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We Saved Each Other From Addiction | Sarah Hiscox “I Wouldn’t Be Alive Without You”

7/2/20261 hr 16 min

What if your ‘begin again’ moment comes after you lose everything your marriage, your children, your best friend, and almost yourself? Sarah Hiscox is Davina’s best friend of nearly 40 years, but this is a side of their story that has never been told like this before. In this episode of Begin Again, Sarah Hiscox joins Davina to talk about friendship, addiction, shame, motherhood, recovery, love, and the long road back to herself. Sarah opens up about growing up with low self-worth, an alcoholic mother, and a childhood where difficult feelings were pushed down rather than spoken about. She reflects on the early experiences that shaped her relationship with shame, food, pills, and eventually heroin. Davina and Sarah also revisit the moment their friendship changed both of their lives, from Sarah confronting Davina about her drug use, to Davina later having to draw a painful boundary when Sarah’s own addiction had taken hold. Together, they speak honestly about what it means to love someone through addiction, while also knowing you cannot save them unless they are ready to save themselves. Sarah shares the devastating reality of losing her marriage, her children, and almost her life to heroin addiction, as well as the moment she finally found a way to begin again. She talks about getting clean, rebuilding trust with her children, finding her way back to her husband Renshaw, and learning how to become the mother she had always wanted to be. This is also a conversation about creativity, self-belief, and finally finding your voice. Sarah discusses writing her debut novel, The Beginning and the End of Everything, and why becoming an author has been one of the most meaningful chapters of her life. At its heart, this is a story about love in all its forms: friendship, marriage, motherhood, forgiveness, and chosen family. Sarah Hiscox reminds us that even after shame, addiction and loss, it is possible to come home to yourself, and to the people who never stopped loving you. This episode contains conversations about addiction, eating disorders, overdose and recovery, please watch with care. 🌟 Like, comment, and subscribe for more honest conversations about identity, growth, and beginning again. Tap the bell to stay connected with new episodes of Begin Again. Follow us here: 📸 www.instagram.com/beginagain 🎥 https://www.tiktok.com/@beginagainpod ✨Follow Sarah Hiscox: https://www.instagram.com/popular/sarah-hiscox/ ✨Buy Sarah’s book, The Beginning and the End of Everything: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beginning-End-Everything-foreword-Davina/dp/0715656767 ✨Sign up for the Begin Again newsletter for all your behind the scenes access, recommendations and much much more at: https://linkly.link/2g2xm

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Clips

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds
  1. Davina McCall· Host0:00

    People are gonna think that I'm this terrible person because I chose heroin over my children.

  2. Sarah Hiscocks· Guest0:04

    I'm gonna cry already, and it's usually you that's crying. Oh, God.

  3. Davina McCall· Host0:07

    Sarah Hiscocks, you are my best friend.

  4. Sarah Hiscocks· Guest0:09

    I don't know if I'd be alive without you.

  5. Davina McCall· Host0:11

    I remember meeting you, and it was love at first sight.

  6. Sarah Hiscocks· Guest0:14

    You were taking heroin, and I thought I was gonna lose you.

  7. Davina McCall· Host0:17

    Will you just tell the story?

  8. Sarah Hiscocks· Guest0:18

    Where my begin again happened with you.

  9. Davina McCall· Host0:20

    Oh, my darling. There was a big void in me. I must have been 13, and I found some pills in the bathroom cabinet, and they were very, very strong opioid. And so I definitely remember being addicted to those.

  10. Sarah Hiscocks· Guest0:38

    I don't know if I'd be alive without you.

  11. Davina McCall· Host0:40

    And so I was really worried when you went, "I tried heroin for the first time. No, no, no, I'm not gonna do it again."

  12. Sarah Hiscocks· Guest0:45

    And that's how it was.

  13. Davina McCall· Host0:47

    God.

  14. Sarah Hiscocks· Guest0:47

    Until it wasn't.

  15. Davina McCall· Host0:49

    In the end, my husband divorced me and took custody of the children. People lose their families all the time, but there is something about a mother losing her own children.

  16. Sarah Hiscocks· Guest1:01

    I thought, I've got to try and start pulling a life back together. I'm gonna read you something.

  17. Davina McCall· Host1:07

    Oh, God.

  18. Sarah Hiscocks· Guest1:08

    Mum.

  19. Davina McCall· Host1:09

    Oh, God. Oh, God.

  20. Sarah Hiscocks· Guest1:13

    Well, this is weird.

  21. Davina McCall· Host1:17

    Very weird.

  22. Sarah Hiscocks· Guest1:18

    Yeah, yeah. Um, this is Sarah Hiscocks, and she is my best friend. And very importantly, you helped me begin again.

  23. Davina McCall· Host1:29

    Yeah.

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