Living Undeterred: How Plant-Based Medicine and Purpose Helped One Man Survive Devastating Loss

Host Dave Roberts interviews Jeff Johnston, founder and CEO of Brighton, a mental wellness app combining health, wealth, and purpose with evidence-based AI support. Johnston recounts losing his 23-year-old son Seth to fentanyl poisoning on Oct. 4, 2016, and later his wife Prudence to alcoholism in 2021, describing ensuing alcoholism, grief, suicidal ideation, and a shift from status- and money-driven living toward seeking peace, joy, empathy, and resilience. He discusses reframing pain and suffering, stigma around men crying, and how guided plant-based medicine experiences (psilocybin and ketamine) helped him. Johnston outlines his advocacy work (Living Undeterred project, podcast, 2022 nationwide tour) and explains Brighton’s AI-driven journaling, pattern recognition, and personalized prompts, plus his book This One’s For You written partly for Seth’s daughter Brighton.Bio and Contact InformationJeff Johnston is the Founder and CEO of Brightn, a comprehensive mental wellness app that brings together health, wealth, and purpose through evidence-based AI support. His life was forever changed on October 4, 2016, when his oldest son, Seth, died from fentanyl poisoning at age 23. Formerly a successful entrepreneur and financial advisor in Iowa, Jeff stepped away from his career to become a vocal advocate for substance use awareness and mental health. He began speaking in schools, joined the board of a local treatment facility, and launched the Living Undeterred Project in 2020 to confront stigma around addiction. That same year, he authored This One’s For You and launched the Living Undeterred Podcast. In 2021, Jeff lost his wife, Prudence, to alcoholism. Driven to create meaningful change, he completed a 95-day nationwide tour in 2022 and is now building Brightn to help others live with greater resilience and purpose.Website: www.brightn.appTwitter: https://twitter.com/undeterreddadFacebook: https://facebook.com/brightnappInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightnapp/Podcast: https://linktr.ee/LivingUndeterredLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-a-johnston/Book: www.thisonesforyoubook.comEmail: [email protected]: (319) 899-3400To find out more about Dave , go to davidrobertsmsw.com