The Addiction Podcast-Point of No Return

It seems more often that we speak to a parent who has lost their child to addiction. This story is a happy one - while mom, Laura, had her history of alcohol addiction and her son, Tom, had his history of drug addiction - both are clean and sober today. Recently they published a book about their story - Unraveled. https://www.amazon.com/Unraveled-Mother-Story-Addiction-Redemption-ebook/dp/B08LW575...

Laura Stack, MBA, CSP, CPAE is an award-winning keynote speaker and trainer, bestselling author, and noted authority on personal productivity and team performance. When her 19 year old son died from suicide after being addicted to marijuana for years, she became an activist and found of Johnny's Ambassadors. Johnny's Ambassadors educates parent and teens about the risks of today's high-THC marijua...

Ed Bisch's son, Eddie, died of an overdose of oxycontin in 2001. Ed didn't sit by and take it. He started researching oxycontin and it's manufacturer - Purdue Pharma; AND the family behind it - The Sacklers. He has been fighting this battle for years and doesn't see giving up until both the company and the family are made to take responsibility for the countless deaths due to oxycontin addiction a...

Will Grayson has been 30+ years sober. During those 30 years, he has dedicated himself to helping those trapped by addiction. Whether he was talking on the radio or meeting addicts one on one, he's changing lives on a daily basis.

Mary Burns is a mother of three, a teacher and has become involved in addiction advocacy since her son's death. She helped spearhead a walk called, Changing the Face of Addiction, to help change the stigma of addiction. She has also brought her advocacy to her local state senator and addressed the New Jersey Senate Budget Appropriations Committee about the need for a change to the addiction treatm...

Charlotte Bismuth is a graduate of Columbia University, Columbia Law School, and Sciences-Po Paris. After joining the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, she began investigating Dr. Stan Li, a doctor who spent years supplying more than seventy patients a day with Oxycodone and Xanax, trading prescriptions for cash. After a tireless investigation, Dr. Li was convicted of two counts of murde...

We've talked about marijuana many times on the podcast and noted that quite a few of the former addicts started their drug path with marijuana. In this episode, Dr. Kenneth Finn from Colorado gives us the facts about the use of marijuana as pain medication as well as it's adverse effects on young adults. Dr. Finn used slides during his interview so we suggest you watch the YouTube version of this...

After suffering childhood trauma, Tina Levene turned to alcohol and drugs to cope. Until she learned that if she shared her own childhood trauma with others that she might be able to help other children, her life was on a downtown. Now she is helping to set up recovery schools for high school aged kids in recovery. Florida Recovery Schools of Tampa Bay offers teens in recovery a safe environment t...

Tiffany Jenkins is the funny lady behind "Juggling the Jenkins". She has over 4.5 million Facebook followers and counting! Tiffany is a wife, mother, best-selling author, content creator and recovering addict. Although best known for her funny viral Facebook and YouTube videos, Tiffany is incredibly passionate about bringing awareness to mental illness. She speaks shamelessly, openly and honestly...

Stephen Donnelly's drug use started - as with so many - when he was a teenager. However, later in life, when Stephen answered God's call and become an ordained priest in the Roman Catholic church, his drug use continued. Fueled by guilt, it took years to confront his addiction. He's been sober for 18 years and has chronicled his story in the book - "A Saint and a Sinner", co-authored by Diane O'Br...

Emily O'Brien is a beautiful young woman. But like so many, she was insecure and bullied as a child. This insecurity led to abuse of alcohol and drugs. When someone she thought was a friend took her on a trip to St. Lucia, she ended up bringing back drugs to Canada and from there ended up in prison. Rather than bemoan her fate, she learned all she could in prison and left with a successful gourmet...

Quincy Carter had it all. He was a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. But marijuana and alcohol brought about his downfall and termination from the Cowboys. He tried getting picked up by other teams but drugs and alcohol kept most teams from hiring him and if they did, he managed to bring himself down. Sober for 15 months, he's running a quarterback school in Texas and instilling the drug free me...

This is the story of a mom living the nightmare. Her 22 year old son is addicted despite several rehabs and the 24/7 work of his mom - Kelly Hatcher. What she's going through is why we do this podcast. We don't want other moms and dads to live this nightmare. Now Kelly is helping other parents let go but not give up.

Ellen Isaacs grew up with addiction in her family, became addicted herself and then lost one of her sons to an overdose. Now she is an advocate for addicts and teaches parents and loved ones the value and use of Narcan in order to save lives from overdoses. Through Ryan's Opioid Pandemic Coalition she is helping to raise awareness of this pandemic and the fact that it does not discriminate accordi...

Brandi Winans is an inspirational keynote speaker and Life Coach. She was married to former Pro NFL player, Jeff Winans for over 30 years, and she details their life story in her book, "The Flip Side of Glory". This was told from the wife's perspective, in a story of love, acceptance and hope. Her faith was tested beyond her wildest imagination in dealing with Jeff's addiction, and after Brandi lo...

Don Cummins not only is a former addict but he served over 20 years in prison for bank robberies. He was homeless and declared insane by the courts. But he found his self respect in a recovery workshop and completely turned his life around to where he is a high powered executive in a computer software company, husband, father and a man who is giving back to society.

Duke Rumely is a former alcoholic who has been sober since 1989. Since then he realized that what was needed at concerts and sporting events was an area for those who are sober and trying to remain that way. He founded Sober AF Entertainment and is making great strides in leading the sober movement - making sober the popular to be for young and old alike.

Darren Prince is a prominent sports and celebrity agent and global advocate for addiction and recovery. Through his agency, Prince Marketing Group, he represents icons such as Magic Johnson, Hulk Hogan, Charlie Sheen, Dennis Rodman, Chevy Chase and the late Muhammad Ali - to name a few. However, he will tell you that after 12 years of sobriety, it's his mission to help others avoid and break free...

Joanne Peterson is the Founder and Executive Director of Learn to Cope (LTC), a non-profit, peer-led support network established in 2004. Ms. Peterson's journey started when she was a young girl, as her siblings experienced issues with addiction. Years later, when Ms. Peterson discovered that her own son's experimentation with prescription drugs had led to an opioid addiction, she was motivated an...

Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson is probably one of the most flamboyant NFL players in recent history. However, his lifestyle led him into full blown addiction. Now sober for almost 37 years, he's reaching out to help others. He is speaking in prisons, churches, AA meetings and basically, to anyone who might benefit from hearing his story.

Britt Barker had a good upbringing, a stable family. But he wanted to try alcohol and drugs; and so went down the road to addiction. He was arrested a few times and went through several rehabs. Finally sober since July 2015, he is making music and has released his first solo EP - Trust under the stage name Catch the Rise. He's also helping others by counselling at the local ER in Greenville, SC.

There is a fine line between enabling a loved one who is an addict and giving up on them. Michelle Weidenbenner is a mom whose son is a recovering addict. She has dealt with all that means including becoming guardian of his two daughters. She did what she had to do and discovered the difference between letting go and giving up. Now she's helping other moms navigate the nightmare of addiction.  Her...

There is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child - meaning that there are many different people that play a part.  This podcast is a roundtable discussion with several different "experts" - all of whom are playing their part in addressing the addiction pandemic; whether it's treatment; intervention; education or just as a voice for those who often don't have their own voice.  Bottom line...

Grant Feasel was a starting center and long snapper for the Seattle Seahawks from 1987 to 1992. However, due to a brain muddled by a history of repetitive trauma and symptomatic concussions, he turned to drugs and alcohol. The combination of CTE and his drinking led to his death 9 years ago. His wife, Cyndy, is on a mission to educate people about this deadly combination - brain injury and addicti...

Aaron Garcia is an evangelist, international speaker, best-selling author of "Coincidence or God?" and his newest book - "Burn Notice". At one time, he was the biggest drug dealing in Joplin Missouri and living on the streets.  He is the founder of S.O.S. Ministries, Inc., a nonprofit that is dedicated to improving the community and reaching the lost in the streets. Aaron travels all over the glob...