Episode #6
ROCK BOTTOM HAS A BASEMENT: JESSIE TYLRE WILLIAMS ON ADDICTION, TRAUMA & SURVIVING HELL
Join W.A.R. Founding Members Rock bottom isn’t always the bottom. Sometimes there’s a basement. On this episode of W.A.R. Network, Stryker sits down with Jessie Tylre Williams for a raw conversation about addiction, childhood trauma, abusive relationships, PTSD, sobriety, survival, and what happens when the substances disappear but the pain is still there. Jessie survived more than 25 years of addiction, childhood sexual abuse, violent relationships, and two brushes with death before rebuilding her life. Now 17 years sober, she has transformed those experiences into purpose. Jessie is the author of Rising Above Hell and has spent years advocating for veterans and first responders living with PTSD across Canada. At 50, she also made another radical decision: starting over and building a new life in Mexico. But this conversation isn’t about creating a perfect recovery story. It’s about what addiction was actually trying to numb. What childhood trauma can carry into adulthood. Why getting sober doesn’t automatically end the war. What happens when survival mode becomes your identity. And how someone rebuilds after believing they’ve gone too far to ever come back. Jessie and Stryker also get personal about PTSD, shame, identity, writing Rising Above Hell, the emotional reality of long-term recovery, and what she would say to the person sitting alone tonight who believes they are beyond saving. No polished recovery clichés. No pretending healing is easy. Just two people talking about what it means to survive hell and still find a reason to keep going. Because rock bottom may have a basement... but it doesn’t have to become your grave. It’s W.A.R. Each One Reach One. We’re All Recovering! Support the show
