Most of us have a daily to-do list—sometimes scribbled on paper, sometimes just running through our heads. But today’s guest on Grieving Out Loud invites you to consider a different kind of list: a to-die list.

Bestselling author and self-help coach Karen Salmansohn has written more than 25 books for adults and tweens, with more than two million books and courses sold. Her work has been featured in national outlets including The New York Times, The Today Show, and InStyle magazine.

Karen isn’t afraid to take on tough, often-taboo topics like death—and turn them into powerful, uplifting lessons on how to live with more intention, joy, and purpose. In this episode, she shares practical advice for embracing life more fully and offers tools for navigating some of life’s biggest challenges, including grief.

If you liked this episode, listen to Living your best life at 102: Dr. Gladys McGarey’s secrets to fulfillment amid adversity next!

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The Emily’s Hope Substance Use Prevention Curriculum has been carefully designed to address growing concerns surrounding substance use and overdose in our communities. Our curriculum focuses on age-appropriate and evidence-based content that educates children about the risks of substance use while empowering them to make healthy choices. 

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Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Marley Miller

Most of us would never imagine taking on the role of a law enforcement investigator. But for so many grieving parents, that’s exactly what they’ve had to do. After losing their children to fentanyl, they find themselves combing through phone records, tracing dealers, and trying to uncover the truth—because no one else will.

For too long, overdose deaths were dismissed as tragic accidents. And while that mindset is beginning to shift amid the rise in fentanyl-related deaths, the heartbreaking truth remains: in many cases, no one is held accountable. Even when the victim had no idea they were taking fentanyl.

In today’s episode of Grieving Out Loud, we’re sitting down with Mark Russell. Mark’s son, like so many others, thought he was taking a Xanax. Instead, it was a counterfeit pill laced with a lethal dose of fentanyl. And when law enforcement didn’t act, Mark spent four years investigating his son’s death himself.

Now, he hopes to become a lifeline for other parents walking this painful path. He’s here to share what he’s learned—how to keep pushing for answers, navigate a complicated justice system, and demand accountability when the system falls short. Mark also opens up about why fighting the stigma surrounding fentanyl deaths is just as important as seeking justice—because it’s not just about healing families. It’s about saving lives.

If you liked this episode, listen to these next:

Snaps of sorrow: A father’s advocacy after losing son from Snapchat drug deal

A grieving father’s fight to bring deadly drug dealers to justice

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The Emily’s Hope Substance Use Prevention Curriculum has been carefully designed to address growing concerns surrounding substance use and overdose in our communities. Our curriculum focuses on age-appropriate and evidence-based content that educates children about the risks of substance use while empowering them to make healthy choices. 

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Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Marley Miller

Imagine walking into a room lined with hand-drawn graphite portraits—each one capturing the face of someone lost to fentanyl poisoning or a drug overdose. It’s a powerful experience, one that says more than statistics ever could. That’s the vision behind the INTO LIGHT Project, a nationwide nonprofit turning personal tragedy into public awareness through art.

On this episode of Grieving Out Loud, you'll hear how the organization is not only raising awareness about the fentanyl epidemic, but it’s also giving grieving families a space to heal. And for the founder, this mission is deeply personal. Join us for this emotional and inspiring conversation that aims to inform, protect and provide hope.

If you liked this episode, listen to these next:

Grieving mother copes by drawing caricatures of those lost in fentanyl epidemic

A grieving mother's memoir about addiction inspires a screenplay

A mother-daughter journey from Hollywood to heroin to healing

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The Emily’s Hope Substance Use Prevention Curriculum has been carefully designed to address growing concerns surrounding substance use and overdose in our communities. Our curriculum focuses on age-appropriate and evidence-based content that educates children about the risks of substance use while empowering them to make healthy choices. 

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Connect with Angela

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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 & Marley Miller

 When parents find out their child is facing a serious challenge, most will do whatever it takes to help. That was certainly true for Janel Rodriguez after she learned her teenage son was battling a marijuana addiction. But despite her efforts, Janel's world was shattered in a way she never saw coming.

Just weeks into his sophomore year, her son Noah bought what he believed was a Percocet. It turned out to be fentanyl—and it cost him his life.

In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Janel shares her powerful message for other parents, what she wishes she had known sooner, and how she’s channeling unimaginable grief into action to help save lives.

If you liked this episode, make sure to listen to these episodes next:

Mother spearheads lawsuit against Snapchat in wake of teen’s fentanyl fatality

A pill bought via Craigslist cost him his life

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The Emily’s Hope Substance Use Prevention Curriculum has been carefully designed to address growing concerns surrounding substance use and overdose in our communities. Our curriculum focuses on age-appropriate and evidence-based content that educates children about the risks of substance use while empowering them to make healthy choices. 

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Connect with Angela

Follow Grieving Out Loud

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Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Marley Miller

Around three dozen of her friends—that’s how many lives Morgan Mentele believes have been saved thanks to Emily’s Hope distributing free naloxone in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota area. In this powerful episode of Grieving Out Loud, Morgan courageously opens up about her journey: how she went from being a mom of two and Sunday School teacher to battling substance use disorder, how recovery finally became possible, and why she—and dozens of others—wouldn’t be here today without the life-saving impact of Emily’s Hope.

You can find out where the Emily’s Hope free naloxone boxes are located on the Emily’s Hope website, along with information on how to use naloxone. 

Send us a text

The Emily’s Hope Substance Use Prevention Curriculum has been carefully designed to address growing concerns surrounding substance use and overdose in our communities. Our curriculum focuses on age-appropriate and evidence-based content that educates children about the risks of substance use while empowering them to make healthy choices. 

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

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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 & Marley Miller

To some people, “the media” has become a dirty word. There’s no doubt—journalism is a tough job, especially in today’s divided world.

Between public scrutiny and constant deadlines, award-winning journalist Taylor Six felt the pressure closing in. Behind the scenes, she was quietly fighting a hidden battle with substance use disorder.

For years, she kept it secret. But now, Taylor is breaking the silence—not just for herself, but for others in the industry facing the same fight.

In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Taylor shares her raw, honest journey: what led her to seek help, how she found recovery, and why she started the Journalists Recovery Network to help other reporters. 

If you liked this episode, listen to these next:

• Addiction Behind the Headlines
• A TV Anchor Shares Her Loss to Overdose and Efforts to End Stigma
• ESPN reporter shares personal tragedy of losing both parents within hours to fentanyl

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The Emily’s Hope Substance Use Prevention Curriculum has been carefully designed to address growing concerns surrounding substance use and overdose in our communities. Our curriculum focuses on age-appropriate and evidence-based content that educates children about the risks of substance use while empowering them to make healthy choices. 

Support the show

Connect with Angela

Follow Grieving Out Loud

Follow Emily's Hope

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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 & Marley Miller

Identical twins often share an extraordinary bond—shaped not only by shared DNA but by a deep emotional connection. For Christa Parravani and her twin sister, Cara, that bond was strengthened by a difficult, abusive childhood. But then came the unimaginable. After Cara was kidnapped and raped, she spiraled into trauma, eventually turning to drugs. Tragically, she died from fentanyl poisoning.

Christa was shattered. Grief, depression, and an eating disorder took hold. But in the depths of her pain, she began to write Her: A Memoir—a powerful and widely acclaimed book that helped her reclaim her voice and purpose.

In the third and final episode of "What About Us? Stories of Sibling Grief", Christa opens up about her darkest moments, her journey toward healing, and how she’s now using her story to give others hope in the face of unimaginable loss.

If you liked this episode, listen to the other two episodes in our sibling grief series:

He Couldn’t Save His Brother, But He’s Working to Save Yours and Growing Up with Grief: Emily’s Siblings Open Up

Send us a text

The Emily’s Hope Substance Use Prevention Curriculum has been carefully designed to address growing concerns surrounding substance use and overdose in our communities. Our curriculum focuses on age-appropriate and evidence-based content that educates children about the risks of substance use while empowering them to make healthy choices. 

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 & Marley Miller

There’s something uniquely powerful about the bond between siblings. They’re like built-in best friends — there for the good, the bad, and everything in between. But when someone loses a brother or sister, their grief is often overlooked. Many people focus on the parents or the children and forget that siblings are mourning too.

In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, we continue our series on sibling loss with Will Rops. Will not only lost his oldest brother, Justin, to fentanyl poisoning, but he also grew up watching him struggle with substance use disorder.

Now, after that devastating loss, Will is fighting to make a difference — pushing to get emergency naloxone available at Minnesota state colleges. Hear how Will is turning his grief into action through legislation making its way through the Minnesota legislature, in this episode of Grieving Out Loud.

Send us a text

The Emily’s Hope Substance Use Prevention Curriculum has been carefully designed to address growing concerns surrounding substance use and overdose in our communities. Our curriculum focuses on age-appropriate and evidence-based content that educates children about the risks of substance use while empowering them to make healthy choices. 

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 & Marley Miller

In this deeply personal episode of Grieving Out Loud, host Angela Kennecke sits down with her own children to talk about the very public loss of their sister, Emily, who died of fentanyl poisoning in 2018. While the nation saw the news story, what it didn’t see was the quiet heartbreak that unfolded behind closed doors. 

In episode one of What About Us? Stories of Sibling Grief, each sibling shares how Emily’s death changed them—how they grieve, how they’ve grown, and what they want others to know about life after unimaginable loss. It’s the start of a powerful new series on sibling grief, with raw honesty, love, and hope at its heart.

There’s more to come—join us in the next few episodes as we continue sharing stories of siblings navigating life after loss.

Send us a text

The Emily’s Hope Substance Use Prevention Curriculum has been carefully designed to address growing concerns surrounding substance use and overdose in our communities. Our curriculum focuses on age-appropriate and evidence-based content that educates children about the risks of substance use while empowering them to make healthy choices. 

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 & Marley Miller

Sometimes, life delivers blow after blow, leaving you gasping for air. Whether it’s the loss of a job, a home, or someone you love, grief can feel all-consuming—like joy may never return. For Betsy Stephenson, the heartbreak came in rapid succession. Within just six weeks, she lost her mother-in-law to dementia, her family dog to cancer, and—most devastating of all—her son to suicide. But instead of allowing the grief to swallow her whole, Betsy turned to writing.

Through raw, unfiltered reflections captured in real time, she began to process her pain and offer hope to others walking through similar darkness. In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Betsy shares her journey through unimaginable loss, the lessons she’s learned along the way, and what inspired her to publish her intimate memoir, Blackbird. Her story is both deeply emotional and quietly courageous—a reminder that even in the darkest skies, light still finds a way through.

If you liked this episode, listen to these episodes next:

• Broken Heart Syndrome: 4 Ways We Grieve
• A mother's grief journey and how it changed her life

Send us a text

The Emily’s Hope Substance Use Prevention Curriculum has been carefully designed to address growing concerns surrounding substance use and overdose in our communities. Our curriculum focuses on age-appropriate and evidence-based content that educates children about the risks of substance use while empowering them to make healthy choices. 

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 & Marley Miller