Episode #704 Healing Addiction at the Root — Pax Prentiss
“Sobriety is what gives you the freedom to do whatever you want with your life.”
— Pax Prentiss, Co-Founder & CEO, Passages Addiction Treatment Centers
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Pax Prentiss shares a powerful story of recovery, purpose, and helping others reclaim their lives.
Episode Summary
In this episode of The Audacious Living Podcast, Audley sits down with Pax Prentiss, Co-Founder and CEO of Passages Addiction Treatment Centers, for a deeply honest conversation about addiction, healing, identity, and purpose.
Pax opens up about his own 10-year addiction to heroin, cocaine, and alcohol, and how his recovery eventually led him and his father, Chris Prentiss, to launch Passages Malibu in 2001. Their approach focuses on treating the whole person — body, mind, and spirit — instead of simply labeling the addiction as the problem.
What makes this conversation stand out is Pax’s belief that addiction is often a symptom of something deeper: trauma, anxiety, depression, low self-worth, or unresolved pain. And listen, when someone says the addiction is not the whole story, that is when the conversation starts getting real.
Audley and Pax explore the danger of labels, the importance of trust in healing, why sobriety is only the doorway, and how purpose can become a powerful force in rebuilding a life.
Top 4 Key Takeaways
1. Addiction is often a symptom, not the root problem. Pax explains that substance use is often connected to deeper unresolved issues such as trauma, anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem.
2. Labels can limit healing - Pax challenges the idea that someone must carry the identity of “addict” forever, arguing that people should not be defined by what they are working to overcome.
3. Trust is essential in recovery. Real healing often requires honest one-on-one support where people feel safe enough to talk about the things they may have never shared before.
4. Sobriety is not the finish line — it is the access point - The larger goal is not just stopping the behaviour. It is building a full, healthy, meaningful life on the other side.
Meet Our Guest
Pax Prentiss is the Co-Founder and CEO of Passages Addiction Treatment Centers, including Passages Malibu and Passages Ventura. Alongside his father, Chris Prentiss, Pax opened Passages Malibu in 2001 after overcoming his own 10-year addiction to heroin, cocaine, and alcohol.
Passages Malibu is known for its holistic, non-12-step, one-on-one treatment model, with a focus on healing the underlying causes of addiction rather than only addressing the substance use itself.
Guest Resources
Pax and Chris Prentiss co-authored The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure, a book connected to the holistic recovery philosophy behind Passages.
Learn more about Pax and Passages Malibu at:passagesmalibu.com
Continue Your Audacious Journey
Why Your Struggle May Become Your Strongest Story
A reflection on how painful chapters can become the foundation for purpose, service, and personal transformation.
Personal Insights from Audley
What stood out to me in this conversation was Pax’s belief that people are more than the thing they are trying to overcome. That hits differently because too often we let labels become life sentences — and nobody needs that kind of branding package.
This conversation reminded me that healing is not just about stopping something harmful. It is about rediscovering who you were always capable of becoming..
Best Point of Contact:
Listeners can learn more about Pax Prentiss and Passages Malibu by visiting:passagesmalibu.com
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