The Trouble with 12-Step

The Trouble with 12-Step: Making Room for Healing

by Kim Brassor- One Voice Evolving

There are parts of us that long to rest.


Parts that feel worn thin by cycles we can’t seem to break—habits that soothe in the moment, but slowly pull us away from the life, work, and community we care so deeply about.

Whether it’s substance use, overwork, people-pleasing, perfectionism, or emotional numbing— so many of us are navigating a quiet kind of grief.


Not just over what we do, but over what we haven’t been able to access:


Wholeness.
 Peace.
 Connection.
 Purpose.

In our community at One Voice Evolving, we know that healing is layered. It’s personal and it’s political.

It’s individual and it’s collective.

It’s tender and it’s complex.

Introducing: The Trouble With 12-Step—a new sacred sub-focus within One Voice Evolving. This isn’t a replacement. It’s a reclamation.

It’s for those of us walking the path of justice while still chained to quiet, life-damaging patterns that keep us from showing up fully in the work. Whether it’s addiction, avoidance, rage, self- harm, hustle culture, or saviorism—this is for you.

This space will not ask you to erase your story to fit into an “anonymous” mold. Instead, we will name the story behind the story—the systems, histories, and violences that created the coping. We are evolving not just the language of recovery, but the frameworks themselves. We are recovering community, recovering context, recovering choice, and above all—recovering justice.

Why This Matters

For many, 12-Step programs have offered life-saving support. That deserves deep respect. We honor anyone whose healing has been shaped through that journey.

And... for others—especially those shaped by cultural, historical, or systemic trauma—those same frameworks can feel incomplete. The language of “powerlessness,” “defects of character,” and even “amends” can stir confusion, resistance, or shame—particularly for those whose coping emerged from surviving systems of harm, not just personal decisions. Sometimes, we need more than accountability.


We need understanding.
 We need language that doesn’t erase our context.
 We need healing that honors who we are and where we come from.

For Those Asking:

“Why can’t I show up fully in this movement?”

Maybe it’s not you.
 Maybe it’s the systems living in you.
 Maybe you’ve never been given space to name what you’ve carried, or why you carry it. This offering is for you. Not to confess your survival—but to reclaim it.
 To evolve recovery. To restore your rhythm. You are not a problem to be solved.
 You are a person to be held—in truth, in rage, in grief, in power. We are not anonymous.
 We are not broken.
 We are rising, collectively. One Voice. Evolving. Together.

A Gentle Note for the Journey

This is not about being “right” or finding the perfect model.
 It’s about asking with honesty: What do I need to come home to myself? At One Voice Evolving, we believe healing should never feel like exile.
 You deserve care that sees your full humanity—not just your behavior.
 You deserve language that lifts you up—not labels that weigh you down.
 You deserve to heal in a way that feels like you belong—not that you must become someone else to be loved.

If any part of you has felt unseen in the healing spaces you’ve tried...
 If you’ve wrestled quietly with habits that pull you away from the life you long for...
 If you’ve ever thought, “There must be more to this story...”


This space is for you. Let’s explore that story together—with compassion, curiosity, and care. We’re not here to reject what’s helped.
 We’re here to make room for what’s next. With tenderness and truth,


Kim Brassor

If today’s message stirred something in you—if you’re sitting with questions, grief, or a quiet sense of “there’s more to this”—we invite you to go deeper with us on this week’s One Voice Evolving podcast.

In a rare, vulnerable appearance, our producer Joseph Atalig steps out from behind the scenes to share his personal journey with 12-Step recovery, identity, and the messy middle of healing. Together, we explore what it means to embrace imperfection, honor our stories, and redefine resilience—not as toughness, but as tenderness.

This isn’t a conversation about having the answers. It’s about making space for the real, raw, and redemptive truths that shape us.

Listen now and let this be your reminder: You don’t have to heal alone. You don’t have to be perfect to be worthy. You just have to begin—right where you are.