Breakfast of Choices

Send us Fan Mail “You’re so lucky you were adopted.” Most people mean it as kindness, but for many adoptees it lands like a shut door. We’re joined by Julie Brumley, a trauma-informed adoptee coach, CEO of Coming Home to Self, and host of The Resilience Project podcast, to talk about the part of adoption that often stays invisible: primal wound, relinquishment trauma, and the lifelong search for s...

Send us Fan Mail Rock bottom is not always loud at first. Sometimes it starts as a child who feels everything deeply, a teen who can’t shut off anxiety, and an adult who finds one perfect switch that makes the whole body relax for the first time. My guest, Charles Gossett, walks us through a 20-year sobriety story that includes a loving upbringing in Oklahoma City, perfectionism, panic, depression...

Send us Fan Mail She was sent to treatment as a kid, learned to survive by going numb, and spent years chasing relief through alcohol, chaos, and relationships that looked like love but felt like control. Freeda Rae Armstrong joins us to tell the full truth of her story, from childhood domestic violence and collective trauma to early rehab, not feeling loved, motherhood, and the kind of grief that...

Send us Fan Mail A “good childhood” doesn’t make you immune to addiction, and Brittany Scholen’s story proves how fast life can flip when opioids and meth get involved. We talk with Brittany, now working in the recovery industry at Unity Recovery Centers, about the moment OxyContin stopped being a weekend thrill and became the center of everything: chasing prescriptions, crashing cars, crashing in...

Send us Fan Mail You can lose years to addiction while still telling yourself it is normal. Rachel Dick did, and what makes her story hit hard is how clearly she describes the moment the lie breaks. We talk through her early trauma, the grooming that planted dangerous beliefs, and the fast slide from teen experimenting into a decade of meth addiction, pills, violence, and a life built around hustl...

Send us Fan Mail Support the show From Rock Bottom to Rock Solid. We all have them...every single day, we wake up, we have the chance to make new choices. We have the power to make our own daily, "Breakfast of Choices" Resources and ways to connect: Facebook: Jo Summers Instagram: @ Summersjol Facebook Support: Breakfast of Choices Curriculum and Mentorship: F.L.Y. First Love Yourself We...

Send us Fan Mail What if your first clean promise wasn’t about recovery at all—but about honoring a dream you made as a kid? Host Jo Summers sits down with rapper and recovery advocate, artist Skyler Ray Davis to trace a life that started with abandonment at nine, spiraled into homelessness, meth, and dealing on the same eight Portland blocks, and then pivoted in a prison bunk with a simple commit...

Send us Fan Mail What if the opposite of addiction isn’t willpower, but connection? Tony sits with Host, Jo Summers and opens a life shaped by early chaos, a family history of both addiction and recovery, and a relentless hunt for validation that slid from weed and alcohol to K2, meth, and eventually heroin. He names the seductive lie of that first meth high—how it felt like confidence and kindnes...

Send us Fan Mail What does it really take to break a cycle that’s been running your family for generations? Host Jo Summers sits down with Aurora Nicholson for a raw, clear-eyed look at what survival taught her—and what healing required. From childhood abuse and a maze of foster placements to self-harm, addiction, and homelessness, Aurora doesn’t flinch from the truth. She also doesn’t stop there....

Send us Fan Mail What happens when trauma remains unspoken for nearly two decades? In this raw, powerful conversation, Greg Van Ness shares his journey from military service to finding purpose as Program Director at Oklahoma State University's Center for Social Innovation. Greg candidly reveals the aftermath of an assault during his Air Force service—an event he kept secret for 18 years. The...

Send us Fan Mail "I'm the guy who sat across the room from you in a trap house with no running water and electricity, with a bottle of vodka in one hand and a shot of dope in the other." These powerful opening words from Wasi Syed set the stage for one of the most compelling addiction-to-recovery stories you'll want to hear. From a very comfortable middle-class upbringing to co...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a homeschooled naive kid with a strict religious upbringing spirals into addiction, then discovers his life's purpose through comedy?  Adrian Doell's remarkable journey takes us from the depths of alcoholism to the healing power of laughter in recovery. Adrian's story begins with generational trauma—a mother who lost both parents young and a father...

Send us Fan Mail The road to recovery is rarely a straight line. In this intimate conversation with Drew Reyes, now approaching his one-year sobriety date, we dive deeper into what sustainable recovery actually looks like day-to-day. After sharing his powerful testimony of addiction and homelessness in our previous episode, Drew returns to discuss his recent move to a sober living house and the ga...

Send us Fan Mail Andrew Reyes takes us on an unforgettable journey from childhood trauma to spiritual awakening on this deeply moving episode. Raised in a fractured home environment that stripped away his innocence early, Drew found temporary escape through breakdancing before substance use gradually took hold. As we follow Drew's path, he candidly reveals how party drugs escalated to heroin...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to rebuild your life after addiction leads to criminal charges and prison time? Christine Palladino's remarkable journey from gambling addiction to purpose offers a raw, unflinching look at transformation through accountability. When investigators confronted Christine about missing funds from the fire department where she volunteered as treasurer, she felt a...

Send us Fan Mail The gambling industry spends billions convincing us their product is harmless entertainment, but Christine Paladino's real and raw journey reveals a different truth. From innocent childhood bingo halls to high-stakes casino floors, her evolution from casual player to compulsive gambler unfolds with painful clarity and remarkable self-awareness. Christine's story begins w...

Send us Fan Mail What if everything you've been told about addiction recovery is missing the point?  Jason Shiers' story begins with profound loss – his father killed when Jason was still a child, followed by a descent into addiction that started with food at age 5 and progressed to heroin by 13. By 15, he was in psychiatric care. What followed were decades of prisons, institutions, home...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when your child's experimentation with substances spirals into a 15-year battle with addiction? How do you navigate the impossible choices between tough love and enabling? And most importantly, how do you maintain your own sanity through the chaos? Paul King, host of "Family Support in Addiction Recovery," takes us through his real life journey supporti...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when life as you know it vanishes in an instant? When a split-second collision on a motorcycle steals your sight, breaks your body from head to toe, and erases a month of your memories? Kijuan "Kiwi" Amey's powerful story begins on May 5th, 2017 – a day that would become what he calls "my new life story." A military veteran working as an in-fl...

Send us Fan Mail Mike Fox's gripping journey from childhood trauma to HIV diagnosis to nonprofit leader offers a testament to the transformative power of purpose. Diagnosed with HIV in 1994 when it was still considered a death sentence, Mike initially spiraled deeper into substance abuse—a path that led to multiple prison sentences and nearly cost him everything. His story reveals how trauma,...

Send us Fan Mail Part 2 of David's Journey- From losing custody of his baby to finding lasting recovery, David's story is a testament to the power of honest surrender and treatment. When DHS intervened after years of meth addiction, David faced a life-changing choice – continue hiding his substance use or seek comprehensive help. His decision to pursue treatment in California completely...

Send us Fan Mail David Levi's life story reads like a road map through the shadowy terrain of addiction and the uphill climb back to recovery. A proud member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, David grew up in western Oklahoma surrounded by the wide-open spaces and close-knit community of reservation life. Though his childhood was relatively sheltered from substance abuse within his immediat...

Send us Fan Mail From the depths of addiction to the heights of recovery, discovering the role families play in this journey can change everything. In our latest podcast episode, Host Jo Summers welcomed the inspiring Kate Duffy, Founder of Tipping Point Recovery, an Interventionist and Family Addiction Expert and The Author of "Dear Family," A proven real-world approach to helping the a...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the thrill of the game becomes an all-consuming escape? Journey with us as we unravel the compelling story of Gail Fraser, a courageous and inspiring woman who bravely bares her soul and recounts her tumultuous battle with gambling addiction. Gail's story is one of heartbreak and resilience; and the fight to reclaim her life. She lost a long-standing marriag...

Send us Fan Mail Craig Akey, owner of Empire Tattoos in Oklahoma City, has lived a life that could easily be the plot of a riveting drama. Raised amidst the chaos of his father's drug dealing world, Craig found a guiding light in the powerful women around him, especially his grandmother. Overcoming addiction and crime, Craig's story is one of redemption, set against the backdrop of a new...