The Addiction Podcast-Point of No Return

Brian is a graduate of Penn State University and The University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He has been in long term recovery from alcohol, cocaine and bulimia since April of 2007. Recognized for his memoir, The Addicted Lawyer: Tales of the Bar, Booze, Blow, and Redemption, an unflinching look at how addiction and other mental health issues shattered his successful career, he frequently speaks o...

Ed Bisch's son died of an overdose of Oxycontin.  Ed didn't sit by.  He started researching Oxycontin and its 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 and overdose. In December 2...

Ashley Bedsole:  I am a stay at home mom to four kids, 3 boys and a little girl. I homeschool my oldest 2 boys and my two toddlers.  I also  run the household. I started my blog in August of 2021- a year after my father passed away. I started off writing about grief and loss, family life, addiction and recovery. Once I started writing about the experience my husband and I had in treatment together...

With the recent series on Hulu - Dopesick (based on the book by Beth Macy) - there is even more light to be shed on the shady tactics by Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family.  This podcast features kick-ass, freedom fighter mom Cynthia Munger; and best selling author of the book - Pharma - Gerald Posner.  Together they discuss the recent bankruptcy ruling and what's in store for the Sacklers going...

Mike Grant recently published a book called (Re)Making A Sandwich. It's a creative nonfiction memoir that follows him for 6 years as he goes through treatment to fulfill the requirements of an intensive diversion program for habitual drunk drivers. Early in his recovery he started running as a way to manage emotions and stress. He was running to parks with his son who was 4 when he got sober, whic...

Leigh was born and raised in Los Angeles by his parents, a teacher and librarian. He obtained both his undergraduate and law degrees from Cal where he was student body president during each tenure. Leigh has represented many of the most successful athletes and coaches in football, basketball, baseball, hockey, boxing, golf, etc., including the number one overall pick in the NFL draft for an unprec...

Constance Scharff, PhD is an internationally recognized speaker and author on the topics of addiction recovery and mental health. She most recently served Rock to Recovery, a music-based addiction and trauma treatment program, as VP Business Development, and Science and Research Chair. Previously, Dr. Scharff was Senior Addiction Research Fellow and Director of Addiction Research for a luxury addi...

My name is Tracy and I am a 54 year old single mom in CT. I was in a car accident in 2000 that resulted in back surgery, and subsequently the prescription of opioids which lasted 20 years. I took them as prescribed as I thought I needed them for pain and trusted the doctors. Over the years I had asked about getting off of them and when I would try I would be so sick so fast and too ashamed to cope...

Candace Plattor is an Addictions Therapist in private practice, where she specializes in working with the family and other loved ones of people who are struggling with addiction, in her unique and signature Family Addiction Counselling and Therapy Program. As a former opioid addict with 34 years clean and sober now, Candace has learned that overcoming addiction is a family condition: everyone in t...

Admiral (ret) Sandy Winnefeld and his wife, Mary, founded SAFE (Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic) after their son died of an accidental fentanyl overdose.  They later hired Brandee Izquierdo - herself an addict in recovery - to run the organization.  Together they are making a huge difference in tackling the addiction pandemic.  Learn more here:  https://www.safeproject.us/

A strong proponent of balancing advocacy and accountability, Dr. Kraft consults at the collegiate and professional levels championing the development of critical thinking skills in relation to mental health. As the founder and CEO of Camille Kraft Consulting, Camille has had the privilege of working with a first-turned-third round NFL draft pick and a former 14-year NFL veteran battling substance...

Joseph Carlucci Adevai is Senior Pastor and Founder of Grace Church of North Brunswick, NJ. He is also the former CEO of Serenity Springs Recovery a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Edgewater, Fla. He worked on Wall St. for 25 Years and retired in 2009 as SVP of a $70 billion-dollar company. He pastors full time and still invests to support his family. He has been married to Alicia Adevai...

After spending almost 20 years struggling with addiction Paul finally made the conscious decision change. With 1 year left on his decade long prison stay he began to work on himself from the inside out. Through internal work and a shift in his mindset he has been able to stay clean while building a successful coaching business. Today he is able to help others become their best self though fitness,...

Patricia Love is a professional life coach, NLP, EFT who motivates and builds confidence in women who struggle with being seen and heard in their personal or business lives. Turning her own life around from being broke and broken at 57, she made the decision to turn "Her Mess, Into Her Message." Patricia Love's book – Seen and Unheard - delves deeply into how she ended up with a drug/alcohol probl...

Danielle Gregorich is an Arizona native.  She is an Air Force wife and a sober Mom of two children.                 She is a multiple suicide attempt survivor, a kidney cancer survivor, and a stroke survivor.                                 DG started writing about her sobriety publicly in 2018 after she suffered a massive stroke four months into her sobriety journey. ----That stroke took away her...

Growing up in a small garden apartment community, Alan and his brother lost their father at a very young age.  Trying to manage in the wake of this tragedy alongside an emotionally destroyed mother and a brother who spiraled downward into mental illness, Alan navigated in the only way he knew how: throwing himself into before and after school jobs, playing baseball and going to the track to bet on...

Dr. Gelfand is a board-certified rheumatologist with over 40 years clinical and teaching experience. Over the last three years he was involved with patient care and teaching rheumatology to a new Internal Medicine Residency Program of HCA in Myrtle Beach, SC, until he semi-retired last July, 2018 to devote most of his time to legal medical expert reviews of the medical histories of victims who hav...

John Luppo is a Modern Day Miracle.  He is a man who has endured much trauma, tragedy, and loss. His life is seriously what Hollywood Movies are made of. Raised on the streets of New York City in the borough of the Bronx in an Italian Catholic family he went on to become a very successful Wall Street executive. This led him to live a very fast life and all the trials that came with it. Alcohol, dr...

Josh Torbich is the Executive Director of Christian Recovery Centers Inc. He also serves as the Director of the Ocean Isle Beach Celebrate Recovery and is the chairman of the Brunswick County Opioid Task Force. He holds a Masters degree in Education with an emphasis on Business Management and Christian Leadership. He was born in Johnston County, North Carolina to a great Christian mother and fathe...

Manny Mendez received his school of hard knocks diploma in some of the hardest correctional institutes since he was a youth. After gaining his physical freedom he began a long journey to free his mind from the prison of addiction. Throughout all of this, his comfort came in the form of creating art. His work has been featured in many exhibits and recovery centers throughout the nation. Featured in...

I am a family man with 7 children, six daughters and one son. I am a retired Police Officer who was run over on duty and ultimately retired from the injuries.  The injuries caused me to endure numerous knee surgeries and constant rehabilitation. To deal with the pain, I was prescribed Opioids. After months and months of therapy, the department and doctors made the determination that my injuries wo...

John Mabry's story of addiction begins where most people's end. At 22, he was involved in a horrific SUV accident that claimed his right leg as well as the life of his friend. (The vehicle flipped 10 times in less than 10 seconds.) It's the sort of shocking, violent twist that takes place in Act 2 in most screenplays about substance abuse. Not for Mabry. This happened during the opening credits of...

Behind closed doors, millions of people abuse opioids. Nicholas Bush was one of them. In this beautifully raw and refreshingly honest memoir, Bush boldly allows readers into his addiction-ravaged community. We see how heroin nearly claimed his life on multiple occasions, how it stole the lives of his young siblings and friends, and how it continues to wage a deadly toll on American neighborhoods—c...

While alcoholic falls from grace are as common as they are tragic, there isn't often an Olympic pedestal involved somewhere in the story. Unfortunately for three-time Olympic champion Carrie Steinseifer Bates, her story has one in it. Her decades-long plunge into alcoholism didn't just devastate her family and destroy relationships—it almost erased her monumental athletic achievements from memory....

In 2013, Kim Bellas' 15 -year-old started having seizures. Like most teenagers, he enjoyed going to parties and socializing. A significant aspect of these parties was the consumption of alcohol, and her son was unable to drink due to his seizures. As a mother, it was instinctive to make him happy by assuring him that alcohol wasn't necessary for him to enjoy himself. It IMMEDIATELY dawned on her h...