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

You may check out TikTok to get a laugh, learn a new recipe, or catch up on the latest makeup trend. However, a bereaved grandma and mom uses the platform to raise awareness about a much more serious topic. Teresa Carreon has experienced the tragedy of losing her daughter and unborn grandson to a drug overdose. She is now using TikTok to raise awareness about the realities of substance use disorde...

Your host, Angela Kennecke, sits down with author Brianne Edwards. After losing her ten-month-old son to SIDS, Brianne's grief was unbearable, struggling to eat, breathe, and think. However, she found healing and broke the cycle of pain. Listen to her powerful story of loss and recovery, and learn how she has helped hundreds of people through grieving on this episode of Grieving Out Loud. Sen...

In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, your host, Angela Kennecke, speaks with Jeff Grossman. Jeff shares his battle with substance use disorder. At 22 years old, Jeff found comfort in alcohol, using it to help him cope with struggles of his identity and sexuality. Over time, his drinking became more and more destructive, impacted his relationships and jobs, and even put his life and others' l...

Fentanyl poisoning is now the number one cause of death for people ages 18 to 45. Licensed Clinical Social Worker Phyllis Babrove knows that all too well. She lost her daughter to the epidemic; now, she has a warning for other parents. Babrove believes the drug situation in the U.S. is destroying American families. That's why she wrote the book "Words From A Mother In Mourning: How To Pr...

In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, host Angela Kennecke sits down with Honesty Liller, a recovering addict and "Hope Dealer" for those battling substance use disorders. Honesty shares her story of addiction, including her near-fatal overdose at 17 and giving birth to her daughter while on heroin. Now in long-term recovery, Honesty talks about the importance of addressing the growing n...

As the U.S. struggles with a deadly drug epidemic, Nathan Smiddy has made it his mission to prevent deaths and mourning. He believes that by distributing Narcan, he has saved around 450 lives in the past year.  The issue hits home for “Narcan Nate” because he started not only using but selling drugs in high school. In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, hear how Nate overcame his substance use diso...

Maria Kliavokoff is a former hospice worker who now helps people learn how to grieve healthily. As a grief coach, Maria is trying to revolutionize our thoughts about grief and mourning. Her website, Healthy Mourning , provides grief resources and online grief support to ensure healthy grief and healthy mourning. They are there to support you and help you through your grief journey, teach you how t...

Originally released on April 14th, 2019 Your host of Grieving Out Loud, Angela Kennecke, first met Melissa Flynn just a few months after Emily died. Melissa contacted Angela to see how she could help with her newly formed charity, Emily's Hope. Melissa had lost her 25-year-old stepson, Nicholas, to fentanyl poisoning just ten days after Emily died. Angela and Melissa met, and they have been d...

Originally released on August 16, 2020 Brandon Novak was a world-famous champion skateboarder. However, he was also in his first treatment center for addiction to heroin at age 17. Brandon went on to co-star in TV and movies in the MTV Jackass and Viva La BAM series. To his numerous fans, he seemed to have it all. He was getting paid to skate and hang out with his friends, but Brandon Novak's...

Maura Jamie thought she had experienced the worst loss of her life when her 25-year-old husband died in 2001 from a heroin overdose. Ironically, on the 20th anniversary of her husband's death, Maura lost their 22-year-old son Carter to fentanyl poisoning. Maura also battled her own substance use disorder for nearly two decades. In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, your host, Angela Kennecke,...

Art Kleinschmidt was the Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy or Deputy Drug Czar under President Trump. He also served on the Domestic Policy Council in the White House as Senior Advisor for mental health & addiction, as well as the same role for SAMHSA. Art is in long-term recovery from substance use disorder and became a licensed clinician who has extens...

Your host of Grieving Out Loud, Angela Kennecke, first met Dr. Mark Vande Braak shortly after the death of her 21-year-old daughter, Emily . Dr. Vande Braak sat down with Angela’s entire family to help them “reframe” their loss. Dr. Mark Vande Braak is a board-certified music therapist and Thanatologist (grief educator). He previously spoke with Angela on Episode 10 of Grieving Out Loud, Broken He...

Originally released July 15th, 2019 Celia Farmer, unfortunately, knows the pain of losing a child to suicide. Her 14-year-old daughter, Mali, completed suicide in 2017. Celia was among the first parents who've experienced loss to reach out to Angela after Emily died from fentanyl poisoning. Both Celia and Angela have experienced the stigmatized death of a child, where parents can find themsel...

Brenda Schivito says her son Nick’s drug usage began when he was just a kid and would ride his bike to the gas station and buy Spice, a synthetic marijuana. The adverse side effects of Spice include psychosis, hallucinations, delirium, and paranoia. When Nick was older, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and his battle with substance use disorder kicked into high gear. Nick died of fentanyl p...

Former drug dealer Scott Silverman now helps families in crisis navigate the road to recovery. The California man is also the author of The Opioid Epidemic: What You Don't Know Will Destroy Your Family and Your Life. Your host, Angela Kennecke, has a frank conversation with Scott about the public health crisis involving fentanyl.  Scott is a crisis coach and family navigator and runs a recove...

In our last episode, we introduced you to the central character of the Netflix docuseries, The Pharmacist , Dan Schneider. Dan told us he had no idea his son was using crack before he was murdered in New Orleans in the late 90’s. While police didn’t show much interest in his son’s case, Dan took it upon himself to use every investigative tool at the time to find his son’s killer. But the story doe...

Netflix docuseries, The Pharmacist, shows how Dan Schneider solved his son's murder in the case of a drug deal gone wrong. Schneider was an early identifier of the opioid crisis in this country and pushed for reform. He joins your host, Angela Kennecke, for two episodes of Grieving Out Loud to give us all the twists and turns in the case and how the unbelievable unfolded.  In this first episo...

Shortly after her husband, Doug, was elected governor of North Dakota in 2016, Kathryn Burgum decided to share her personal story. Burgum is in recovery for substance use disorder after battling alcohol addiction for 20 years. Her platform as First Lady of North Dakota is to end the shame and stigma surrounding the disease of addiction.  Kathryn’s Recovery Reinvented event is coming up on November...

Don’t let the title of this episode fool you. Angela is NOT signing off on this podcast, In fact, you’ll be hearing more from Angela on this platform. But she has signed off on her last broadcast after a 35-year television career to focus on the mission of Emily’s Hope.  Angela talks about what went into her decision precipitated by the death of her oldest daughter at age 21 and how she is now det...

27-year-old Mariah Earp, a mother to three children, died of fentanyl poisoning in 2020 after taking what she thought was Xanax. Now her mother, Rachel Carlisle has become an outspoken advocate to break the stigma and tell Mariah’s story on TikTok, where her videos have received more than 200,000 likes. Rachel says he wants other parents to know it’s okay to talk about the loss of a child to fenta...

Dr. Nzinga Harrison is working to change the conversation around substance use disorder and encouraging it to be treated like any other disease. In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, she shares a new approach to those who suffer from addiction which involves compassion and support.  Dr. Harrison is the Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of Eleanor Health , whose mission is to help people affecte...

Your host, Angela Kennecke, has brought you conversations she has had with different speakers and authors from the Bereaved Parents USA Conference over the last four weeks. This week, Angela wraps up the series with a conversation she had with Pat Sheveland. Angela and Pat first met in 2020, when she was a guest on Grieving Out Loud, for the first time. Since that conversation, Pat has lost her mo...

Your host, Angela Kennecke, is bringing you conversations she had with different speakers and authors at the Bereaved Parents USA Conference in St. Louis in July. She recorded podcasts with women who have dealt with grief and transformed it into helping others cope. The death of Brenda’s son, Kevin’s addiction to painkillers, started after a traumatic brain injury. The loss of Kevin took Brenda do...

Your host, Angela Kennecke, is bringing you conversations she had with different speakers and authors at the Bereaved Parents USA Conference in St. Louis in July. She recorded podcasts with women who have dealt with grief and transformed it into helping others cope. Beth D’Angelo is an incredibly deep and spiritual person, in spite of, or perhaps because of, the loss of one of her three children....

Your host, Angela Kennecke, is bringing you conversations she had with different speakers and authors at the Bereaved Parents USA Conference in St. Louis in July. She recorded podcasts with women who have dealt with grief and transformed it into helping others cope. Peggy Green sadly lost her baby girl at daycare, then suffered child loss again when her adult son completed suicide. As a grief coac...