • Why family members need as much support as their struggling loved one

  • How trained spiritual companions walk with families through addiction

  • A mother's story of hope while raising a son battling addiction

  • Catholic in Recovery as a faith-centered community and fellowship

  • One resource every Catholic family should know: Catholic in Recovery

  • Book she is currently reading: The Plantagenets by Dan Jones

  • Favorite book: The Seven Storey Mountain and The Long Loneliness

  • Advice to her younger self: be unabashed in following the Holy Spirit

  • Final wisdom for listeners: while there is breath, there is hope

Resources Mentioned:

iTHIRST Initiative – Training and support for the Church's response to addiction, spanning 47 states and 13 nations 

Unshackled – A 12-episode series on addiction and faith streaming on Shalom World TV

Catholic in Recovery – A Catholic fellowship and community for those in recovery 

The Road to Hope: The Church's Response to the Crisis of Addiction – Book on faith and addiction recovery, co-written with Lindsay Schlegel

The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton – A memoir that shaped Keaton's spiritual life

The Long Loneliness by Dorothy Day – A memoir that shaped Keaton's spiritual life

The Plantagenets  by Dan Jones – A history of the medieval English royal dynasty

PS Team
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