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

By Angela KenneckeSociety & Culture Health & Fitness Mental Health Personal Journals

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

September 30Breaking Free From Addiction, Depression & the Belief She Wasn’t Enough
For much of her life, Simone Bowyer struggled to believe she was enough. Growing up with an abusive father who battled alcohol addiction, Simone says childhood trauma sent her down a dangerous path that included an eating disorder, addiction and depression.
After years of therapy and hard work, Simone found recovery and a new sense of purpose. Today, she’s an author, speaker and founder of Light Within Collective, where she focuses on trauma, recovery and emotional well-being.
In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Simone shares her story of addiction and mental health, how she found healing and what she wants others who are struggling to know.
Learn more about Simone and purchase her book here.
Related episodes:
‘It Was Like Going to My Own Funeral:’ Identical Twin Talks Life After Loss
One woman’s path to overcome abuse and addiction
The Voice You Knew — The Story You Didn’t
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Behind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.

They were...
daughters
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mothers
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friends
wives
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They were More Than Just A Number.
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For more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charity
Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz
59 min
September 23He Was Homeless and Battling Addiction. Then a Stranger Opened Her Door.
Millions of people have watched Bryan Blackmon’s TikTok videos featuring his nearly 90-year-old landlord, Elaine. But Elaine has done far more for Bryan than help him become a social media sensation.
Before those videos ever went viral, Bryan was homeless and battling addiction. Elaine was a stranger who took a chance on him, offering him a place to live and helping him find sobriety after decades of addiction. That simple act of trust changed the course of Bryan’s life and became the foundation for what he would go on to build.
Today, Bryan is the founder of Crab Crew Life, a high-accountability platform designed to help people move out of survival mode and create real, lasting change.
In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Bryan shares how the unexpected kindness of a stranger inspired him to help others change their lives, too.
Watch and follow Bryan on TikTok here.
Learn more about Crab Crew here.
Related episodes:
The Voice You Knew — The Story You Didn’t
A middle-class family man’s journey into homelessness and heroin
Brandon Novak’s Story: from fame to homelessness to helping others find recovery
Send us Fan Mail
Behind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.

They were...
daughters
sons
mothers
fathers
friends
wives
husbands
cousins
boyfriends
girlfriends.
They were More Than Just A Number.
Support the show
Connect with Angela
Follow Grieving Out Loud
Follow Emily's Hope
Read Angela’s Blog
Subscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope Updates
Suggest a Guest

For more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charity
Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz
1 hr 19 min
September 16Everyone Saw His Success. Few Knew He Was Battling Addiction.
Jason Granberg spent 25 years chasing a high, first with alcohol and later cocaine, believing the next dollar, success or possession would finally make him happy. Behind the success of building his own business, he was quietly battling depression and anxiety.
A few years ago, Jason made a decision that terrified him; he called a helpline and asked to be sent somewhere far away, leading him to 42 days of detox and treatment in New Jersey. He returned home and has remained in recovery ever since. Along the way, he learned that no amount of money can fill an empty place inside you. Today, Jason is up at 4 a.m., at the gym by 5 and facing life head-on instead of running from it.
In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, the owner of Granberg Landscaping and Concrete shares his story of addiction, recovery and learning to find and love himself.
Related episodes:
When Men Don’t Cry: Confronting the Culture of Silent Grief
Chris Farley’s Brother on the Comedy That Hid the Pain
‘I lost who I was.’ Emily’s Hope Treatment Scholarship gives mom second chance
Send us Fan Mail
Behind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.

They were...
daughters
sons
mothers
fathers
friends
wives
husbands
cousins
boyfriends
girlfriends.
They were More Than Just A Number.
Support the show
Connect with Angela
Follow Grieving Out Loud
Follow Emily's Hope
Read Angela’s Blog
Subscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope Updates
Suggest a Guest

For more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charity
Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz
45 min
September 09Addiction Pulled Him Into the Heart of Mexico’s Cartel Country
Nearly two decades of addiction took Austin Rampt to some of the darkest places of his life. He went through eight rehabilitation programs, crossed international borders searching for an escape, and eventually found himself living alongside members of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.
It was there that Austin experienced a near-death moment he never saw coming. That moment became one part of a long journey toward change and recovery.
Today, Austin is a business owner, a husband and a father of five. He is also the author of the memoir One Last Hit, where he shares his raw and honest story of addiction, survival and recovery.
This is a conversation about the realities of addiction, hitting bottom and finding a way back.
Learn more and purchase Austin's book here.
Related episodes:
The Voice You Knew — The Story You Didn’t
After His Son’s Death, Music Executive Takes on Mental Health and Fentanyl Crisis
A TV Anchor Shares Her Loss to Overdose and Efforts to End Stigma

Send us Fan Mail
Behind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.

They were...
daughters
sons
mothers
fathers
friends
wives
husbands
cousins
boyfriends
girlfriends.
They were More Than Just A Number.
Support the show
Connect with Angela
Follow Grieving Out Loud
Follow Emily's Hope
Read Angela’s Blog
Subscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope Updates
Suggest a Guest

For more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charity
Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz
40 min
September 02Moving Beyond Regret: A Mom's Message After Losing Her Son to Suicide
Regret and the tendency to punish ourselves can show up in everyday moments, like forgetting your phone at home, or in life-altering ways, like wondering what you could have done differently to prevent a tragedy.
Today’s guest on Grieving Out Loud shares why holding onto that regret can be so damaging. Stephanie Renner lost her 18-year-old son, Jordon, to suicide after years of mental health struggles.
Even after 25 years as an attorney helping CEOs and leaders navigate high-stakes decisions, nothing prepared her for the emotional trial she faced in the aftermath of her son’s death.
What she discovered wasn’t a way to go back, but a way to move forward.
From that journey, she created the “Regret to Resilience Method,” a framework designed to help others release guilt and shame and begin healing. In this episode, Stephanie shares her story, the lessons she’s learned, and how her approach is helping people rebuild with renewed purpose and authentic confidence after trauma or loss.
Learn more about Stephanie's speaking, workshops, and coaching services here.
Related episodes:
Author Peggy Green on surviving your child’s suicide
A Young, Accomplished Woman’s Secret Struggle with Addiction Results in Suicide
Mother blames cannabis-induced psychosis for son’s death
Send us Fan Mail
Behind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.

They were...
daughters
sons
mothers
fathers
friends
wives
husbands
cousins
boyfriends
girlfriends.
They were More Than Just A Number.
Support the show
Connect with Angela
Follow Grieving Out Loud
Follow Emily's Hope
Read Angela’s Blog
Subscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope Updates
Suggest a Guest

For more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charity
Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz
55 min
August 26‘The Avenue was Truly Peer Pressure:’ Mom Warns Parents After Son’s Fentanyl Death
Anne Fundner lost her 15-year-old son, Weston, to fentanyl poisoning in 2022. Weston was a high school freshman, a kid who was loved, supported, and given every opportunity his family could provide.
But in one moment of peer pressure, he took a pill he thought was something else. It contained fentanyl, and he never woke up that February morning.
Anne has refused to let Weston’s life be reduced to a statistic. Since his death, she has spoken on some of the biggest stages in the country, testified before Congress, and fought for legislation in his name.
Now, she’s focused on a message she believes every parent needs to hear: the importance of talking to kids about peer pressure. Anne says fentanyl took her son’s life, but the avenue that led him there was peer pressure.
In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Anne shares Weston’s story, what she wishes she could have done differently, and how she’s working to prevent other families from experiencing the pain she knows all too well.
Related episodes:
Uniting for change: A bereaved mother organizes D.C. march to combat fentanyl crisis
The Cop Who Had to Investigate Her Own Daughter’s Death
He Wanted Justice for His Son, So He Became the Investigator
Send us Fan Mail
Behind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.

They were...
daughters
sons
mothers
fathers
friends
wives
husbands
cousins
boyfriends
girlfriends.
They were More Than Just A Number.
Support the show
Connect with Angela
Follow Grieving Out Loud
Follow Emily's Hope
Read Angela’s Blog
Subscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope Updates
Suggest a Guest

For more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charity
Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz
45 min
August 19Her Grief Turned Into Poetry After Losing Her Son
Katie Rizzo holds two master’s degrees in science from Yale and the University of Colorado School of Medicine and has spent more than 15 years teaching high school AP Biology and Anatomy.
She never thought of herself as a writer. That changed on September 17, 2024, when she lost her firstborn son to substance use disorder.
Before her son died, she had never written poetry, but suddenly she had no other language. She began writing as a way to reach him, to somehow connect across that invisible divide.
She is still early in this journey, not even two years in, but she is walking it with remarkable honesty and courage.
She is sharing her story for a reason. She knows there are other parents living this same reality, grieving a child lost to something the world often stigmatizes and not always feeling there is space to mourn openly. She wants them to know they are not alone.
In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, she shares her son’s story, what she wants others to understand about loving someone struggling with addiction, and how she is finding healing by telling the truth instead of hiding it.
Read more of Katie's writing on her website here.
Related episodes:
Why 72,000 Deaths a Year Is Not a Success Story
Cookies, Grief, and Hope: A Mother’s Recipe for Healing After Fentanyl Loss
A Brain Scientist’s Warning Every Parent Should Hear

Send us Fan Mail
Behind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.

They were...
daughters
sons
mothers
fathers
friends
wives
husbands
cousins
boyfriends
girlfriends.
They were More Than Just A Number.
Support the show
Connect with Angela
Follow Grieving Out Loud
Follow Emily's Hope
Read Angela’s Blog
Subscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope Updates
Suggest a Guest

For more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charity
Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz
44 min
August 12Chris Farley's Brother on the Comedy That Hid the Pain
From Saturday Night Live to hit films like Black Sheep and Tommy Boy, Chris Farley was one of the defining comedians of the 1990s. But behind the fame and larger-than-life humor, he was quietly battling substance use disorder. In 1997, Chris died at just 33 years old from an accidental overdose of cocaine and morphine.
His brother, Tom Farley, is the guest on this episode of Grieving Out Loud. He knows firsthand what it’s like to hide what you’re really feeling, and how that can fuel addiction. Not only did he watch his brother struggle, he went through it himself, often masking his pain with humor, just like Chris.
In this episode, Tom shares what he’s learned about overcoming addiction, finding real happiness, and why being your authentic self matters. He also talks about how he’s helping others stop hiding their emotions behind humor, anger, or alcohol.
Learn more about recovery.com.
Related episodes:
Prince’s cousin’s efforts to expose the truth behind the musician’s fentanyl death
Brandon Novak’s Story: from fame to homelessness to helping others find recovery
After His Son’s Death, Music Executive Takes on Mental Health and Fentanyl Crisis

Send us Fan Mail
Behind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.

They were...
daughters
sons
mothers
fathers
friends
wives
husbands
cousins
boyfriends
girlfriends.
They were More Than Just A Number.
Support the show
Connect with Angela
Follow Grieving Out Loud
Follow Emily's Hope
Read Angela’s Blog
Subscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope Updates
Suggest a Guest

For more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charity
Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz
47 min
August 05After Almost Losing Her Son to Addiction, What She Wants Other Parents to Know
When your child is struggling with addiction, the fear can be overwhelming, and the loneliness can feel just as heavy.
Today’s Grieving Out Loud guest knows that reality all too well. Brenda Zane’s son was just 15 years old when addiction entered their lives and changed everything. Their journey pushed them to the brink, with two fentanyl overdoses in just three days. After the second overdose, he nearly died, spending three days in a coma on life support, suffering both a heart attack and a stroke.
Somehow, they found a way through.
Out of that experience, Brenda created the Hopestream community, a podcast and online space designed for parents navigating a child’s addiction. She built it because she knew how desperately families need support from people who truly understand.
What began as a passion project in 2020 has grown into a resource reaching families across the country. In this episode, Brenda shares her family’s difficult, years-long journey, what she’s learned about helping a loved one through addiction, and how both she and her son are now helping others find hope.
Learn more about the Hopestream Community here.
Learn more about the CRAFT Method here.
Related episodes:
A Brain Scientist’s Warning Every Parent Should Hear
Grief, marijuana, and addiction: A conversation about cannabis use disorder
A mother’s urgent message on mental health and addiction
Mother blames cannabis-induced psychosis for son’s death
Send us Fan Mail
Behind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.

They were...
daughters
sons
mothers
fathers
friends
wives
husbands
cousins
boyfriends
girlfriends.
They were More Than Just A Number.
Support the show
Connect with Angela
Follow Grieving Out Loud
Follow Emily's Hope
Read Angela’s Blog
Subscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope Updates
Suggest a Guest

For more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charity
Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz
1 hr 3 min
July 29The 70-Cent Test That Could Have Saved Her Son’s Life After He Survived an Overdose
Juli Shamash is getting national attention for an issue she wishes she never had to talk about. Her 19-year-old son survived a drug overdose, and the hospital ran a standard drug screen, but fentanyl wasn’t included. It isn’t part of the routine ER drug panel used in many hospitals across the country.
Her son, Tyler, died the next day.
It wasn’t until five months later, after a toxicology report from the coroner, that his family learned fentanyl was in his system. With no background in policy or legislation, Shamash took her fight to the California State Legislature, and won.
In 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Tyler’s Law, requiring hospitals in California to include fentanyl in routine drug screenings for suspected overdoses.
Now, Shamash is pushing for federal legislation to make that standard the law in every emergency room across the country. While she can’t bring her son back, she’s made it her mission to prevent other families from experiencing the same loss.
In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, she shares her story, the gaps she’s working to close, and how she’s pushing for change.
Learn more about Tyler's Law here.
Related episodes:
He Wanted Justice for His Son, So He Became the Investigator
The Cop Who Had to Investigate Her Own Daughter’s Death

Send us Fan Mail
Behind every number is a story of a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community devastated.

They were...
daughters
sons
mothers
fathers
friends
wives
husbands
cousins
boyfriends
girlfriends.
They were More Than Just A Number.
Support the show
Connect with Angela
Follow Grieving Out Loud
Follow Emily's Hope
Read Angela’s Blog
Subscribe to Grieving Out Loud/Emily’s Hope Updates
Suggest a Guest

For more episodes and information, just go to our website, emilyshope.charity
Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz
49 min

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

From the publisher's feed

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…