Grieving Out Loud: A Mother Coping with Loss in the Opioid Epidemic
After losing her 21-year-old daughter, Emily, to fentanyl poisoning, veteran journalist Angela Kennecke made it her life’s mission to break the silence surrounding substance use disorder and the overdose crisis. Grieving Out Loud is a heartfelt and unflinching podcast where Angela shares stories of devastating loss, hard-earned hope, and the journey toward healing. Through powerful interviews with other grieving families, experts, advocates, and people in recovery, this podcast sheds light on the human side of the epidemic — and how we can all be part of the solution. Whether you're coping with grief, supporting a loved one, or working to end the stigma, you’ll find connection, comfort, and inspiration here.
Episodes
292 episodes
Wife, Mother & Heroin Addict Shares her Overdose Story before Serving her Prison Sentence
Jessica Pfau has battled opioid and alcohol addiction ever since her 2011 gastric bypass surgery. Jessica has made several attempts at recovery and blown all the chances given to her by the legal system. After overdosing on heroin laced with fe...
SD Governor Gets Personal on Battling Addiction
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and Angela Kennecke have a conversation about the personal toll addiction takes on families; whether or not South Dakota's new anti-meth campaign can be effective, despite the ridicule; and how the State plans ...
The Barriers and Challenges to Addiction Treatment
Rimrock in one of the largest treatment centers in Montana, serving adults and adolescents with substance use and co-occurring disorders. Rimrock views addiction as a whole person illness affecting an indi...
Author Interview: "And Then, We Laughed: A Memoir of Hope & Healing"
The author of the book, And Then, We Laughed: A Memoir of Hope & Healing, shares the trauma that plagued her childhood and resulted in her own alcoholism. Delaine Shay's family struggled to come to terms with the fact that her fath...
Founder of Power for Abundant Recovery
Mark McManus started Power for Abundant Recovery Ministries. McManus took his first drink at age 11 and has battled alcoholism. While he has been in recovery for decades, he also faced addiction as a parent of two sons, who have struggled with ...
An Interview with the Interventionist
In this episode, Mary Ann Giebink tells her story of addiction and the turmoil it caused in her life. This once successful attorney eventually ended up in prison. But for nearly a decade, she has worked on her own recovery and is now helping ot...
Moms Turning Heartbreak into Action
In this episode, Angela Kennecke talks with fellow mother, Barb Olson. Barb lost her daughter, Caitlyn "Cat" in 2018 in a horrific car crash. Olson has started a non-profit to carry on her daughter's legacy and love for reading and education. B...
Broken Heart Syndrome: 4 Ways We Grieve
In this episode Dr. Mark VandeBraak, a a board certified music therapist and thanatologist (grief educator) talks about the symptoms of a broken heart after someone we love dies. He shares four ways that grief affects us and gives us tools for ...
What Two Mothers Have Learned Following the Deaths of their Daughters
Mothers Angela Kennecke and Celia Farmer are now part of a club that no one wants to join. Celia lost her 14-year-old daughter, Mali, to suicide. Angela and Celia share how they have coped and what has helped them, as well as what has not. Both...
"The Opioid Epidemic: What Everyone Needs to Know"
In this episode, we hear from Dr. Joshua Sharfstein from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has co-authored a book with his wife, Dr. Yngvil...
Father Loses His Only Two Children to Overdose
In Episode 7, Steve Grant shares the story of losing both his sons, his only two children, to overdose. Chris and Kelly died five years apart, but both succumbed to substance use disorder. Steve's ordeal is unimaginable, but som...
Addiction is a Disease
In this episode of "Grieving Out Loud" Angela Kennecke interviews Psychiatrist, Dr. Matt Stanley, the Medical Director of the new Avera Addiction Care Center opening in October of 2019. Dr. Stanley explains addiction as a disease, discusses the...
"The Rebeccas:" Two Women in Recovery Determined to Help Others
Two women, both named Rebecca, have each been in recovery from methamphetamine addiction for more than a decade. Now they are determined to give back and open a series of sober living homes to help others recover in their community. To ...
Loving My Son Through Heroin Addiction
In this episode of "Grieving Out Loud," Angela Kennecke interviews mother Sara Crosby. Sara has three children; two of them are twin boys. One of her twins developed substance use disorder, which started in his teen years, but intensified after...
Emily's Friends Overdose
In this episode of "Grieving Out Loud," Angela Kennecke shares how two of Emily's friends recently overdosed and lived after getting Narcan. From their frantic parents, to the confusion over how to get help, it's an eye-opening podcast on the p...
The Tornado: An Interview with Melissa Flynn about Stepson's Overdose
In this episode of "Grieving Out Loud," mother Melissa Flynn talks about losing her 25-year-old stepson Nicholas to a fentanyl overdose. Melissa and Angela talk about their frustration in trying to get their children help and what they have lea...