Grieving Out Loud: A Mother Coping with Loss in the Opioid Epidemic

Today’s guest on Grieving Out Loud found success early in life. Mark Ehrenkranz built a career in the entertainment industry in California and New York, taking on a range of roles. But beneath that success, he was quietly fighting a battle with addiction.Over the years, Mark says recovery would come in long stretches, sometimes years before everything would unravel again. In one case, he says it was triggered by a medication prescribed by a doctor. Other times, it started with the thought that just one pill wouldn’t hurt. But, as he puts it, that’s not how his brain is wired.Mark says one of the turning points in his recovery has been learning to sit with discomfort, whether it’s difficult emotions, hard moments or even physical pain, instead of trying to escape it.In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Mark opens up about the highs and lows of his journey through substance use disorder, and the tools that have helped him not only rebuild his life in recovery, but find a deeper sense of joy along the way.Explore the Go Humans!™ website here.Related episodes:From Hollywood to healing: A mom’s battle with Ambien addictionA Wife’s Battle With Addiction, A Husband’s Journey to Love Her Through ItThe Voice You Knew — The Story You Didn’tSend us Fan MailBehind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.They were...daughterssonsmothersfathersfriendswiveshusbandscousinsboyfriendsgirlfriends.They were More Than Just A Number. Support the showConnect with AngelaFollow Grieving Out LoudFollow Emily's HopeRead Angela’s BlogSubscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope UpdatesSuggest a GuestFor more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charityWishing you faith, hope and courage!Podcast producers:Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

She’s walked the runway at New York Fashion Week, won titles like Miss Mt. Rushmore, and may soon have a documentary made about her life. But just a few years ago, Danica Miller was on a very different path.At just 13, she entered treatment for the first time, struggling with an addiction to inhalants. That struggle deepened over the years, leading to harder drugs, including meth, and at 19, a prison sentence after assaulting a law enforcement officer while intoxicated. With a felony on her record, rebuilding her life wasn’t easy.After years of addiction and setbacks, Danica found her way to recovery, a journey shaped by pain, but also resilience. In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, she shares her story, showing that even in the darkest moments, change is possible, and how she’s turned her past into something that now helps others.Learn more and follow Danica's Thrive Tribe group on Facebook here.Related episodes:The Dandelion in the WindowThe Voice You Knew — The Story You Didn’tDr. Sophie Two Hawk on Healing Native Communities from Addiction and TraumaSend us Fan MailBehind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.They were...daughterssonsmothersfathersfriendswiveshusbandscousinsboyfriendsgirlfriends.They were More Than Just A Number. Support the showConnect with AngelaFollow Grieving Out LoudFollow Emily's HopeRead Angela’s BlogSubscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope UpdatesSuggest a GuestFor more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charityWishing you faith, hope and courage!Podcast producers:Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

Imagine losing your child to an opioid overdose and then spending years fighting to hold those responsible accountable: the manufacturers, the distributors, the pharmacies. All of it driven by grief too heavy to put down and a determination that refused to quit.And then, you finally win in court. But the money meant to prevent other overdoses isn’t always used the way it was intended.Today’s guest on Grieving Out Loud, Alexis Pleus, knows that reality all too well. She lost her son, Jeff, to an overdose, and has since turned her grief into action, working to ensure other families don’t have to endure the same loss. One of her latest efforts focuses on how New York is spending billions of dollars from opioid settlements.In this episode, Alexis shares what her research uncovered, what she wants the public to understand, and why she’s continuing to push for accountability in how those funds are used.Read the full report from Truth Pharm: Community Solutions, State Exclusions: The Misalignment of New York’s Opioid Settlement Funds here. Watch Truth Pharm's Webinar: Researching and Writing on Opioid Settlement Fund Spending here. Learn how your state is spending opioid settlement dollars using the Opioid Settlement Tracker website here. Related episodes:The Scourge of Fentanyl & Meth on our NationShedding light on underreported overdose deaths with Truth PharmThousands of Tombstones by the U.S. Capitol to Honor Lives Lost to Substance UseSend us Fan MailBehind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.They were...daughterssonsmothersfathersfriendswiveshusbandscousinsboyfriendsgirlfriends.They were More Than Just A Number. Support the showConnect with AngelaFollow Grieving Out LoudFollow Emily's HopeRead Angela’s BlogSubscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope UpdatesSuggest a GuestFor more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charityWishing you faith, hope and courage!Podcast producers:Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

After a traumatic loss, like the death of someone we love, it can be tempting to avoid the hard work of grieving. Instead of facing that pain, people often try to numb it through drugs, alcohol or acting out. Others throw themselves into distractions, anything to avoid what’s really going on underneath. For today’s guest on Grieving Out Loud, Hakeem Bourne McFarlane, that outlet was sports.After his younger brother died from cancer at just six years old, Hakeem poured everything he had into athletics. On the surface, it looked like a positive path forward. But he says it was really a way to avoid his grief. Along the way, he also put intense,  and ultimately unhealthy, pressure on himself to succeed in his brother’s name.But what happens when the thing you’ve been using to hold it all together suddenly disappears? The grief is still there, and now there’s nothing left to outrun it.In this episode, Hakeem shares how an injury and substance use pulled him away from sports, forcing him to finally confront the pain he had been carrying for years. Now, he’s using that experience to help hundreds of others rebuild their lives through small, consistent steps and accountability.Learn more and explore Hakeem's website here. Related episodes:How to Live With Grief, Not Be Defined By ItWhen Men Don’t Cry: Confronting the Culture of Silent GriefCoping With Grief and Choosing Life After TragedySend us Fan MailBehind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.They were...daughterssonsmothersfathersfriendswiveshusbandscousinsboyfriendsgirlfriends.They were More Than Just A Number. Support the showConnect with AngelaFollow Grieving Out LoudFollow Emily's HopeRead Angela’s BlogSubscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope UpdatesSuggest a GuestFor more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charityWishing you faith, hope and courage!Podcast producers:Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

Grief can feel incredibly isolating, and it's something our society still struggles to talk about openly. The full range of emotions, the unexpected reactions, the weight of it all. In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, we're leaning into the conversations that too often go unspoken.Stephanie Peirolo’s story is one of both loss and resilience. After losing her father as a teenager, she battled substance use disorder. Years later, after finding recovery, she faced another unimaginable loss, her 19-year-old son.For months, Stephanie kept her story to herself. But over time, she found that sharing it became part of her healing. Today, she is a board-certified executive coach and writer, with a new book sharing her journey.In this episode, Peirolo opens up about her story, the parts of grief people rarely talk about, and how, after profound heartbreak, she’s found a way to laugh and live fully again.Learn more and purchase Stephanie's book here. Listen to Stephanie’s story on The Moth here. Related episodes:Growing Up with Grief: Emily’s Siblings Open UpBroken Heart Syndrome: 4 Ways We GrieveCoping With Grief and Choosing Life After TragedySend us Fan MailBehind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.They were...daughterssonsmothersfathersfriendswiveshusbandscousinsboyfriendsgirlfriends.They were More Than Just A Number. Support the showConnect with AngelaFollow Grieving Out LoudFollow Emily's HopeRead Angela’s BlogSubscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope UpdatesSuggest a GuestFor more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charityWishing you faith, hope and courage!Podcast producers:Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

It’s often said there’s no greater pain than losing a child. Today’s guest on Grieving Out Loud, Kym Hinchey, knows that devastation all too well. After helping her son through recovery from substance use disorder, she lost him to a sudden overdose.Just a few months after finding her 27-year-old son, Adrian, dead, Kym returned home to another unimaginable loss-her husband, also found dead on their bedroom floor.In the span of just a few months, Kym lost both her son and her husband. The grief was overwhelming. She says there was a time when the pain felt constant, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to keep going.But instead, Kym decided to devote herself to understanding grief and learning how to live through it. Today, she’s found meaning and purpose again, and she uses her experience to help others who are navigating loss.In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Kym shares her story with honesty and courage—the lessons grief has taught her, and how she’s found a way to keep moving forward.Download Kym's Free PDF "Five Things I Wish I’d Known at Ground Zero Grief" here. Find Kym’s book, Then and Now: The Evolution of Grief, here. Related episodes:Broken Heart Syndrome: 4 Ways We GrieveHow to Live With Grief, Not Be Defined By ItWhen Men Don’t Cry: Confronting the Culture of Silent GriefSend us Fan MailBehind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.They were...daughterssonsmothersfathersfriendswiveshusbandscousinsboyfriendsgirlfriends.They were More Than Just A Number. Support the showConnect with AngelaFollow Grieving Out LoudFollow Emily's HopeRead Angela’s BlogSubscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope UpdatesSuggest a GuestFor more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charityWishing you faith, hope and courage!Podcast producers:Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

When you grow up in a home where alcohol and drugs are part of everyday life, it can be difficult to avoid being pulled into a generational cycle of addiction. It becomes your normal, what you know, what surrounds you. And too often, it’s intertwined with mental health struggles and abuse, making substances feel like a way to numb or escape the pain.That was the reality for today’s guest on Grieving Out Loud, Toni Handboy. Her childhood was shaped by trauma and loss. She experienced abuse, and her parents were often absent because of addiction. She was eventually taken from her grandparents and separated from her Lakota roots, moving between foster homes before later ending up in a juvenile detention center.During that time, Toni says she battled depression and suicidal thoughts. In an effort to cope, she turned to substances, continuing the very cycle she grew up around, as her addiction began to impact her own children.But Toni’s story doesn’t end there. While many struggle to break free, she has overcome that generational cycle and has now been in recovery for nearly two decades. Today, she’s not only rebuilding her life; she’s helping others who are facing the same battle.In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Toni shares her difficult but powerful story, what finally led her to seek help, and the message she hopes reaches those who feel trapped in addiction.Related episodes: Growing up in the shadow of addictionShe Promised It Would End With Her—Then It Didn’tDr. Sophie Two Hawk on Healing Native Communities from Addiction and TraumaSend us Fan MailBehind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.They were...daughterssonsmothersfathersfriendswiveshusbandscousinsboyfriendsgirlfriends.They were More Than Just A Number. Support the showConnect with AngelaFollow Grieving Out LoudFollow Emily's HopeRead Angela’s BlogSubscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope UpdatesSuggest a GuestFor more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charityWishing you faith, hope and courage!Podcast producers:Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

With the number of drug overdose deaths dropping, some are celebrating. But is there a risk in declaring victory too early and cutting funding for prevention? Today’s guest on Grieving Out Loud, an addiction researcher at Stanford, says not so fast. About 72,000 overdose deaths a year still exceeds the total number of Americans who died in the Vietnam War.Dr. Wayne Kepner says not only are far too many people still dying, but celebrating too early could cost more lives. He recently wrote an article titled, “America must not learn to live with 72,000 overdose deaths a year.”In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Dr. Kepner shares what history has taught us about past drug epidemics, and how those lessons can guide the path forward while preventing as many deaths as possible.Related episodes:A Drug Historian on What America Keeps Getting Wrong About the Fentanyl CrisisCan We Save Lives While Cutting Funding? A Tough Conversation at the TopHow Do We End the Fentanyl Epidemic? A Candid Conversation with a Former DEA ChiefSend us Fan MailBehind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.They were...daughterssonsmothersfathersfriendswiveshusbandscousinsboyfriendsgirlfriends.They were More Than Just A Number. Support the showConnect with AngelaFollow Grieving Out LoudFollow Emily's HopeRead Angela’s BlogSubscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope UpdatesSuggest a GuestFor more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charityWishing you faith, hope and courage!Podcast producers:Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

Originally released on May 23, 2021Jessica Lahey is a mother, teacher, and author of The New York Times bestselling book, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed. Jessica, who has been sober for eight years, says her new book, The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence, came out of concern for her own children following that same path. The book delves into genetics, psychology, and the science of addiction and offers practical things parents can do to keep their kids from suffering from addiction.Read Jessica's blog on her website here.Send us Fan MailSupport the showConnect with AngelaFollow Grieving Out LoudFollow Emily's HopeRead Angela’s BlogSubscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope UpdatesSuggest a GuestFor more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charityWishing you faith, hope and courage!Podcast producers:Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz