Dark and Enlightened

I am a few weeks overdue on this, but I am finally here: my season finale episode! I have my husband, Jordan, on today's episode and it's all over the place. A few life updates, some deep convo, and then some ranting. I hope you enjoyed this season and the amazing conversations I had. I will start recording again in the fall, but until then: stay in touch. All my contact info is in the L...

Today, I am so excited to share my conversation with Nadine Machkovech, who recently published her FIRST book,  Enough Already: A Journey From Hiding to Healing . We discuss the importance of storytelling and her work with the youth and teaching them to share their stories. Additionally, we talk about the millennial era of body shaming and peer pressure, grief, imposter syndrome, and so much more....

I am so excited for today's episode! I have a very candid conversation with my amazing friend, Abby Teixeira, about her journey through C-PTSD. We discuss about the frustrations of having the double whammy of C-PTSD and other neurodivergent diagnoses. It was such a rich and deep convo and I truly appreciate Abby trusting me with her story. I hope you enjoy the conversation. Disclaimer: There...

We have a totally different format for our show today because this interview is IRL and not at my house! My friend, Teresa Sands, joins me at The Venetian (in my hotel room) for this episode. We talk about everything: grief, harm reduction, sex work, Gerald the dolphin, spiritual experiences, community organizing, etc. This is truly an ADHD episode and we hop around from topic to topic pretty effo...

DISCLAIMER: my biggest apologies for the unexplained feedback that will keep randomly coming up throughout the episode. Mark sounds fantastic, but my audio kept sounding like an echo or like another person's convo in the background and I could not edit it out completely. However, it was such a good convo and I want you to hear Mark's story, so try to ignore my shitty sound quality. I did...

Today, I have the amazing Ronny Morales on! We talk about everything from content creation to recovery to relationships to AI to self doubt and everything in between. I hope you enjoy listening to our time together and you enjoy it as much as I did. *** Ronny Morales is basically Hannah Montana! By day, he’s in the corporate world leading global AI trainings, and by night, he’s building a platform...

While I love all the convos I have with people, I REALLY love the ones where I am talking to a fellow eldest child/sibling because there is an unspoken solidarity between us eldest kids. Today, I have a convo with my friend, Tom Farley, about all the things. We explore the complexities of grief, loss, and the unique bond shared by siblings who have experienced the death of a brother. We discuss th...

Today, I have my friend and AMAZING author, Caroline Beidler, on the show! We had a great convo about women in leadership, spirituality, handling criticism, and her new book, When You Love Someone in Recovery: A Hopeful Guide for Understanding Addiction. She wears so many hats and I admire her determination and dedication. I hope you enjoy the convo! *** Caroline Beidler, MSW is an author, speaker...

Join me for an AMAZING conversation with my friend, Robyn Hantelman. We talk about gambling and our experiences with it. Would you guess I was talking to a former poker star? Neither would I! We talk about the connection with dopamine and competition, along with other neurodivergent tendencies. Also, if you have not heard of MARA (Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous), she explains that and the...

I know I was gone a LOT longer than I said I would be and as someone with abandonment issues, it wasn't very cash money of me to leave y'all hanging. I apologize for my extended hiatus, but if you know anything about astrology, my Pisces ass is finally getting out of Saturn, so shit has been all over the place. My sister, Alison, and I spend a couple hours yapping, catching y'all up...

I'm solo this week, so decided to use the time to recap how this podcast came about. I realized that this week 5 years ago, I dropped my first episode! Love a random full circle moment. Hang out until the end, where I tell you about being AWARD NOMINATED. The link to vote is below in my Linktree! I appreciate each and every one of you who take the time out to vote. If you want to watch the vi...

I am back with another amazing guest, Lisa Peterson! We talk ALLLLLL things drug war, substance use, harm reduction, and my favorite: all the deets on the journey to opening the first overdose prevention center in Rhode Island this year. I hope you enjoy our convo! If you want to watch the video of the convo instead, check it out 👇 https://riverside.fm/shared/exported-clip/cb8a68a5f5a38a3448be **...

This week, I have Monika Avalos on the podcast! We explore the complexities of coaching, working through our own trauma, and how the patriarchy unknowingly shaped a lot of false beliefs. I really appreciated the truth bombs Monika dropped on me and I'm still processing the idea of being a Professional Skill Builder. Hope you enjoy the episode! If you want to watch the video of the convo inste...

On today's episode, I have the amazing Tiffany Kuhwede with me to talk about all things healing! Tiffany shares her story and discusses her experience with intimate partner violence. We really get into how the trauma impacts you in ways you can't fully recognize in the moment, but can have long lasting effects. Throw in random discussions about potato and pickle soup, along with some Sup...

Well, I took a little hiatus that turned into a big hiatus and now I'm back! Except I also decided to upgrade my software, so there's now a video version of this! I will say though - I decided to do this episode with no sound/video edits because the AI version of this convo cut out like 25 minutes or riffing. It's clearly a talent the robots don't have and they're jealous...

This is the season finale and it's all about me. My husband, Jordan, interviews me about my life. I apologize in advance for all the scatterbrained convo, but welcome to my life. This was awkward at many points, but I needed it. I hope you enjoy learning more about me. email: jaclyn@darkandenlightened.com TikTok: @jaclynbrown *** Here's the bio I use for things where I want to sound like...

This was a deep conversation and I learned a lot about my friend, Carol Cruz. We talk about everything from body image to eating disorders to her 18 months at an orphanage as a child to selling drugs to an undercover cop to some very movie-like plot twists in her life. I am grateful for the opportunity to get to learn more about her and I hope you take the time to learn more about her too. email:...

Today, I talk with my friend, Chauncie Beaston, about anything and everything because that's what happens when you throw a couple of ADHD baddies together. Our topics range from how she decided to leave NA for harm reduction because of her son to how she started her nonprofit because she was having a manic bipolar episode to how she found out she had a brother on MySpace to details about her...

This was definitely one of my favorite interviews because I feel like Ryan Hampton is my twin, so I was just really talking to myself.  FOR REALSIES THOUGH, we had a great, deep conversation about everything: mental health, online hate, his writing process, The Sacklers reaction to Unsettled, conspiracies about his 10 year resume gap , our shared autoimmune disease, Quincy, and so so much more. I...

This wasn't what I had planned, but I am giving myself grace to not beat myself up for putting my mental health first. I word vomit a bunch of things and if I actually knew how to take someone's offer for help, this is what I would vent to them about. So, if you listen to this, you are inadvertently helping me in the way I am comfortable with accepting help. Just listening helps. *** Tik...

Today's episode includes topics I have never talked about before! I interview my friend, Michelle Kavouras, about her role as a peer doula. She primarily works with a population of pregnant people with substance use disorder and she talks about the issues these people face. Additionally, she tells a bit about her story and having to give up one of her children for adoption due to her SUD. I h...

I have a convo today with one of my favorite people in the world, Chekesha Lakenya Ellis. She is a fellow advocate and someone who is in recovery. Her story is incredibly unique with a lot of layers to it. Her addiction to prescription opioids actually resulted in her losing her hearing and she became deaf for years until she was able to get cochlear implants. She is an inspiration to me, her char...

I have a great convo with my friend, Alex, who is a plus size model and content creator. We talk about body image, quitting her corporate job for full time content creation, and she provides guidance if you are curious about taking on content creation. She is the reason I am finally embracing myself at my size, so having this time with her was special for me. I hope you enjoy our convo! Follow me...

I sit down for a chat today with my friend and fellow advocate, Tom Cotter. We discuss his later in life diagnosis of ADHD (at the age of 60) and the unknowing impact that had on his alcohol consumption. We also talk more about how much untreated and unmonitored mental or behavioral health issues can impact someone despite abstaining from substances. We also discovered that we are apparently the s...

The last time my husband and I recorded together was August 2022, right after we lost Gus. That was ROUGH. This time, we talk about what life has been like since then, mental health and body image issues, boundaries, and how our new pups, Pierre and Teddy, have changed us and how we've been approaching life.  Hope you enjoy this episode! Links to all my things: https://linktr.ee/staygoldenjac...