#10 What Do We Do When Our Children Walk Away?

What Do We Do When Our Children Walk Away? ft. Brad & Kylie JefferyContent Warning: This episode contains discussions of suicide, self-harm, and drug addiction. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to a mental health professional or crisis helpline.Resources: Lifeline Australia: 13 11 14 Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800Every parent's worst nightmare: your child is missing. Three months pass. No word. No sign. And you're left with an impossible question, do you keep searching, or do you surrender?In this heartbreaking yet hope-filled episode, Dean welcomes Brad and Kylie Jeffery, a couple who lived through every parent's darkest fear. Their daughter, devastated by her friend's suicide, spiralled into self-harm and ice (methamphetamine) addiction. Then one day, she disappeared. For three months, Brad and Kylie didn't know if she was alive or dead.This conversation goes to places most people can't imagine, the agony of waiting, the guilt, the fear, the questions that have no answers. Brad and Kylie share how their daughter's addiction and disappearance tore their family apart, and how they found themselves in a place they never expected: complete surrender."I found myself in a place of prayer that I couldn't escape and didn't want to escape," Kylie shares. "I wasn't exchanging words with God, I was just carried. I had a hope and a peace that surpassed understanding. I felt okay if she was never coming home."But this episode isn't just about faith, it's about the brutal reality of loving someone through addiction. Brad recounts the moment their daughter, desperate and angry, begged them: "Can you just stop loving me? I don't deserve it." It's a moment that captures the cruel paradox of addiction: the very love that can save someone is the same love they push away.Brad and Kylie open up about the power of tough love, unconditional love, and how their bond as a married couple became their lifeline when everything else was falling apart. They discuss grief after teen suicide, supporting a child through drug addiction, the trauma of a missing child, and the faith that held them together when logic said to fall apart.Whether you're a parent facing similar struggles, someone who loves an addict, or anyone trying to understand how to hold on and let go at the same time, this episode will break your heart open and fill it with hope.This episode is raw, real, and necessary. If you're walking through darkness with someone you love, Brad and Kylie's story will remind you that you're not alone, and that sometimes, letting go is the bravest act of love.Available now on all Spotify, Apple Music & YouTube.Make sure to follow us on socials:FacebookInstagramYouTubeSpotify