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
CRUSHing the Stigma
Rod Courtney was a probation and parole officer and trained social worker. But even with that experience, Rod Courtney couldn’t save his son. Chad, who was 38, died of fentanyl poisoning in 2016. Following his son’s death, Rod has dedicated his...
Prison couldn't do it, but fitness, mindfulness & healthy eating helped turn one man's life around
The fact that Garrett Sheppard is alive at all is a miracle. Garrett struggles with several mental conditions from anxiety to depression to PTSD and ADHD. He started using meth at a young age, and pretty soon it didn't matter what kind of...
How suppressed grief shows up in unexpected ways
Ashley Bernardi lost her father at 11 years old. She has also dealt with a chronic illness. During the pandemic, Ashley spent time writing and interviewing some of the top experts in grief, PTSD, and postpartum depression and created her ...
Kentucky's Teacher of the Year secret struggle with addiction
Jessica Duenas was Kentucky's teacher of the year in 2019. But she had a dark secret that no one would have imagined. She was an active alcoholic that couldn’t survive a day without drinking. Once she decided to get help, she was diagnose...
The other Faith Hill who calls herself toothless and ruthless
She's the Faith Hill of Missouri, not Nashville. Faith used meth for six years, starting at age 14, and lost all of her teeth because of it. After finding recovery, Faith decided to document her journey, from having no teeth to what it was like...
From addiction to grief, best-selling author tackles tough subjects
Author Kathleen Glasgow drew upon her own experiences as a teenager to write her first best-selling book, Girl in Pieces, which covered tough topics such as self-harm and depression. She has also poignantly dealt with other difficult s...
Father sounds alarm bells over drug dealing on social media after son poisoned
On February 7, 2021, a drug dealer reached out to 16-year-old Sammy Chapman on Snapchat and delivered a deadly dose of fentanyl to his Los Angeles home. Sammy's story went viral after his parents shared it because his mom, Dr. Laura Berman, is ...
Former Congresswoman Mary Bono's Advocacy in the Opioid Epidemic
You may recognize Mary Bono, as the widow of Sonny Bono who filled his seat in Congress and then went on to serve nearly 15 years as a California representative. Mary was on the forefront, warning about the o...
The Preventable Epidemic
Dr. Arun Gupta wrote the book, The Preventable Epidemic: A Frontline Doctor’s Experience and Recommendations to Resolve America’s Opioid Crisis. Dr. Gupta says th...
A Mother on Surviving the Loss of Two Sons to Overdose
Denise Roberts’ two sons, Matthew and Dillan, were born on the same day, four years apart. She was married to her husband, Tom, for ten years when he had a heart attack at age 42 and died. They were already trying to get her son, Dillan, who wa...
Navy Admiral on loss of son to overdose and reversing the epidemic
A former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his family were not immune to the overdose epidemic. Retired four-star Navy Admiral James "Sandy" Winnefeld has become an influential advocate to end overdoses after the
How a high school dropout and meth user found recovery and became a college professor
Dr. Melissa Dittberner’s or "Dr. Mo," as she is known to her students, began using meth at age 14. Dr. Mo has had such a storied life. After giving up methamphetamines when she became a mom and eventually a single mom, she turned to alcohol. Th...
Man who lost son, wife to addiction is "Living Undeterred"
Jeff Johnston has experienced compound loss, first his 23-year-old son to fentanyl poisoning in 2016, and now most recently his wife of 21 years, to addiction. But Jeff is “Living Undeterred,” by loss, doing what he can to change the narrative ...
The Scourge of Fentanyl & Meth on our Nation
Your host, Angela Kennecke, first met Journalist and Author, Sam Quinones, when he spoke at an Opioid Summit in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after writing his best-selling book,
Emily's teammate finds recovery through Emily's Hope Treatment Scholarship
22-year-old Morgan was a couple of years younger than Emily, but went to the same high school and was part of the gymnastics team. She says Emily was always encouraging her. Morgan began drinking and smoking college and then moved on to h...
Shayla's Story
Dave and Janette Kucera's daughter, 22-year-old Shayla, died just 15 months after Emily. They didn’t have any idea that Shayla was using heroin until she was in a car crash months before her death. The Kuceras talk about Shayla's re...
Founder of Facebook group to help mothers grieving overdose deaths loses a second child to overdose
Pj Champion Sallie started the Facebook group #NotInVain four years ago following the death of her 24-year-old daughter, Christina, in 2017. Tragically, Pj’s 31-year-old daughter, ...
Coping with a Xanax overdose death
Janet Ropp's 19-year-old son, James, died October 13, 2018, from a Xanax overdose. James had struggled with addiction throughout his teenage years. He had been diagnosed with ADHD at a young age and his mother believes he was self-medicating wi...
A woman's journey from meth and tragedy to hope for others
32-year-old Tiffany Thoelke was a rebellious teen who started using meth in 8th grade. A caring teacher helped change the course of her life. Then a tragic personal loss involving mental health and addiction propelled her into a new arena, that...
Childhood Trauma and Addiction
Jon Sommervold grew up with high-achieving, affluent parents, but that didn’t protect him from becoming a victim of sexual abuse. He turned to alcohol at a young age to cope with trauma and eventually developed a $1,000 a day cocaine habit. Yet...
Connecting beyond the grave
After suffering a miscarriage, Shauna Domalain dealt with her own grief and heartache, but as a spiritual medium, Shauna says she has connected with the son she lost and that has given her hope. Shauna believes we can all connect with our child...
STRUNG: The movie making a difference
The short film, STRUNG, is picking up plenty of awards at film festivals all over the world. It deals with the tough issue of addiction. Lost in the forest of his own mind, the main character, Eric must rely on the survival skills o...
Mother shares story of son's meth overdose death
Diane Eide lost her 25-year-old son, Trace, in April of 2021 to a methamphetamine overdose. While they are not as common as opioid, and specifically fentanyl overdoses, meth overdose deaths have skyrocketed in the last decade. Diane is sharing ...
Mothers Healing Garden
Their shared grief over the loss of their children brought Carol Baum and Jeannie Ammon together. Both women lost their sons at a young age. Carol's son Jeremy completed suicide after battling meth addiction in 1999. Jeannie's son Wyatt died at...
Stigmatized deaths, signs and working through grief
David J. Roberts teaches a course on death, dying, and bereavement at Utica College in New York. He lost his 18-year-old daughter, Jeanine to cancer in 2003. In addition to leading grief groups, he is a retired addiction professional. Out of hi...