From Pastor to Recovery Mentor: A Journey of Recovery, Identity & Mindfulness

Don Phelps is a Certified Recovery Support Specialist (CRSS), recovery coach, writer, speaker, and person in recovery whose work explores recovery, identity, mindfulness, and the quiet work of learning how to stay present in ordinary life.

Before entering recovery, Don spent ten years in Christian ministry after studying in seminary. His ministry ended when his struggle with alcoholism could no longer be hidden. What followed was a long period of recovery, personal reckoning, and eventually rebuilding a life on different ground.

Along the way, Don experienced a profound spiritual shift and no longer identifies with the Christian tradition that once defined much of his life. Today, his approach is informed by mindfulness, honesty, lived experience, and principles drawn from Buddhist-inspired recovery.

Don works as a Certified Recovery Support Specialist and recovery coach, facilitates Recovery Dharma, and writes and speaks about recovery, identity, mindfulness, spiritual transition, and beginning again. He is the author of the memoir From Pulpit to Presence and the creator of Awakening With Don®, where he shares weekly reflections on what it means to live with greater awareness, honesty, and presence.

“I left the church, lost myself, and finally found the path that set me free.”

Don’s journey to becoming a Certified Recovery Support Specialist was featured by the Illinois Department of Human Services as part of its Voices of Recovery series during Recovery Month.

Across his writing, speaking, and recovery work, Don brings the same approach: honest conversation, practical support, and respect for the different ways people find their way forward.