Family Recovery — Healing the Whole System artwork
Veterans 4 Recovery

Family Recovery — Healing the Whole System

  • S4E31
  • 33:15
  • May 11th 2026

John Donovan (retired U.S. Army Major) sits down with Pam Lanhart, Founder & Executive Director of Thrive Family Recovery Resources to shift the focus from the individual struggling with substance use to the family members standing beside them.

Pam shares her profound personal journey as a daughter, sister, mother, and aunt to those who have navigated addiction. As the founder of the only certified, family-centered recovery community organization in Minnesota, she provides a roadmap for healing generational trauma. Together, John and Pam discuss how families can move from a place of crisis to a "legacy of recovery," emphasizing that when one person heals, the entire system begins to change.

If you found value in this episode please leave a review, share and subscribe.

Veterans 4 Recovery

All Things Recovery! Join your host, Maj. (Retired) John Donovan, a noted author, lecturer and person in long-term recovery from substance use disorder, as he and his guests will breakdown current trending topics and research along with all things related to increasing recovery resilience and capital within our Veteran and service-member communities.

John Donovan avatar
John Donovan
Host

Major John Donovan is the co-founder of the Recovery Community Network (RCN) in St. Cloud, Minnesota, an organization devoted to serving and advocating for the recovery community of Central Minnesota. John is a person in long-term recovery with over 45 years of recovery. He is a highly decorated 27-year veteran of the Armed Forces and has deployed three times in the service of our nation since 9-11. He holds an associate’s and bachelor’s degree from St. Cloud State University and a master’s degree from Boston University. John serves on several recovery related boards and he is an active and energetic advocate for recovery. He is a popular speaker and workshop facilitator and he contributes monthly to a recovery blog. John’s book, “A Soldier’s Recovery Journey”, was published in April of 2021 and he was a contributing author to Hazelden's veterans' daily meditation book entitled "Leave No One Behind."