Pretty Wrecked: Tracy Viola on Addiction, Recovery and Growing Up in the '80s

Pretty Wrecked: Tracy Viola on Addiction, Recovery and Growing Up in the '80s

Author: Steve Spears July 7, 2026 Duration: 1:07:27
This week on Stuck in the '80s, Steve Spears talks with author Tracy Viola about her unforgettable memoir "Pretty Wrecked: Confessions of a Teenage Addict and Her Road to Recovery." It's an honest, funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful conversation about growing up in the 1980s, surviving addiction, and discovering that your past doesn't have to define your future.

Host Steve Spears invites you to dust off your mixtapes and rewind the VHS tapes for Stuck in the '80s Podcast. This isn't just a surface-level glance at neon and hairspray; it's a deep, affectionate dive into the movies, television, music, and pop culture moments that defined an entire generation. Each episode feels like a conversation with friends, unpacking why these artifacts from the decade still resonate so powerfully today. You'll find yourself nodding along, laughing, and maybe even cringing a little as specific memories are triggered-the synth line of a forgotten new wave hit, the quotable dialogue from a cult classic film, or the bizarre fashion trend everyone somehow agreed was cool. The podcast thrives on that specific, MTV-fueled nostalgia, examining not just what we loved, but why it all mattered. It’s less about cold analysis and more about shared experience, capturing the humor, heart, and sheer fun of the era. So whether you lived through it or just appreciate its enduring influence, this show offers a consistently engaging and warmly nostalgic listen. Steve’s guided tours through this defining period are both a celebration and a heartfelt reminiscence, proving that some cultural moments are simply too rad to stay in the past.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Stuck in the '80s Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Author Mike Spring on the Best Cult Movies of the ’80s [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:00
Are you still addicted to the cult movie classics of the '80s. Author Mike Spring wrote a whole book about them called "I Want My Two Dollars: A Guide to 20 Cult Classics of the 1980s." He's our guest this week. Plus "St…
Author Steven Manchester on Growing Up and Graduating in the ’80s [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:47
Do you remember your high school graduation in the '80s? Author Steven Manchester does. His new book "Yo-Yo's and Yearbooks: Crushing the '80s" is a tribute to those days and the final book - maybe - in his '80s trilogy.…