The Addiction Podcast-Point of No Return

Nicole Woodruff is a Tampa-based occupational therapist and yoga teacher who specializes in treating chronic pain and pelvic floor dysfunction. After losing her sister to an opioid overdose in 2019, Nicole dedicated her life to helping others find alternative ways to manage pain through her holistic occupational therapy practice. Through her memoir, Nicole hopes to raise greater awareness around a...

After losing her husband to accidental overdose, Cheryl shares his journey through active addiction, road to recovery and his final battle lost to overdose. By exposing the horrific realities of the opioid epidemic, her mission is to raise awareness and educate on how the opioid epidemic is not only ripping families apart emotionally but also financially by diminishing careers and draining financi...

Christy is the mother of a 27-year-old 4 year recovering addict – her son.  She and her daughter share their story to give hope, share their experience with addiction and end the stigma associated with addiction.

Ed Ternan is a husband, father and businessman.  In May 2020, he lost his son 22-year-old son Charlie, who was poisoned by a counterfeit prescription pill.  Since that time, Ed and his wife Mary have dedicated themselves to informing young people about the new risks of self-medication and recreational drug use in the age of synthetic drugs like fentanyl. The Ternans have formed a nonprofit charity...

The only child of revolutionary activists and educators; a doting Ethiopian father and a strong-willed African American mother, Fawna Asfaw felt her life shatter when she lost both her parents prematurely to illness. As grief pulled her into a downward spiral of addiction and shame, Fawna had to learn to harness her power and rebuild her life with a new perspective that changed everything. Fawna s...

Christopher Dale is an experienced public relations professional, writer and recovering addict. In addition to being a regular contributor to Addiction Recovery eBulletin, he has been published in a broad array of prominent outlets, including The Daily Beast, Salon, Parents.com, Dogster, New York Daily News and Tribune Syndicate. He writes on a wide range of topics, including addiction, mental hea...

Ray entered Restoration Ministries when it became very clear to him that God called him to be here. After graduating from Harvey House in 1989, he worked an outside job while continuing to live at Harvey House. He eventually became the Harvey House Director. In 1997, when the executive director left for another position, Ray was entrusted as Acting Director for months until the board realized he w...

John Brownlee is a former federal prosecutor whose prosecution and conviction of Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of the widely abused opioid, OxyContin, was portrayed in the hit Hulu series Dopesick, starring Michael Keaton, Rosario Dawson, and Jake McDorman.   He was appointed United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia in 2001 by President George W. Bush and served in that positi...

My name is Tim Lodgen I am 45 years old ! After a 27 year addiction to alcohol and drugs, suffering with bi-polar disorder and surviving multiple suicide attempts I am 1 year 2 months clean and sober ! I share my story of hope and recovery as much as possible to those still suffering in hopes to reach them so they know they are not alone . So that they know we can recover and live the lives we hav...

Gina McDonald grew up in a household with an alcoholic father. While in high school, she experimented with alcohol and marijuana. When she turned 21, she unfortunately followed her father's footsteps and started drinking heavily, eventually becoming addicted. After having her daughter at age 26, Gina started participating in outpatient treatment for her alcoholism. Gina was clean and sober on and...

Danielle "Dani" Schaffer is a lifestyle blogger, podcast host, educator, activist and mom. Cultivator of kindness, weekend warrior and red-carpet wanderer, Schaffer grew up in New York City, earned a master's degree in education, and taught digital media for almost a decade before shifting her focus to her true passions - family, fashion, home decor and travel - by creating the lifestyle brand Cit...

Johnny Stack was born on February 7, 2000 and died by suicide on November 20, 2019 at the age of 19. He was an incredibly intelligent, funny, charming, handsome young man, which you can see in his tribute video. We are a normal suburban family and did normal family things. He had a happy life, a 4.0 GPA with a scholarship to college, and a family who loved him very much. Unfortunately, we live in...

In this podcast episode, we interview the courageous authors of "American Cartel-Inside the Battle to Bring Down the Opioid Industry" - Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz.  Scott and Sari give behind the scenes detail about their definitive investigation and exposé of how some of the nation's largest corporations created and fueled the opioid crisis.   The book is an indictment of the astonishing corpo...

Name is Jonathan I like to go by Jonny. I am a recovering addict of approximately 4 years. I believe the main reason I was able to become successful with my sobriety is accepting I was an addict and I needed 100% change! That included everything around me! Jonny now is co-owners of a boutique hotel in Medellin South America for cycling enthusiasts - https://lavillamedellin.bike

Etel Leit served as a commander in the Israeli Intelligence. She received her BA in languages from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem and her Masters in Leadership and Education from Pepperdine University, Malibu. She is pursuing her Ph. D. in Transformational Psychology. Her transparent therapy style, sincere compassion, direct  and raw talent for inspiring those in need of clarity make Etel Leit...

This podcast episode is an interview with Bobby Newman and the family of a young woman (Lexie) who participated in the intervention.  The family members include her mother - Tammy; her grandmother - Diane; her great grandmother (deceased); and her Uncle Brian.  These family members did what had to be done to save their young Lexie and get her to treatment.  After completing the program at Narconon...

Jeffrey B. Simon is a legal commentator and founding partner of SIMON GREENSTONE PANATIER, PC.  Ranked as one of the Top 10 Personal Injury Attorney's within America and Co-Chair of the National Opioid Litigation Conference, Mr. Simon is focused on bringing crucial legal, consumer protection, and public health issues to the forefront for mainstream audiences.   Jeffrey currently serves as Chair of...

Jay Lind is a 47 year-old addict in recovery. He has lived in and around Chicago for his entire life. He is a father of two, a former high school English teacher, and author of Between the Lines: A Memoir about Addiction, Empathy, and Evolution. For years, Jay Lind lived between the lines of society's moral and legal boundaries. But his smooth, privileged life was interrupted when his dad died and...

Ashleigh Nowakowski was born in 1984 in southeastern Wisconsin. Growing up with a sibling who struggled with substances created a home environment that was less than ideal. Once her brother found recovery, Ashleigh, along with her parents, created Your Choice to Live Inc., a non-profit organization specializing in drug and alcohol prevention education. For more than a decade, Ashleigh has been spe...

In 2009, Liz founded the nonprofit Horses Healing Hearts. Liz personally experienced the struggles of growing up in a turbulent alcoholic home. At the age of 24, Liz lost her mother to liver disease. During the last ten years of her mother's life, it was the support of mentors and horses that gave her the strength and inspiration to survive. Motivated to "pay it forward" Liz created HHH to help th...

I was a police officer for 26 years. Sixteen of those as an undercover narcotic agent rising to the position of Commander. I experienced many traumatic incidents during my career. In 1998, I was diagnosed with an incurable neuro-muscular disease that caused the loss of feeling, mobility, and strength in my hands and feet. After 30 surgeries to stabilize my feet, I developed an addiction to opioids...

Kelli Richardson Lawson is an Emmy Award-winning creative visionary and purpose-driven business leader with over 30 years of global experience in brand-building. She is the founder and CEO of JOY Collective, a Black and woman-owned marketing and creative agency based in Washington, DC. JOY was named the 6th fastest growing agency of 2019 by AdWeek and recently won the 2020 Global SABRE Award for t...

I'm Lea, a speech-language pathologist, mother, wife and teletherapy content developer. After two years of recovery and sobriety, I took the deep dive to write the book I needed to hear while I was neck deep in the darkness and despair of my husband's active addiction. I needed to hear the true story of someone who overcame incredible odds and came out better, stronger, and happier from their stru...

After College, Michael Brown was assigned to the DEA Detroit, Michigan Field Division Office. Director participated in several high-profile narcotics investigations and later volunteered for the first DEA Detroit Field Office Mobile Enforcement Team as the primary undercover agent and liaison officer with local and state law enforcement agencies.   Director Brown (1991-1996) after successfully gra...

Nadia Davis is the recipient of multiple state and national public service awards and has been a public figure in California for over two decades. As a young high-profile lawyer, Nadia served on the school board and represented the wrongfully convicted. She then led local and state efforts to improve collaboration of services for victims of interpersonal violence and was elected as county supervis...