Grieving Out Loud: A Mother Coping with Loss in the Opioid Epidemic

Being a teen is challenging enough, but imagine facing the added burden of addiction. Drug use is especially harmful to the developing brain, altering its structure in ways that can increase the risk of long-term addiction and other serious issues. But thanks to a unique high school in Las Vegas that combines education with substance use disorder treatment, Landynn Meyers and Giuseppe Russo, along...

Award-winning journalists Iris St. Meran and Christie Casciano bring Syracuse, New York's biggest stories to light, covering everything from government decisions to crime. This year, however, they encountered a crisis they couldn’t simply cover from the newsroom. After repeatedly hearing overdose calls on the police scanner, they felt compelled to act. In addition to anchoring a special hour-...

For so many young athletes, playing a college sport is the dream. But for Taelin Webb, one wasn’t enough—he excelled in two. From standout basketball player to football star at Southern Utah University, Taelin was the kind of athlete who seemed unstoppable: disciplined, passionate, and in peak physical condition. Taelin’s dad, Vonn Webb, who also coached at the collegiate level, says he didn’t hav...

Welcome to a special edition of Grieving Out Loud, where we reflect on some of the most impactful conversations of 2024. This year, we shared stories that illuminated the devastating effects of the overdose and fentanyl crisis—stories ranging from a Nashville wedding overshadowed by tragedy to a sister’s fight for justice after her brother’s murder. We heard from a grieving father battling Purdue...

His resume is nothing short of remarkable. Mark Bodnarczuk is a brilliant intellectual, a celebrated author, and a respected researcher who manages and provides oversight for three programs at Stanford. Yet, his latest book Finding New Life After the Death of my Son ventures far beyond his professional accolades—it delves into the raw, devastating pain of a tragedy that silenced him for a couple o...

Opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. have dropped to their lowest levels since 2020, with new CDC estimates showing just over 60,650 lives lost between June 2023 and June 2024—an 18% decrease from the previous year. While this is a hopeful trend, the real story might be far more sobering. On this episode of Grieving Out Loud, we delve into the hidden truths of the opioid epidemic with the founder of...

Nicola Marshall’s world was shattered by a sudden, heartbreaking loss that made headlines around the globe. Her 12-year-old son died after falling from a balcony while they were vacationing in Spain. Yet, amidst this unimaginable heartache, Nicola discovered a way to move forward—one careful step at a time. Now, she has dedicated her life to understanding grief and supporting others as they naviga...

Nearly 49 million Americans, or about 17% of the population, are battling addiction, according to the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Now, picture ten of your closest friends—nearly two of them could be quietly fighting this hidden battle. Yet, addiction often remains a silent struggle, weighed down by stigma and shame. For years, Michele Hein kept her son's struggle with subst...

Doctors are people we often trust to make the best decisions for our health. While that's usually the case, it’s not always true. Dr. Stan Li, a once-respected anesthesiologist, became known as "New York’s deadliest pill pusher." Li wrote more than 21,000 prescriptions for drugs such as oxycodone and Xanax and was ultimately convicted of manslaughter in the overdose deaths of two pa...

Addiction's impact extends far beyond adults and teens—each year, over 20,000 babies are born dependent on drugs due to prenatal exposure. In this episode of Grieving Out Loud , we speak with a neonatal nurse practitioner who saw a critical need to provide care for these vulnerable newborns and their families. At Hushabye Nursery in Phoenix, more than 800 babies have received life-saving trea...

We're taking a break this week for the election, but we will return next week with a powerful new episode of Grieving Out Loud. Next week's episode dives into a struggle that too many families face, but often goes unspoken. Every year, more than 20,000 babies are born affected by a mother's substance use during pregnancy. That's one baby every 25 minutes, each entering the worl...

After losing her son Alec to fentanyl poisoning on his 26th birthday, Dita Bhargava has transformed her grief into action, becoming a powerful voice in the fight against fentanyl. She’s engaged in important conversations with political leaders across America, including Vice President Kamala Harris. On Overdose Awareness Day, Harris highlighted Dita’s story in her message about the opioid crisis, w...

In this special episode of Grieving Out Loud , we revisit a cherished conversation with Dr. Gladys McGarey, a trailblazer in holistic medicine who passed away on September 28th at the age of 103. Her wisdom transcended the medical field, emphasizing that love is the most powerful healing force. Dr. Gladys built her life around the five L’s: love, life, labor, laughter, and listening—with love as t...

Imagine losing not only your mother, but also your twin sister to substance use disorder. On this episode of Grieving Out Loud , Cristina Cavallo and her father, Chris, share their deeply personal and heartbreaking story in hopes of raising awareness about a disease that touches millions yet is often left in the shadows. According to the latest National Survey on Drug Use, nearly 49 million Americ...

As a grieving mother who fought to get help for my daughter’s substance use disorder—and ultimately lost her to fentanyl—I’m often asked what advice I have, or what I wish I had done differently. Today on Grieving Out Loud, I sit down with another grieving mother at the DEA Family Summit on Fentanyl. Kate Sloan, like so many others, learned about the deadly reality of fentanyl far too late. She’s...

In this special episode of Grieving Out Loud , released for International Podcast Day, we deeply look at grief and its multifaceted nature. In our nearly 200 episodes, we’ve shared deeply personal stories from individuals navigating their own paths through loss, offering listeners a chance to find solace and understanding in shared experiences.  As we reflect on the lessons gained from past episod...

As the United States faces its deadliest drug epidemic in history, lives are being lost in unimaginable ways. Over the past two decades, more than 5,000 children and teens have died from fentanyl—among them, toddlers and even infants. Janan Haugen knows these devastating numbers all too well. She’s lost not only her son to drugs, but also her granddaughter to drugs. In this episode of Grieving Out...

Hans Arwine choked back tears as he recalled the moment he had to tell his wife that their son was gone. ”That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done–tell his mother that he was no longer with us,” he said. The heartbreaking scene is tragically familiar across America—parents receiving the devastating news that their children have died from fentanyl overdoses. In the United States, nearly 300 people...

An Iowa couple was invited to the State of the Union address for a reason they could have never imagined just a few years ago. Deric and Kathy Kidd were unaware of how lethal the illicit drug supply had become until the day they found their teenage son dead in his bedroom. He had taken half a pill, thinking it was Percocet, but it turned out to be a deadly dose of fentanyl. Now, the Kidds have mad...

Opioid deaths started skyrocketing when the powerful prescription painkiller OxyContin hit the market. Purdue Pharma, the company behind the drug, has been found guilty of numerous charges. It is now featured in a new Netflix original, "Painkiller," highlighting the company’s pushy sales tactics. For some viewers, like today’s guest, the show hits a bit too close to home. Steven May join...

Your life dreams may include starting a business, building a dream home, or nurturing a healthy marriage. But for many, like Sandra Radford, the deepest dream is raising children—a dream she fought to achieve through IVF. Despite the heartbreak of losing two of her triplets during pregnancy, Sandra’s joy was boundless when she welcomed her daughter into the world. But life’s harshest trials lay ah...

He’s one of the most notorious pill mill doctors: Dr. Paul Volkman. Sentenced to four consecutive life sentences for unlawfully prescribing pain medications that led to multiple deaths, his story is a shocking descent from a respected pediatrician and emergency room physician to a key figure in flooding southern Ohio with prescription drugs. In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, we sit down with a...

She’s known for her Sideline Shimmy. ESPN sports broadcaster Lauren Sisler is a sideline reporter for college football and gymnastics. But behind the camera, Lauren hid a family secret for a decade. Both of her parents struggled with opioid use disorder after being prescribed painkillers by doctors—a disease that ultimately took her mom’s life, followed by her dad’s just five hours later. Tune in...

Not only is the United States battling its deadliest drug epidemic in history, but an increasing number of Americans are also struggling with substance use disorder. According to survey data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 49 million people in the US aged 12 and older – more than one in six – have a substance use disorder. How can we turn the tide on this growing cris...

Grief—it's a heavy burden, a journey that changes us forever. Each person's path through it is uniquely painful. Today, nearly one in three Americans has felt the devastating loss of someone to a drug overdose. In this episode of Grieving Out Loud , Cheryl Juaire shares her heart-wrenching story of losing not one but two children to the relentless grip of addiction. She shares the profou...