A Solo Road Trip Toward Clarity And Courage

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A fresh year deserves more than another slogan. We’re kicking off with new music, a hard-won cancer-free milestone, and a plan that puts clarity in the driver’s seat: a solo road trip designed for thinking time, wide horizons, and the kind of quiet that lets your own voice come through. No reinvention theater, no 10-step blueprints. Just the courage to set a route that matches your energy and the discipline to listen when the road starts telling the truth.

Across the miles, I get honest about why I’m going alone, why I’m going now, and why aging isn’t a cue to shrink. We talk about routines that help until they hem you in, the seductive illusion of control, and how adaptability becomes our most underrated skill as the birthdays stack up. I share the practicals too: daylight driving, AAA at the ready, pacing days for long early stretches and slower landings, and yes, the joy of a pit stop in Uranus for fudge and clean bathrooms. Along the way we unpack how driving loosens the mind, why uninvited ideas show up around hour three, and what it takes to sit with yourself without apologizing for it.

This is the start of a series about aging without shrinking, choosing expansion at any age, and granting yourself permission to want more. If you’ve ever felt the pressure to be smaller, more predictable, or more careful than your spirit can stand, consider this your nudge. I’m turning 65, celebrating 38 years sober, and building days that fit the life I actually want. Come ride along, reflect, and ask yourself what your road could give you if you stopped asking permission.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a brave nudge, and leave a review so more listeners can find these conversations. Want more on sobriety and sustainable change? Search Unbottled by Marcy Backis wherever you get podcasts.