I Stayed Sober Through Hell. Here's What I'm Building Now.
A community for people struggling with alcohol addiction
A note before we start:
I’m still writing here on Kill the Silence. Workplace abuse, manipulation patterns, narcissism, trauma survival—all the content you’re used to. That’s not changing.
But I’m launching something separate that I’ve wanted to build for years: Sober Intelligence—a community specifically for people struggling with alcohol addiction who are trying to quit or stay quit.
If that’s you, or someone you know, keep reading. This might change everything.
If you’re here for the manipulation patterns and corporate abuse content, I’ll see you in the next post. But I’m really fucking excited about this, so I wanted to share it with all of you.
Here’s why I’m building it.
75% of people relapse within 90 days of getting sober.
I stayed sober through my therapist extorting me for $126,000, my best friend dying from addiction, my mother having me arrested, and my entire family abandoning me.
Never touched alcohol. Not once.
I had no support systems. No family backing me. No AA meetings. Just me, trying to survive while everything burned down around me.
And I figured out how to do it.
This is what I learned about staying sober when everything goes to hell. And why I’m launching Sober Intelligence today.
October 2023: My Best Friend Died
Rob. The one person who believed in me unconditionally. He also struggled with addiction.
Here’s the worst part: I couldn’t talk to him before he died.
Why? My therapist of five years had forced me to block him months earlier. “Cut off contact,” she said. “He’s not good for you.” She said he was pulling me back towards my addiction. I trusted her. Because that’s what you do with your therapist. You trust them.
I have Rob tattooed on my arm. And I didn’t get to say goodbye because someone who was supposed to help me decided to isolate me instead.
I didn’t drink.
“If someone is controlling who you can talk to, they’re not protecting you. They’re positioning you. Pattern recognition saves lives.”
What I learned: Isolation is the primary weapon of manipulation. If someone in your life is systematically cutting you off from your support system—friends, family, people you trust—they’re not keeping you safe. They’re making you dependent. That’s Pattern Recognition 101, and it’s the first thing I teach in Advanced Pattern Recognition.
If you’re dealing with someone controlling your relationships right now, you need to see this pattern before it destroys you.
October 2023 - August 2024: My Therapist Extorted Me for $126,000
That same therapist who made me block Rob? She spent the next year bleeding my bank account dry while manipulating me with manufactured crises.
Started in April 2023 when I got fired from Fidelity Investments. Wrongful termination. I was managing $500 million and they kicked me out with vague “concerns around performance and compliance.” I knew I’d fight it. FINRA arbitration. But I was devastated.
My therapist saw the vulnerability and weaponized it.
She transitioned our “professional relationship” into a secret personal one. Then she started controlling everything. Who I could talk to. Who I could date. What I could post on social media. Made me delete dating apps, block ex-partners, deactivate all social media.
While bleeding me for thousands of dollars under contracts signed while she had me drugged on benzos.
She created fake threats. Told me my girlfriend was stalking her. Making sex tapes. Posting pictures of her child online. All documented lies. But she knew exactly which buttons to push because I’d spent five years telling her my deepest fears in therapy.
Every time I questioned her: “If you don’t comply, I’ll ruin your FINRA arbitration. You owe me this after everything I’ve done for you.”
I didn’t drink.
“My therapist used everything I told her over 5 years to manipulate me. She knew my triggers. My fears. My shame. And she weaponized all of it.”
What I learned: Manipulation works through manufactured crises. Fake threats. Constant fear that keeps you in fight-or-flight so you can’t think clearly. The antidote is documentation. I have every text, every email, every contract. That’s how you win. I’m suing her now. Active lawsuit. LARA complaint filed. Private investigator hired. Because I documented everything.
If you’re in early sobriety and someone is creating constant chaos in your life, document everything. Patterns become visible when you have evidence.
December 2024: My Mother Had Me Arrested
I’m 33 years old. My mother kicked me out of the house because my girlfriend was sleeping over. Said it was fine. Then it wasn’t. Then it was against her morals. I asked for clarification. She wouldn’t answer.
She gave me the silent treatment for six to seven months. Every time I tried to reconcile—explain I was under insane stress, that I needed support, that I wasn’t stable yet—she walked out of the room.
My mother is a violent abuser. She hit my dad so many times he has cauliflower ear. And when I needed her most, she made everything about her. Like she’s always done.
I got angry. Really angry. I sent mean messages. I left two voicemails.
She went to the police. Now I’m on probation.
My entire family abandoned me. Everyone.
I didn’t drink.
“You can be completely right and still end up on probation. Sobriety isn’t about being perfect. It’s about not drinking while your life falls apart.”
What I learned: Sometimes you do everything right and you still lose. You still end up arrested. You still lose your family. Sobriety isn’t about having a perfect life or being vindicated. It’s about not drinking anyway. That’s the whole game.
If your family abandoned you in recovery, you’re not alone. And you can stay sober without their support. I’m proof.
August 9, 2024: I Won
FINRA arbitration against Fidelity. Complete victory. Every false mark expunged from my record.
That morning, I woke up sober. Clear-headed. Ready to fight.
If I’d been drinking through any of this—the therapist exploitation, Rob’s death, the family abandonment, the arrest—I would’ve lost everything. The arbitration. The lawsuit against my therapist. My career. My chance to rebuild.
Sobriety gave me the clarity to win when it mattered most.
I’m a Regional VP now. Making more money than I ever did drinking. Managing teams. Closing deals. Building systems.
While on probation. While suing my therapist. While estranged from my entire family.
That’s not powerlessness. That’s tactical intelligence.
Why I’m Building Sober Intelligence
I’ve wanted to do this for years.
I remained sober through hell on earth with zero support systems. No family. No friends (my therapist made me block them all). No AA meetings. No sponsor. Just me, figuring out how to not drink while everything imploded.
And I realized: most sobriety programs don’t prepare you for this.
They teach you how to stay sober when life is calm. When you have a support system. When things are manageable.
AA will tell you to go to meetings, admit you’re powerless, surrender to a higher power, and pray things get better.
That’s fine if you want that. It works for some people.
But what happens when your therapist blackmails you? When your best friend dies? When your family abandons you? When you’re managing probation and an active lawsuit and trying not to lose your mind?
What happens when you have no support systems at all?
You need tactical intelligence. Not therapy-speak. Not church basements. Not surrender.
You need systems that work when everything is on fire.
That’s what Sober Intelligence is. And I’m building it for people who are where I was—alone, going through hell, with every excuse to drink and no one to help them stay sober.
“Most programs teach you to stay sober when life is calm. I’m teaching you to stay sober when everything goes to hell.”
Here’s What You Get
THE FIRST 30 DAYS COURSE (FREE)
Join the free community right now and here’s what’s available:
Module 1: Days 1-7 - “The Detox Hell” (AVAILABLE NOW)
What actually happens physically (no sugarcoating)
Hour-by-hour survival tactics for Days 1-3
The 3am cravings nobody warns you about
Emergency protocols when you’re about to break
Daily breakdown: one page per day with specific actions from my experience
Modules 2-4 (DROPPING WEEKLY):
Module 2: Days 8-14 - “The Boredom Void” (next week)
Module 3: Days 15-21 - “The Social Minefield” (week after)
Module 4: Days 22-30 - “Building Momentum” (week after that)
You’re getting this as I build it. Module 1 is ready now. The rest drop weekly. By the time you hit Day 8, Module 2 will be there.
This is raw. Brutal. Honest. Not some sanitized recovery manual. This is what I used when I got sober September 17, 2019 with zero support systems.
50% of people relapse within the first 30 days. This course gets you through that window.
THE INNER CIRCLE (PAID COMMUNITY - $37/MONTH OR $333/YEAR)
Here’s the reality: 75% of people relapse within 90 days.
Getting sober once isn’t the hard part. Staying sober when months 2-6 hit and real life starts again—that’s the game.
Free gets you through the first 30 days. Paid keeps you sober when it gets hard again.
What paid members get:
Live weekly Q&A calls with me (Sundays 11am PT starting December 13th - ask me anything directly)
Complete advanced course library (being built now, you get everything as it drops):
Days 31-90: Building New Identity
ADHD + High-Performance Sobriety
Advanced Pattern Recognition (exploitation tactics from my case)
California Sober Philosophy (controversial harm reduction takes)
Career Advancement Sober (how I became Regional VP while sober)
Financial Recovery Blueprint (rebuilding wealth after addiction)
Relationship Dynamics Sober (dating, family, boundaries)
Premium-only community channels (serious members, advanced discussions)
Priority responses from me (within 48 hours)
Locked pricing forever ($37/month or $333/year - if you join now, that rate never changes)
Paid tier is insurance against relapse when life gets hard again.
Because it will get hard. And you’ll need people who understand what survival actually looks like.
First Live Q&A: December 13th, 11am PT
First paid call. We’re building this together.
No scripts. No prepared answers. Just me and whoever shows up, figuring out how to stay sober when everything goes to hell.
If you join paid before December 13th, you’re a founding member:
Locked pricing forever ($37/month or $333/year)
First access to everything
You’re building this with me from Day 1
This Isn’t AA
No church basements. No sharing circles. No “you’re powerless” narrative. No sponsors calling you at 3am. No surrender to a higher power if that’s not your thing.
Just tactical intelligence from someone who stayed sober through therapist exploitation, family abandonment, wrongful termination, a best friend dying, getting arrested, and active legal warfare.
Without a single fucking meeting.
“AA will tell you you’re powerless. I stayed sober through $126K extortion. That’s not powerless. That’s tactical intelligence.”
If you want gentle support and people telling you you’re doing great, this isn’t for you.
If you need AA language and surrender, go to AA. They’re free and they work for some people.
But if you want systems that work when your life is actively imploding...
If you’re done with therapy-speak and want pattern recognition instead...
If you need proof that you can rebuild everything while sober, even with zero support...
Join Sober Intelligence.
Join Now
Free community:
Module 1 available immediately
Modules 2-4 drop weekly
Community access
Daily accountability
Paid Inner Circle ($37/month or $333/year):
Everything in free
Live weekly calls starting December 13th
Advanced courses as they drop
Premium community/support
Locked pricing forever
The community launches today. Join free right now.
Upgrade to paid anytime.
This is something I’ve wanted to build for years. I’m really fucking excited about it.
Let’s build something that actually works.
—Cody Taymore
Kill The Silence
P.S. I stayed sober through impossible circumstances with no support systems. You can too. Even when everything is falling apart. Especially then. Join today. See you in the community.