Is rehab and "tough love" the best way to help them through addiction? (with Joanna Rudnick) episode artwork

EPISODE · Oct 1, 2025 · 1H

Is rehab and "tough love" the best way to help them through addiction? (with Joanna Rudnick)

from For Love of Recovery · host Dominique Dajer

What does it really mean to love someone through addiction — and how do we move beyond the idea that rehab is the only way forward?The answer is rarely simple. We want to show up, to help, to protect — but sometimes our love feels heavy, confusing, or not enough.Joanna and I talk about the complicated love of siblings — the guilt, the hope, the heartbreak — and how stories like hers and mine can remind us that none of us are alone in this.In The Opioid Trilogy, Joanna brings these stories to life with unflinching honesty: Brother captures her intimate phone calls with her brother as he navigates the fragile cycle of recovery; Do No Harm follows Raina McMahan’s 17-year struggle with heroin and the healing power of connection over punishment; and Coming Home traces Tahira Malik’s journey of rebuilding after addiction and incarceration, and her creation of a safe space for women reentering society.Together we dig into:The complicated love of siblings — the guilt, the hope, the heartbreakPaths to recovery beyond rehab The failures of the rehab industryHow to help and support a loved one in early recovery, or sober curiousAnd what it means to love someone through addiction, even when you don’t have the answersIf you’ve ever wrestled with the idea of tough love, or questioned, “Am I loving them the right way?” this conversation is for you.📘Download our FREE, sibling e-book: 6 actions to help navigate a sibling’s substance use journey🤝Join our FREE and PRIVATE sibling-focused community: Siblings For Love of Recovery📲Connect with FLOR: Instagram and TikTok🎙Guest speaker: Joanna RudnickWatch The Opioid Trilogy’s short films:Ep 1: BrotherEp 2:  Do No HarmEp 3: Coming Home“Rat Park,” explained:TED Talk: “Everything you know about addiction is wrong” by Johann Hari

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Oct 1, 2025

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

Is rehab and "tough love" the best way to help them through addiction? (with Joanna Rudnick)

0:00 1:00:38

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of For Love of Recovery?

This episode is 1 hour and 0 minutes long.

When was this For Love of Recovery episode published?

This episode was published on October 1, 2025.

Can I download this For Love of Recovery episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!