This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Spending time outdoors, then let's talk about skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancers, or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the U.S. and can become harder to treat if left undetected.
That's why sun protection and timely detection matter. Our sponsor, Regeneron, is raising awareness about advanced NMSCs. Learn more and take the pledge to see a dermatologist annually at let's get real about skincancer.com. Hi, I'm Steph, and I work at United Healthcare. When I think about United Healthcare's members, I think of my own family.
My niece was diagnosed with an ultra-rare genetic disorder. I know how hard it is for our families at United Healthcare. We can make it easier. I'm Brian. I care because I know what it's like to not speak the language.
It's not easy. Health insurance is complicated. I would say our job is to make everything easy for our UXC members. I work for United Healthcare. I'm committed to K.
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Every woman should have access to affordable prescription medication and personalized care that understands the whole woman. Join me, Dr. Doug Lucas, clinical lead of hormone optimization and longevity at LifeMD, along with other leading experts on the podcast. Here's something good on women's health and longevity. To learn more, go to lifeemd.com slash iHeart.
This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people. In addition to leading her church's ministry, Rose Ann Forte was a prosperous executive. She had four kids. She was a wife. but she harbored a secret that threatened to unravel everything.
Here's Roseanne to tell her story. I grew up in New Hampshire and near that small piece of coastline that New Hampshire has, so kind of a small-time girl.
Okay. My parents were hairstylists and um You know, I was always near the shop helping them with their business and. You know, kind of staying out of trouble for the most part until I got to age 13. And And then my parents started working and worked at home a lot. I wanted to make friends.
We had just moved to a different part of the state called Hampton, Hampton Beach. And I want it to be a cool kid. And I I ended up being a cool kid by trying alcohol and smoking cigarettes when I was 13 years old. I fell victim to for lack of a better word, the lies of this world. I wanted to fit in.
I was what's called a lucky kid, so my parents were at work. I was unattended to. And I tried alcohol and cigarettes with my friends. And over time You know, back then, even cigarettes were cool. It was the Marblow Man and Virginia Slim's Women, and your doctor recommends Camel Light.
So. I definitely, like every other teen, wanted to be a cool kid. And so I participated. I think it was just, there was just this natural thing. where I was the new kid in town.
And the group of kids that was my age are like, come on, let's go have some beer, or come on, let's go have a cigarette. For me, I felt like it was the thing I had to do in order to make friends. And I remember, you know, with the alcohol, I got really, really ill. And with the cigarettes, I was coughing and choking on them. You're sitting here doing these very unnatural things to your body.
Just to fit in. It's kind of a strange thing, right? I can't explain why, but that desire, that teenage timeframe where it's so important to find your crowd, your Connection with other people, you will do what you need to do. And maybe it's this thought that this is how I need to survive. is to participate.
And so I fell into that trap. You know, that goes on to college and the partying and animal house and. you know, it just continues into that's how you have fun in the business world and you go out and you have cocktails at lunch. It was just, I don't know, my life just seemed very Alcohol and party centric. Because I participated at such a young age, this just progressed into my college years.
Quite frankly, I don't think I remember knowing any human being that didn't drink when I think. college.
So it was just that's what you did to have fun. And at that point in my life, I don't think I had a lot of stress or, you know, other than the typical do a good job at school. And once I graduated from college, I went into the business world. First I was a CPA, then I went into mortgage banking. Which is also a big Or used to be a very big Alcohol-centric industry where we go to happy hours or business lunches, business dinners, and there's always a nice bottle of wine or maybe a martini at lunch.
It was just a normal thing. I ended up Meeting my husband in a bar because that's where I went to socialize. And we got married and our life was Very much focused on parties and drinking.
So that just progressed. It's really hard. to figure out when you cross what I call the invisible line. When I was younger and I went to the doctors and they asked you, how much do you drink? I think I remember, let's call it mid-20s.
I'm like, eh, maybe 10 or 12 a week. And the doctor went, Thank you. And I went, what? And she's like, that's a lot. And I didn't think so because I'd be out socializing four times a week and, you know, maybe four drinks.
And that seemed normal in my world. And so from that point on, I never. shared with my doctor again the truth about how much I drank. Um But there's always this thought like, yeah, those alcoholics are, you know, you're not going to be one of those way down the road. Because I have control.
And then, if you ask me when I cross this invisible line, I can. I cannot share with you when that was. And based on my experience as a coach, I don't think many people know. They just know that one day they can control it. And then the next day, something happens that they've suffered a consequence from their excessive drinking, and when they start to control it, They can't anymore.
And that's the dangerous thing about Ediction.
Somebody doesn't tell you, hey, the line is right before you. You should just cross over it without knowing. And you've been listening to Rose Ann Forte share her story. And if you're nodding up and down, this may be yours or somebody you know, certainly somebody you know, and maybe you. And it's so true.
It's hard to know when you've crossed that invisible line. One day you can control it. And one day you can't. When we come back, more of Roseanne Forte's story. Here.
on our American stories. Lee Habib here again. Our American Stories tries to tell the stories of America's past and present to Americans. And we want to hear your stories too. They're some of our favorites.
Send them to us. Go to ouramericanstories.com and click the Your Stories tab. Again, please go to ouramericanstories.com. and click. the Your Stories tab.
Spending time outdoors, then let's talk about skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancers, or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the U.S. and can become harder to treat if left undetected. That's why sun protection and timely detection matter. Our sponsor, Regeneron, is raising awareness about advanced NMSCs.
Learn more and take the pledge to see a dermatologist annually at let's get real about skincancer.com. This is a message from Michelin. Of course, you're expecting to hear sounds like. Or even But not this time. What you will hear is...
Right? Because at Michelin, we innovate on the road and beyond by creating airless tires to equip robots in their exploration of new planets. And this robot is rolling in negative 88 degrees Fahrenheit. I am Steph, and I work at United Healthcare. When I think about United Healthcare's members, I think of my own family.
My niece was diagnosed with an ultra-rare genetic disorder. I know how hard it is for our families at United Healthcare. We can make it easier. I'm Brian. I care because I know what it's like to not speak the language.
It's not easy. Health insurance is complicated. I would say our job is to make everything easy for our UXC members. I work for United Healthcare. I'm committed to CAP.
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And we continue with our American stories and Roseanne Forte's story. Let's pick up. where we last left off. I had. Known I needed to do something for many, many years.
I was trying, and I think, like, most people. Only after five, only on the weekends, only on special occasions, only with friends. Only on holidays.
Okay. And that's how A Negotiating starts. But then There are events. That occurs in your life where you go, well, that's enough. I really got to take this seriously.
And I had plenty of those too. But the event that really was a turning point for me was after years of. making all these negotiations. Um severing the consequences of my excessive alcohol use in terms of health. Mental health.
Productivity Okay. Yeah. As millies travel this holiday weekend, tonight COVID and flu are also on the move. When my defining moment was when COVID hit. And I was watching television and saw Italy throwing those bodies in the back of a truck, and it was heading towards the United States.
And because I was I had already quit smoking for 15 years at this point, but my lungs were not the best. And excessive alcohol decreases lung function and immune system. And I'm like, I don't have a chance. And You know, in a hospital on a ventilator without your family, that was enough for me to just go, okay. I gotta get serious.
This was my defining moment.
Okay, hi everyone. My name is Roseanne and I'm an alcoholic. My knowledge of what was available to me at that time were a variety of 12-step programs, and I Found those difficult for me because of the labeling. I really had a hard time saying I'm an alcoholic.
Now, I'm not denying I didn't have, I had a serious alcohol problem, right? But it was the labeling that really bothered me. Labeling is It's not a good thing in any sense, in any sense of any world, because once you put a label on someone, you know, you're depressed, you're an alcoholic, you're this, the curiosity about the person stops because the label seems to explain everything. Uh Uh There was a book I read, and it was like, you know, it's like that child who sees a bird for the first time, and they are in awe. Um The feathers and the colors and the beak and every part of this bird.
And mom says, bird. Right? And then the very next time that child sees a bird, They don't they're not looking. or the qualities of the bird anymore. They just convert.
And I think that's a perfect example of labeling. I just tell people today. that I don't drink. And if they ask if I had a problem, I surely did. Why don't you drink anymore?
Because life is so much better. And it's the same thing I say about smoking. I used to smoke cigarettes. As a matter of fact, cigarette smoking was a bigger problem for me. I used to A cigarette when I woke up in the morning and smoke a cigarette.
When I went to bed at night, I needed pharmaceuticals to help me quit. But it wasn't a cigarette aholic, it wasn't a smokeaholic, and I'm not in recovery for the rest of my life. I just don't smoke. because it was killing me. And their mantra is to look for a higher power.
And I was a Christian, so I already had my higher power.
So I ended up looking for something different, and I found a coaching program that said, hey, Just put this aside for 90 days and see what's possible. And when you're addicted to a substance, the thought of forever is. really overwhelming. And I don't know if I would have been successful if they said forever, but they're like, just challenge yourself 90 days. And I'm like, you know, this is kicking my butt.
I need to do something about this.
So I'm gonna do it. And with that kind of mindset, like just 90 days. It wasn't that hard. I mean, you have moments, but it wasn't excruciating. Because I thought, well, I'll be healthy and I can choose alcohol again after.
I just need to see what this is like. And then what happened is I was completely transformed. And I went from low self-esteem to self-confidence. I went from needing medication for blood pressure to not needing medication. I lost 20 pounds.
I was happier. I had found peace and joy in my life again. The concept behind this program was Nike and Choose.
Now you know. This is what life is like with. This is what life is Without And I just felt such a personal transformation. that I didn't want to go back. And I became, you know, the person who.
Coached me. I just said, this is kind of magic, and I'd love to work with you.
So I ended up being a coach and. Learning how to help other people change their relationship with alcohol. Mm. Dear friends. My faith and my higher power is in the triune Christian God.
The National Institutes of Health, there's a division that did a study that said you are 84% more likely to recover from addiction. If God is involved in the process. How to just forgive ourselves and move on. And understand that art Behavior hopefully is changed enough that people will trust us again and we can form new relationships again. But understanding consequences of behavior is a part of Wisdom and growing.
I think all of that can be used to help others. as they walk through difficult paths as well. The unforgivable. What we're talking about is knowing there's a better plan. And knowing that somebody is empowering you to create it, and knowing you are born with something unique.
And a gift. And I feel like my relationship through Jesus empowers me to just be fearless in what I do versus. I was in a house with the blinds closed by myself drinking, and my world was getting smaller and smaller. And removing that substance did for me has just made me fearless. And uh I don't think that's only for me.
That is not only for me. That is for everyone. There's a promise for everyone that you can make a difference in the lives of people around you. And a terrific job on the production and storytelling by Rush Jones and Oscar Corell. And a special thanks to Roseanne Forte for sharing her story: The Plans He Has For Me: The 12-week Daily Devotional for Freedom from Alcohol.
That's her book. Go to Amazon or the usual suspects and pick it up. I am not in recovery the rest of my life, she said. She just didn't want to be labeled an alcoholic. And that story she told about the bird, it's just so true what happens when we just label something.
We become it, and it becomes the label. According to the NIH, 84% of all of us are more likely to recover from any addiction. If God is involved in the process, we love to share these stories. I know you love to hear them. Roseanne Forte's story of love and a life of meaning and purpose.
conquering alcohol. Here on Our American Stories. Yeah. Spending time outdoors, then let's talk about skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancers, or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the U.S.
and can become harder to treat if left undetected. That's why sun protection and timely detection matter. Our sponsor, Regeneron, is raising awareness about advanced NMSCs. Learn more and take the pledge to see a dermatologist annually at let's get real about skincancer.com. If you're a QuickBooks customer looking to grow your business without the growing pains, you need the Intuit ERP.
Upgrade to Intuit Enterprise Suite in a matter of hours. It's the AI native ERP from the makers of QuickBooks. Learn more at intuit.com slash ERP. I'm U. S.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. We all seem to be in a rush these days. from work to driving our kids around. But when you're behind the wheel, please. Do not speed.
A few minutes save by going faster. is never worth a risk.
So follow the speed limit. Enjoy the drive. Maybe bring some snacks for the kids. and know that along the way, You're getting quality time. with your family.
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