Matthew Heneghan: Unfiltered

Minor hockey season ending hits harder than it should — and if you're a youth hockey parent, you know exactly what I mean. When the end of hockey season rolls around, it feels like more than just the last game. It feels like a chapter closing. In this episode, I talk about why youth hockey parents feel that strange emotional drop-off when the rink lights shut down. It’s not about wins or losse...

In this video, I break down why Jamie Foxx’s reaction to the BAFTA Tourette’s incident is medically wrong — and what the brain science actually says. At the 2026 BAFTA Awards, a man with Tourette’s syndrome shouted a racial slur during the ceremony. Jamie Foxx responded on Instagram saying, “Nah, he meant that.” As a former paramedic, I want to explain why that statement ignores the neurology of T...

📺 Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show and the Message ProblemBad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show reaction from a former medic turned author. This isn’t a rant or a political take. It’s a real-world perspective on why entertainment feels different lately. In this episode of Unwritten Chapters, I talk honestly about the Bad Bunny halftime show, celebrity messaging, and why so many people feel exhaust...

What is a veteran? This video breaks down the veteran definition and the real difference between combat veteran vs veteran—without the ego, the gatekeeping, or the internet chest-thumping. Someone said if you never deployed to a combat zone, you shouldn’t call yourself a veteran. I’m going to explain why that argument falls apart—especially in Canada, where military service includes far more than...

Admitting I was wrong changed everything. This is a real-life story about accountability, owning your mistakes, and what happens when you choose growth over ego. In this episode of Unwritten Chapters, I talk honestly about pulling a video, apologizing publicly, and realizing that being right matters less than being responsible — especially when your words land on real people. This isn’t self-help....

Unwritten Chapters with Matthew Heneghan is a solo channel about modern life, meaning, and the parts of the story that don’t fit neatly into slogans. Hosted by a veteran, former army medic, ex-paramedic, and nonfiction author, the channel blends lived experience with cultural commentary, reflection, and hard-earned perspective. Some episodes explore mental health, addiction, grief, and burnout — n...

Why People Get Angry At Your HealingSomething strange happens when you start getting better. Not everyone celebrates it. In this episode of Unwritten Chapters, I talk honestly about why healing, sobriety, therapy, growth, or simply changing your life can make other people uncomfortable, defensive, or even angry. This isn’t about blaming anyone. It’s about understanding how trauma, identity, addict...

For a long time, alcohol felt like it was helping me survive. I didn’t realize what it was costing me until much later. In this episode of Unwritten Chapters, I talk honestly about what alcohol took from me — not in dramatic headlines or recovery slogans, but in the quiet, cumulative ways that matter most. Time. Presence. Sleep. Relationships. Clarity. The ability to actually be there for my life....

I used to judge suicide. Then a man I worked with died on shift. In this episode of Unwritten Chapters, I tell the story of paramedic Greg Turner and the day I stopped judging suicide. I talk honestly about what it’s like to lose a brother in uniform, how PTSD and unspoken trauma eat people alive, and what changed in me after standing in the aftermath of a death that never should have happened. As...

Two Americans are dead after an ICE protest turned violent — and nobody seems interested in asking the uncomfortable questions. In this episode of Unwritten Chapters, I talk honestly about what really happened at the ICE protest, how the media is framing the shooting, and why our political climate keeps turning real people into collateral damage. I’m not here to defend institutions or score ideolo...

In this episode of Unwritten Chapters, Matthew Heneghan — former Canadian Armed Forces medic, civilian paramedic, recovering alcoholic, and author — delivers a raw, unfiltered response to Donald Trump’s recent NATO comments and his claim that allied troops “stayed a little back from the front lines” in Afghanistan. As a veteran who served during wartime and lost friends in the conflict, Matthew br...

Canada’s healthcare system is already failing — and it’s about to get worse. In this short, I explain what a potential paramedic strike in British Columbia really means for public safety, 911 response times, and patient care. Based on my lived experience as a former army medic, ex-paramedic, and first responder, I break down why paramedics in BC are not considered an essential service, why negotia...

Stranger Things Season Finale Review through a writer’s eyes and a fan’s heart. In this episode of Unwritten Chapters I break down what the Stranger Things finale does right and what most people miss on a first watch. Not plot trivia. Not outrage. The craft. The choices. The emotional beats that land hardest when you’ve lived through stress grief addiction recovery or the kind of work that makes y...

If you’ve been telling yourself “one day I’ll write it” while carrying everyone else’s weight… this is your sign. In 2019 I wrote a book largely by accident. I wasn’t “ready.” I wasn’t confident. I wasn’t some disciplined writer with a perfect morning routine and a color coded calendar. I was a former army medic and paramedic who’d seen too much, felt too much, and was trying to make sense of life...

Canada wants 300000 troops across the Regular Force, Primary Reserve, and a Supplementary Reserve that could include civil servants. On paper it sounds bold. In real life it raises a question nobody is answering clearly:Can this even work? In this episode of Unwritten Chapters, I break down Canada’s military recruitment plan in plain language from the perspective of a CAF veteran and paramedic who...

Santa wasn’t supposed to find this kind of house on Christmas Eve. No Christmas tree. No stockings. No cookies. Just combat boots by the mantle, sand where comfort should be, and a Canadian soldier sleeping alone on the floor. In this episode of Unwritten Chapters, I recite an original Christmas poem / Christmas story I wrote—told through Santa’s eyes—about a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) soldier sp...

A “home” tournament that isn’t at home. No ref for a girls’ gold medal game. A 13-year-old boy watching for three seconds before saying, “They suck.”In this episode, Gender Inequality On Ice With Our Daughters, I talk about what it’s like trying to raise two girls in a man’s world… while sitting in freezing arenas that quietly remind them they’re second. From girls’ teams getting leftover ice time...

In this episode of Unwritten Chapters, I do something a little different: I hit play on two videos and react in real time — as a former army medic, long-time paramedic, and guy who’s watched a lot of people quietly fall apart while the world tells them to “be strong.”First up is the Monochromatic Theory: an author breaking down how pop culture, brands, and even our houses started to lose their col...

There is no “tomorrow.”You never wake up there. You only ever wake up here. In this solo episode of Unwritten Chapters, I talk honestly about what it means to live in the now when you’ve got a brain full of flashbacks, burnout, and worst-case scenarios. As a former army medic and paramedic turned author in recovery, I’m not preaching “good vibes only.” I’m talking about trying to stay present when...

In this video, you get to watch self growth in real time. I hit play on old episodes of my podcast, Unwritten Chapters, and react to past-me talking about mental health, addiction, trauma, recovery, and life. As a veteran, former addict, and solo podcaster, I break down what’s changed — in my storytelling, my headspace, and my healing. We dig into:How I used to talk about trauma, PTSD, and pain vs...

In this episode of Unwritten Chapters , I talk openly about my experience as an alcoholic and why I no longer see rock bottom as a single, dramatic crash — but as a checkpoint on the way down. I share parts of my own story with alcohol addiction , the moments I thought were “the bottom,” and how life kept showing me there was always a deeper low if I didn’t change. We explore questions like: What...

In this episode of Unwritten Chapters – Life After Trauma , I sit down at the mic as a Canadian veteran and VAC client to talk about something a lot of us are feeling in our gut right now: the Liberal government’s plan to strip $4.23 billion in “savings” from Veterans Affairs Canada over the next four years —and the way Minister of Veterans Affairs Jill McKnight insists that somehow doesn’t count...

In this Remembrance Day special, Matthew takes a candid, thoughtful dive into the evolving debate surrounding the poppy in Canada — from Don Cherry’s “you people” controversy to today’s renewed discussion around Indigenous poppies in Canadian Armed Forces uniforms. As a veteran and former paramedic, Matthew reflects on the meaning of remembrance, the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers across gen...

Every October, the quiet town of Falkland transforms into something out of a nightmare — and I’m right at the center of it. Dressed as Michael Myers, I stalk through the fog and screams of “The Hunt,” an attraction my brother Kozy and I help bring to life for The Haunting of Falkland. But for me, this isn’t just about scaring people — it’s about healing. In this episode of Unwritten Chapters – Lif...

In this episode, I dive into the controversial RCMP shooting of Chase De Balinhard in Surrey, British Columbia — a neurodivergent man carrying what appeared to be a firearm near a school, later revealed to be a pellet gun. While headlines rushed to condemn the police and call for inquiries, I challenge the narrative that accountability rests solely on the officers involved. Through the lens of my...