Uncorking A Story

“My trauma is no longer telling me what to do every day the way that it once was.” Vanessa Carlisle Dr. Vanessa Carlisle (they/them)—author, coach, educator, and longtime advocate for sex-working communities—joins me to explore healing after trauma, the complex overlap between sexuality and addiction recovery, and what it means to rebuild connection with self and others. We also discuss Vanessa’s end-of-life care work as a death doula, the role of grief in recovery, and their new book Awaken Your Sexuality: A Guide to Connection and Intimacy After Addiction and Trauma (co-authored with Dr. Stephanie Covington). Key Takeaways: Recovery & sexuality must talk to each other. Addiction treatment often sidelines sex and intimacy; Vanessa argues healing is stronger when trauma work and sobriety/harm-reduction progress together.   An inclusive roadmap. Awaken Your Sexuality centers women, non-binary, and gender-expansive people—and makes space for those with or without substance/process addictions who sti