Rise. Recover. Thrive.: How I Got Strong, Got Sober, and Built a Movement of Hope

by Scott Strode

Overview

In his "memoir with a mission," Scott Strode shares his extraordinary journey from addiction to founding The Phoenix, a national sober active community that has empowered more than half a million people to thrive in sobriety.

Scott Strode drank his first beer at 11 years old. By 15, he was using cocaine. By his early 20s, he had spiraled into the bleakest nights of his addiction—alone in a dark alley, too drunk to light a crack pipe.

Then came a series of life-changing outdoor adventures—including competing in Ironman triathlons and climbing in the Himalayas—leading to a decade of profound personal growth. By the summer of 2006, Scott had nearly ten years of sobriety and a vision for revolutionizing addiction recovery.

What inspired his dramatic self-transformation?

It began with a mindset shift. Instead of defining himself first by his addiction, he began embracing his inherent strength and potential.

He also employed practical principles like his 5:00 a.m. rule: instead of staying out partying until 5:00 a.m., he worked to surround himself with people who regularly got up at 5:00 a.m. to share in meaningful adventures, exercise, and get stronger.

These practices and principles formed the heart of The Phoenix's empowerment approach to recovery and led Scott to lasting sobriety, marriage, fatherhood, and a long-term purpose.

More than a memoir, Rise. Recover. Thrive. is a pathway to hope for millions of people—and their loved ones—who are struggling with addiction.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of this book will go to support The Phoenix.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798891381384
Publisher:	Stand Together Press
Publication date:	01/07/2025
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Scott Strode is the founder of The Phoenix, a national sober active community that has reached more than half a million people impacted by addiction, with the goal of reaching ten million people by 2030.

Born in Pennsylvania to an emotionally abusive father who suffered from untreated mental illness and a distant, workaholic mother, Scott turned to alcohol and cocaine early on as an escape from his tumultuous upbringing.

On April 8, 1997, Scott finally made the life-changing decision to get sober. His strength and resolve came in large part from adopting an active lifestyle that would carry him through his recovery. That lifestyle included boxing, cycling, mountain climbing, triathlons, and almost anything that got him outside.

But it was the connections he formed with others as they bonded over new experiences and shared goals that kept him sober. And this gave him a powerful idea.

Since Scott started The Phoenix in Colorado in 2006 as "just a guy with a bike," this innovative network has expanded across America. It offers a safe, sober active community of peers who support and empower each other every day, fostering healing through all kinds of activities, including concerts, hiking, yoga, lunches, book clubs, meditation, and music jam sessions. As Scott puts it, "We believe in each other even before we believe in ourselves."

He lives in Boston with his wife and two children.

Editorial Reviews

2025-02-24
A recovering addict with nearly 30 years of sobriety shares his story of childhood trauma and the philosophy behind “the Phoenix movement.”

One night in 1997, Strode found himself at the end of an “uncontrolled nosedive,” crash-landing on his bathroom floor in the dark, snorting cocaine off a CD case, paranoid that the police were coming for him. He was sure that he was eventually going to die of a cocaine overdose if he didn’t stop using. “Instead of dying,” the author writes, “that’s the day Scott Andrew Strode was born.” Strode writes that he was dealing with unaddressed childhood trauma from living with an unstable father who routinely terrorized his children and threatened suicide if Strode’s mother ever left him. The author describes a typical interaction with his father this way: “I flinched and, looking down, girded myself as always for a possible strike. But his words always hurt far worse. ‘You’re more trouble than you’re worth!’ Sadly, I was beginning to believe him.” His journey to recovery, while discovering a love of mountain climbing and other sports, travels some ground that will be familiar to readers of recovery memoirs. However, it’s a lean, propulsive narrative that also serves as the necessary backdrop for understanding The Phoenix—the nonprofit organization that Strode started in 2007 to help others overcome trauma and addiction in a sober, active community. About the addiction crisis, he writes, “when addiction and overdose deaths reach an all-time high, it may be time to ask: What is it about today’s toxic culture that is causing so many deaths of despair?” The author asserts that those who suffer the most from addiction issues are just “canaries in the coal mine.” He further asks, “What’s out there killing the canaries that will eventually take down the rest of us too?” These are important questions to explore, and Strode’s decision to place them within an absorbing personal narrative makes them all the more engaging and relatable.

A thoughtful memoir of recovery and empowerment.

Kirkus Reviews