I’m going where recovery is
The Road Trip
I’m much more interested in what happens when recovery works.
Almost three years ago, I had a vision in my mum’s kitchen. I could see myself travelling across the USA in a van, meeting incredible people in recovery and gathering with them. I could see it snowballing and growing — a wave of positivity moving across the country.
I didn’t know exactly what it meant. I just knew I wanted to follow it.
Then, after spending the last year talking with the Addiction Research Institute in San Diego and thinking deeply about women, addiction and recovery, something clicked.
We’ve become very good at showing the world what addiction looks like.
I think it’s time we showed the world what recovery looks like.
For sixteen years, I’ve watched women come back from addiction and rebuild themselves, their families and their lives. These women are extraordinary.
And I want the world to meet them.
So I’m getting in a van and travelling across the USA to find them.
I want to meet them. Hear their stories. Celebrate them. Laugh with them. Gather with them. And show the world the lives women are living in recovery.
Because when we make recovery visible, we challenge the shame and stigma surrounding addiction. We show those who are still struggling what’s possible. And we show the world that recovery is worth believing in, supporting and investing in.
I’m going where recovery is.
And my dream?
To create a wave of positivity around recovery that gets bigger and bigger as we travel — and to meet so many women that one day, we’re gathering in stadiums.
I am proof of what is possible when recovery happens.
And she’s proof too.
Hi, I’m Lizzie.
I’m a comedian, writer, therapeutic coach, a woman in long-term recovery from addiction, and the founder of She’s Proof.
I started my recovery journey over sixteen years ago, and I’ve had the good fortune of moving through much of it alongside women in recovery from all over the world. I’ve got my own war stories with addiction and mental health crises, but that’s not really the story I want to tell.
Come on the road with me.
My story
I was brought up in England by my emotionally chaotic, gorgeous, divorced, traumatised parents. It was the 80s, and most people were trying to feel okay — usually with booze — in a post-war Britain. We laughed to cope, and by age eight, comedy had become my mission in life.
As a teenager, I started reading spiritual, metaphysical, law-of-attraction books and thought, “Hey, that’s a better way of being successful than slaving away at school.” Alongside this hobby, I was taking my own journey with addiction — light and shadow doing their merry dance.
Back then, my life was an ego-driven cocktail of mystical insight, fear, and self-rejection. I had no idea who I was or how to accept myself. Those ingredients contributed to a severe bout of madness in Thailand in the year 2000 — I was nineteen and completely unprepared for what came next: a life-altering spiritual awakening. But goodness me, try telling a psychiatric doctor that. I felt like a fish in a fishbowl, everyone staring at me. I tried to explain myself, but only bubbles came out.
Shoehorned into the psych ward against my will, I went on to have a vision: a) that I was Jesus reincarnated, and b) that I would save the world with a rap album.
I’m not Jesus reincarnated, and I don’t rap — but it’s on my to-do list.
I got clean and sober in 2010, and to this day, I still actively work a program of recovery to maintain my high-vibrational state — which is important for manifesting the life of your dreams. I have a Comedy Writing and Performance degree from Salford University in the UK, which proves I am funny. I also trained as a therapist, and it changed the way I show up on stage and in all my relationships, especially the one with myself.
I married my two great loves — comedy and healing — and their love child is Hilarapy.
Everything I’ve lived — the chaos, the comedy, the madness, the awakening, the recovery, the spiritual obsession, the law-of-attraction nerdery, the therapy, the humour — has brought me to my purpose: helping people move the fear that blocks their light, and having a really good time doing it.
I live in British Columbia, Canada — and I make it my job to dance with genius.*
*According to the ancient Greeks, genius was a visiting spirit — a mischievous muse that would drop by, stir things up, and vanish once the magic was done.
My Approach
My vision is shaped by my own journey through mental health challenges and recovery, including a formative period of crisis in my early twenties that clarified my calling to help others heal with integrity, courage, and compassion. I created Hilarapy, an approach that integrates humour where appropriate, not as performance or technique, but as a natural expression of presence and connection.
Humour
After navigating addiction, mental health challenges, and psychiatric care, I discovered that humour could unlock healing in ways nothing else could. My work is grounded in extensive training, lived experience, and a strong commitment to spaces that are safe, honest, and human.
connection
I create environments where people feel supported to slow down, tell the truth, and reconnect with themselves and others. I invite authenticity, reduces shame, and supports lasting transformation, allowing lightness to emerge naturally within a grounded, carefully held process.
Bringing she’s proof here
I’m travelling across the USA to meet women in recovery, hear their stories, gather in community and celebrate recovery together.
Got a garden, community space, recovery center, meeting room—or simply an idea?
Tell us where you are and what you have in mind.
She’s Proof is about making women’s recovery visible. If we come to you, we may share the gathering publicly so other women can join, and we’ll capture photos, video, and stories to share through She’s Proof channels. If you’d like us to contact you, please complete the She’s Proof Gatherings form.
Please note:
She’s Proof is a visibility movement. Our gatherings are created to be seen, shared and celebrated. Gatherings may be publicly promoted and documented through photography, video and storytelling. If we arrange a gathering with you, we’ll provide full information and a consent process before the event.