Laura Cain

I think my most notable achievement is that I went to rehab 19 years ago and was gone off the radio for 3 months. When I came back, I read a letter to our listeners telling everybody where I was, because it was kind of a secret, and that I was an alcoholic and an addict and that I was in recovery. Since then, I have been able to help hundreds of people who have been comfortable enough to reach out to me and ask for guidance, which I still do to this day. People say, Laura, I don't know what to do, and I'm like, come with me to a meeting, here's what we do, let me hold your hand for a little bit and guide you through the process. I think that me being open about my sobriety and my challenges, I think that is my purpose, and that's why I have this platform, is to help other people. I also want to reach another group of women who may be struggling themselves, to reach out to other women who may be having some problems and then see themselves in me.

My mentor Jerry from the Jeff and Jer Show, who I sat next to for 27 years, really shaped me as a talent. When you're in tight quarters for 5 hours a day with five of us, you become very intimate with those people. Jerry would give it to me bluntly, honestly, constructively, and he would also be the first person to give a compliment. He really helped guide me, sometimes painfully, but always with the best of intentions, to make me better. It's always great to hear constructive criticism, because that's how you grow. I'm grateful for that, always.

I would say that coming into the radio TV industry at this time, be patient, be strong, learn to get some thick skin pretty quickly, and have a plan B, because this is a very fickle, fun, exciting, fulfilling job, but also not very stable, to say the least. It's been that way since the beginning. You bop around from station to station. You just really gotta love it. Try it out. Intern. Just ask, how can I be of help? Can I answer your phones? Can I go get you coffee? Get your foot in somehow as an intern, and if you click, and if you love it, you will grow, and you will become somebody who is on the radio.

I share absolutely everything in my life. My life is not necessarily separate when it comes to the news part of my work, but with my podcast and my radio show on 94.1, I share everything. I share my struggles, I share that I struggle with depression and anxiety, and I'm very open about that as well, the kind of medication I take. Sometimes we make it into a joke just to be fun and funny about it, but I also share embarrassing moments, like when I fell in front of 200 people at my daughter's graduation and my dress flew up over my head. I don't know if I have boundaries. I think my life is my show. My show is my life. I believe in being open and honest and raw, because I want other women to see themselves in me and know they're not alone in their struggles.