SH!T CREEK SURVIVORS

What if surrender isn't quitting—but the first step toward healing? Rick Lobo, former Senior Creative Film Editor at NFL Network and Amazon #1 bestselling author of The Trifecta Code , joins Cam McKay to talk about family trauma, grief, shame, men's mental health, and turning life's biggest crises into purpose. Rick shares how devastating loss, guilt, and years of carrying emotional pa...

Author Karen C.L. Anderson explains how shame and generational trauma shape your identity, why shaming yourself for feeling shame keeps you stuck, and how her Six Ns process can help you change your relationship with shame. What if the shame you’ve carried for years doesn’t define who you are? In this conversation, Cam sits down with Karen C.L. Anderson, writer, storyteller, coach, and author of Y...

What if the patterns shaping your adult life began long before you understood where they came from? In this powerful episode of Sh!t Creek Survivors , host Cam McKay sits down with Kevin Bush, author of The Long Way Home , for an honest conversation about generational trauma, alcoholism, shame, marriage, and finding a new direction through faith. For years, Kevin hid behind the mask of being the f...

From severe childhood trauma and building an escort agency to facing a 7-year prison sentence and finding ultimate redemption—this is one of the most raw and unfiltered conversations we've ever had on Sh!t Creek Survivors. In this episode, Cam sits down with author, Christian speaker, and recovery advocate Valerie Rosas. Valerie shares her incredible story of surviving childhood sexual abuse,...

Welcome to Sh!t Creek Survivors, where we believe one thing: we all have a shit creek. In this special vault re-release episode, host Cam McKay sits down for a raw, deeply moving conversation with Sherry Lynne Williams—author of "Not Your Average Drug Addict Whore, A Life So Wrong, It Went Right." Sherry’s journey is living proof that no matter how deep into the darkness you go, your pas...

Welcome to Sh!t Creek Survivors where we believe one thing: we all have a sh!t creek story. In this episode, Cam sits down with Paul Booth—author of Ethos, Pathos and Alcohol , seasoned addiction counselor, and psychotherapist. For four decades, Paul battled active alcoholism under the deceptive belief that so many of us fall into: "I can handle this on my own." It wasn't until he re...

When life dumps you right into the middle of "Sh!t Creek," it's easy to start believing that the hardship defines who you are. In this episode, Cam sits down with Reverend Dr. A'Shellarien Addison—a spiritual clinical trauma-informed practitioner, military chaplain, and history-making leader—for a deeply moving conversation on surviving rejection, trauma, betrayal, and spiritual...

Tom Adams was driving drunk, the wrong way down a four-lane highway—with his wife and kids in the car. That moment changed everything. Tom found recovery and has now been sober for more than 45 years. But his recovery journey went far beyond alcohol. It led him through compulsive eating, work addiction, shame, family struggles, emotional sobriety, spirituality, meditation, and learning what it rea...

Her Daughter Had Cancer. Then Something Extraordinary Happened | Sarah Tolson What happens when your child gets cancer—and the experience changes everything you thought you knew about life? Sarah Tolson's seven-year-old daughter, Ella, began having seizures. What followed was a terrifying medical journey involving repeated hospitalizations, autoimmune encephalitis, and eventually a diagnosis o...

Not all alcoholics live under a bridge. And not all alcoholics recover the same way. What does alcoholism look like when you don't fit the stereotype? What if traditional sobriety doesn't work for you? In this episode of Sh!t Creek Survivors, Cam sits down with Tracy Liberatore, Esq. to talk openly about alcoholism, sobriety, recovery, shame, identity, spirituality, trauma, and finding a r...

A pilot. A plane spiraling toward the ground. Nothing seems to work. And in what feels like his final moment, Reinhard Klett does the unthinkable: He lets go. Reinhard was flying solo when a training maneuver sent his plane into a dangerous graveyard spiral. What happened next nearly cost him his life—and became the foundation for a powerful message about fear, surrender, and letting go. In this e...

At just six years old, Terry McCarty survived a devastating fire that left him with burns over 70% of his body. But surviving the fire was only the beginning. Terry spent years navigating surgeries, recovery, bullying, depression, identity struggles, loss, and the challenge of learning to see himself differently. Then, at 25, he became a firefighter. In this episode of Sh!t Creek Survivors, Terry...

What if getting your life back on track worked a lot like getting stronger in the gym? Each rep can be painful. Each rep can be uncomfortable. But each rep can also make you stronger. In this episode of Sh!t Creek Survivors, Cam sits down with musician, author, entrepreneur, and lifelong fitness enthusiast Ben Barbic to talk about childhood trauma, anxiety, panic attacks, addiction, recovery, resi...

Everyone has a Sh!t Creek story. This week on Sh!t Creek Survivors, Jacqueline Pendleton shares her story and what she's learned about getting through stress, major life changes, and difficult seasons in your 40s and beyond. Jacqueline is a Health and Fitness Coach with more than 38 years of experience, specializing in helping women in their 40s, 50s and beyond rebuild strength, stability and mobi...

Everyone has a Sh!t Creek story. The good news is, no one has to stay there. In this powerful episode of Sh!t Creek Survivors , Cameron sits down with Gary Hartman , a former periodontist who built a successful career helping others while privately struggling with anxiety, burnout, and feelings of not being enough. After a shoulder injury, prescription opioids became the beginning of a devastating...

Welcome back to Sh!t Creek Survivors, where we believe one thing: We all have a Sh!t Creek story. It’s that moment when life gets overwhelming, the current gets stronger, and you find yourself wondering how you’re going to make it through. But every survivor finds a paddle. Sometimes it’s faith. Sometimes it’s family. Sometimes it’s community. Sometimes it’s learning from someone who has already s...

We all have a Sh!t Creek story. Every person faces moments in life where they feel overwhelmed, broken, or wonder if they'll ever find their way forward. This week's Sh!t Creek story is Kevin Erisman's. Kevin's journey is a powerful modern-day Christian testimony of redemption, hope, and discovering that God never abandoned him—even in his darkest moments. Growing up with childhood...

We all have a Sh!t Creek story. Every person faces moments in life where they find themselves overwhelmed, stuck, or unsure how they will move forward. This week's Sh!t Creek story is Mickey Griffin's. After years of successfully managing Type 1 diabetes, Mickey's life changed when both of her kidneys failed during the COVID era. What followed was a life-changing battle involving dialy...

Most Americans have heard the term Gold Star Family , but few truly understand what it means—or the lifelong sacrifice these families carry. In this moving episode of SH!T CREEK SURVIVORS , Navy veteran Anthony Price shares his own journey through personal tragedy and how it led him to a life dedicated to serving Gold Star families across America. After enduring the heartbreaking loss of custody o...

What if you couldn't eat food for the first 24 years of your life? For most of us, eating is something we rarely think about. It's part of daily life—birthday cake, pizza with friends, family dinners, and grabbing a quick meal on the go. For Ben Sutter, none of that was possible. Due to a rare medical condition called eosinophilic gastroenteritis, Ben survived on a dietary replacement form...

What happens when the life you built for more than two decades suddenly falls apart? In this episode of Sh!t Creek Survivors, Heather Theisen-Gandara shares her journey through childhood trauma, emotional neglect, and an unexpected divorce after 24 years of marriage. What follows is an honest conversation about grief, identity loss, responsibility, and what it actually takes to rebuild your life w...

What would you do if you were told you had a terminal cancer diagnosis? For many patients and families, those words stop everything. In this episode, Heather Von St. James shares her powerful journey after being diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma shortly after giving birth to her daughter. She was told she had a limited prognosis and faced the possibility of not watching her child grow...

What if the hardest chapters of your life aren't detours—but part of the journey that shapes who you're meant to become? In this episode of Sh!t Creek Survivors, Peter Bailey shares the lessons behind his book, The Epic of You , and explains how adversity, trauma, addiction, heartbreak, and life's unexpected challenges can become catalysts for growth, resilience, and purpose. Drawing f...

At 54 years old, Alison Gieschen—known as The Nautical Novelist—made a life-changing decision: she sold everything she owned and, together with her husband, stepped onto a 43-foot sailboat and set out to sail around the world. In this episode of Sh!t Creek Survivors, Alison shares her powerful journey from growing up on a self-sustaining farm, to childhood visions of sailing, to a traumatic job lo...

What was it like on the ground during the hunt for the Boston Marathon bomber? In this episode of Sh!t Creek Survivors, retired SWAT Sergeant Jim Vaglica shares a firsthand account of one of the most intense manhunts in modern American history following the Boston Marathon bombing. With over 32 years in law enforcement and 16 years on an elite SWAT team, Jim walks us through the chaos that unfolde...