Today, I’m joined by Bob Beare, PhD—a beautiful soul who has dedicated his life to helping others heal. He’s the founder of Deep Waters Recovery, a long-time therapist, a best-selling author, and someone who walks the path of recovery with integrity and truth. But more than anything, Bob is a father. And in his words, nothing has healed him more deeply than being a dad.

In our conversation, Bob opens up about his 34-year recovery journey and how shadow work—looking at the parts of ourselves we’ve tried to hide—has become a foundational piece of his healing. We talk about the inner critic, the stories we carry from childhood, and how those unspoken wounds often spill into our parenting, our relationships, and our sense of worth.

Bob shares how addiction—especially food addiction—is quietly taking people out, and how the origins of that pain are rooted in the early messages we absorb. He invites us to pause and ask the deeper question: “How did I get here?” Because awareness is where the shift begins.

There’s such tenderness in the way Bob talks about his daughter. He reflects on the summers they spent together, how their relationship has evolved, and how grief and joy live side by side like the same river. He reminds us that when we don’t make space to grieve, we block ourselves from fully feeling anything at all.

We talk about what it means to parent with love, not strategy. Why our healing is our children’s healing. And why showing up for ourselves is the greatest gift we can give to the people we love.
This episode is a soft place to land. It’s a conversation about real recovery, about rewriting our inner narrative, and about creating safe spaces for our hearts to unfold. Bob reminds us that healing doesn’t come from control—it comes from connection. From heart to heart.

Connect with Bob: bobbeare.com

With love,
Dawn