The Unhooked Podcast

Today's conversation is with an incredible woman, whose posts I have followed for some time now.  I had the privilege of meeting her this past year at an AMAZING retreat in Santa Barbara, California.  A retreat that she is the creator of, called Heart of a Warrior Woman...  What works for my family may not be what works for yours, and vice versa - yet, regardless of the approach or...

I met this amazing woman on a retreat in Santa Barbara, California and felt an instant warmth and connection. I have been eager to have her on the podcast...we discuss the effects of addiction on the family, in particular as it impacts the heart of a Mother.  Allyson describes her journey to acceptance as her son has been unbelievably incarcerated as the result of an overdose.   She shar...

Back for Part II with Whitehall Division of Fire's Asst. Chief Chris Menapace, joined by Community Paramedic Randy Jones, this conversation was recorded from the firehouse. Listen in as these two first responders and who I like to call "heroes in the work of the addiction epidemic" share stories from the SAFE Station; where anyone needing relief and recovery is welcome through the doors without fe...

Back again with Whitehall Division of Fire's Asst. Chief Chris Menapace, joined by Community Paramedic Randy Jones, this conversation was recorded from the firehouse. Listen in as these two first responders and who I like to call "heroes in the work of the addiction epidemic" share stories from the SAFE Station; where anyone needing relief and recovery is welcome through the doors without fear of...

"The Unhooked Podcast" This week's conversation is with Joan, a fellow Mom from the rooms.  Joan has years of experience under her belt when it comes to healing the effects of family addiction, alcoholism and dysfunctional religious beliefs. A lot heals in the process of recovering - including your perception of yourself, along with the types of friends you remain close to, or see the need to...

Peer support occurs when people provide knowledge, experience, emotional, social or practical help to each other. It commonly refers to an initiative consisting of trained supporters, and can take a number of forms such as peer mentoring, reflective listening, or counseling.  Having come to understand the value of supportive peers for myself, I'm excited to introduce the topic of Peer Support...

Regan (daughter of Janelle, featured on the last week's podcast), shares her personal story and inside view of addiction and recovery.  At just 19 years old, Regan has experienced already the nightmare of addiction and relapse, as well as the relief of recovery.  She describes the impact substance use has had on not only her own life, but upon the lives of those closest to her.  As...

In this episode, we hear the story of a Mom who like so many in this epidemic - becomes desperate and frantic after discovering her young daughter's substance use and eventual struggle with addiction.   Janelle shares her fight for her daughter's life. Listen as she describes her own personal awakening and revelation of the need for education, support and recovery for herself in the midst of...

If it wasn't for a process of recovery, and finding my way into some amazing rooms - I would still be a broken, fearful mess.  Most likely I'd still searching for that one answer or event to finally heal my life.  With my emotional well-being at the mercy of people and situations outside of myself, which is a great way to live a miserable life!    This episode was recorded in a...

In this conversation, Dr. Daniel Skinner and Berkeley Franz open up the amazing book written from the front-lines of the opioid epidemic from all over the state of Ohio.    "Not Far From Me" is published by the Ohio State University Press and is a beautiful collaboration of stories ranging from first responders, to poets and prison cells, to grieving family members, librarians, school teachers and...

I have been familiar for the work of Dr. Donna Marks for a while now, through the connection with her incredible daughter Hanna. I spoke with them on Recovery Radio a couple of years ago and was profoundly impressed.  Donna Marks has been a licensed psychotherapist and addictions counselor in private practice in Palm Beach County for over 30 years. Dr. Marks specializes in working with indivi...

I have followed the work of this fellow Mom in Recovery for a while now.  Having personally not had a substance struggle of her own, but being a person in long term recovery from the impact of having a loved one go through that hell, “A Mother’s Addiction Journey"  Creator Katie Donovan has spent over the last 20 years in the marketing, events and communications industry. After experiencing the ad...

"A Higher Power for me just needs to be a Force greater than my fears..."   I found that comment, among many others in this conversation to be deeply revelational.    I personally love Writers and Authors, especially those who speak a language of recovery, in this Unhooked conversation I met with Author Gigi Langer.  Gigi holds a PhD in Psychological Studies in Education and an...

I recently had the honor of sitting with the staff of Ohio's new first recovery school - Heartland High School! A hybrid of private school and all things recovery, Heartland is Ohio’s first recovery school and I could not be more excited to give listeners an inside view.  Heartland High school is pioneering new ground and making history, using grace, kindness, compassion, wisdom and all things rec...

In this week's episode I sat down Brenda Stewart, founder of The Addict's Parents United and the Mother of two adult sons who have suffered with substance use and addiction.  Together we cover the effects on the family members, in particular the parents of a son or daughter afflicted with an addiction or alcohol problem.        Our side of the house can be crazier and...

This week's conversation covers an area that has required intense recovery work for me personally, recovering from an extremist religious childhood.  "To the Moon and Back" Author Lisa Kohn (whose NYC accent I love), openly shares her personal recovery story which includes a childhood divided between a strict religious cult upbringing with her mother, and a "no rules apply" household with her fath...

This week's conversation is an important one to me - the need for the family members who love someone struggling with addiction, or alcoholism to recover themselves. If you have lived very long at all, you most likely have something to recover from. Recovery, addiction and dependency are not always about chemicals; many who are affected by someones substance use find themselves drunk on fear, sadn...

This week's conversation delves into the dark topic of sexual trafficking.   Ohio ranks 4th in the nation for sexual trafficking.  Trauma and addiction lurk behind each story.   In 2009 Franklin County Court Judge Paul Herbert set up CATCH Court, a specialized docket seeking to provide structure and support to help women caught trafficking find their way to freedom and healing. Hann...

In this week's conversation, I sit down with a friend from home and hashed out the painful recovery of a friendship gone bad.  This is a difficulty that unfortunately many of us experience at least once in a lifetime.     When it comes to dealing with family adversity, addiction and so on - safe, healthy, compassionate friends are an absolute must.  Some of us have experie...

The conclusion to last week's conversation, "What is DBT therapy?"  This is one of my favorite conversations with Lisa Bond, RN and DBT Solututions Specialist, as we look into the creation of DBT decades ago by Dr. Marsha Linehan who came out in 2017 to the NY Times about her own struggle with mental health, suicidal attemtps and time spend locked in a seclusion room of a mental hospital.   Dr. Li...

In this episode Part 1 of the two part series, Lisa Bond, RN and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Specialist explains the DBT method of treatment.  DBT is found to be efficient and highly effective for those experiencing emotional distress, conflict issues, borderline personality, suicidal ideation, C-PTSD, trauma, and addiction. Listen to the first part of this podcast series to hear Lisa describe...

(Remixed after last episode had a glitch) This week's conversation (re-released) is with my ex-husband, "Moose." We open up about both our family backgrounds, as well as mistakes made and lessons learned while trying to co-parent a child who later fell into addiction after a sports injury. Taken from Chapter 18 of my 2nd book, "Unbroken, Navigating the Madness of Family Dysfunction, Addiction, Alc...

Most of us have have had coworkers or bosses that we didn't see eye-to-eye with.  Some of us have even experienced it to a toxic degree, with coworkers or bosses who bully, manipulate, lie, slack off, blame... etc.   Professional dysfunction can be especially taxing if we are simultaneously going through a hard time personally with a family member struggling with addiction, alcoholism, or mental/e...

This weeks conversation is with Dr. Patricia Strach, and Dr. Katie Zuber, from the Rockefeller Institute of Government, out of Albany New York.  Both are at work on a project in Sullivan County, New York called "Stories from Sullivan," where they are meeting with families in a town ravaged by the opiate epidemic.   Once known as the place to go for great health, Sullivan was a vacation s...

In this short clip, I shared the CliffsNotes version of my family's experience with addiction and mental health.  This presentation was with Peace UMC.  We are six years into our recovery journey, the memories almost seem like someone else's story. We've come so far, more than a million miles! That's possible for anyone.  There is hope for any family to rise from the depths of addic...