From the best of "The Concierge Coaches Show" : Today our special guest is Dona Speir. While she pursued success as a model, she found herself the victim of predatory grooming (by celebrity Bill Cosby at the age of 16), sexual manipulation and abuse. And though her career moved forward, her emotional life was in disarray. Just 4 months after her 18th birthday, Dona checked into a drug rehab. She’d already been abusing alcohol and pills and had recently begun freebasing cocaine. Despite this early attempt at recovery, her alcohol and drug use would continue, on and off, until she was 23.
Sobriety allowed Dona the strength and support she needed to grapple with the demons that had tormented her since childhood. It also allowed her the stability to continue modeling and to pursue a successful acting career.
Since conquering her own addiction thirty years ago, Dona has dedicated her life to helping others. In 2003, she was selected as ‘Woman of the Year’ by the Yellowstone Foundation, a non-profit Women’s Recovery Group of Homes. And in 2005, she founded Lynn House, one of the first no-charge Recovery/Detox centers for women in California. From 2004 to 2006, Dona served on the Board of the W.I.N. Foundation (Women in Need)—a non-profit recovery, education, and empowerment.
Dona currently has published her book: The Naked Truth:The Rise and Fall of Dona Speir. Currently, Dona is CEO of Recovery Coaching Experts, and works as a Nationally Certified Recovery Coach and Nationally Certified Interventionist. Learn more about Dona here: donaspeir.com.