Jeff Johnston has experienced compound loss, first his 23-year-old son to fentanyl poisoning in 2016, and now most recently his wife of 21 years, to addiction. But Jeff is “Living Undeterred,” by loss, doing what he can to change the narrative in this country when it comes to mental health, overdose, and addiction. Jeff is launching the “Living Undeterred” tour this spring, where he hopes to raise awareness and bring people together all working toward a common goal. Emily’s Hope has joined forces as the South Dakota partner for the cross-country tour. Jeff has written a book, This One’s For You. He also writes a blog and hosts the Living Undeterred podcast. 

Website: www.LivingUndeterred.com 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/undeterreddad 

Facebook:  https://facebook.com/LivingUndeterred 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livingundeterred/ 

Podcast: https://linktr.ee/LivingUndeterred 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-a-johnston/ 

Book: www.thisonesforyoubook.com 

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Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Marley Miller

Your host, Angela Kennecke,  first met Journalist and Author, Sam Quinones, when he spoke at an Opioid Summit in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after writing his best-selling book, Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic. Now his latest book, The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth, looks at how much the drug market has changed and how deadly and addictive it has become. Quinones examines why the unbelievable number of fentanyl overdoses aren’t enough to stop people from playing Russian roulette with drug use.  His work exposes how extensive the synthetic drug epidemic has become and offers solutions and hope, one small effort at a time. 

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Podcast producers:
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22-year-old Morgan was a couple of years younger than Emily, but went to the same high school and was part of the gymnastics team. She says Emily was always encouraging her.  Morgan began drinking and smoking college and then moved on to harder drugs. Morgan says, " I would use a lot. It wasn’t just a small amount, it was a large amount and I could never have enough. I always needed more. Where my friends would be stopping, I would keep going."
Morgan says a miracle led her to treatment and when she received an Emily's Hope Treatment Scholarship, she knew that Emily was looking out for her. She calls Emily her guardian angel. 
Morgan shares how drinking and drugging took over her life and how she is returning to herself through sobriety. 

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Podcast producers:
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Dave and Janette Kucera's daughter, 22-year-old Shayla, died just 15 months after Emily. They didn’t have any idea that Shayla was using heroin until she was in a car crash months before her death. 

The Kuceras talk about Shayla's rebellious teenage years. And just like Emily, Shayla also left behind younger siblings who now have their own grief to deal with. 

The man accused of providing Shayla with the drugs laced with fentanyl will be in court next month in the first state case of drug distribution leading to death. The Kuceras are speaking out in Shayla’s memory and honor and in hopes of helping other families experiencing the same kind of loss to overdose. 

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Podcast producers:
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Pj Champion Sallie started the Facebook group #NotInVain four years ago following the death of her 24-year-old daughter, Christina, in 2017. Tragically, Pj’s 31-year-old daughter, Ashley, also died of fentanyl poisoning on January 1st of this year. She now joins the surprisingly high number of parents who have lost more than one child to overdose. She wrote in Ashley’s obituary:  “My grieving mother’s plea is for you to reserve judgment for just a moment & see my daughter as those that love her do. You see, the stigma of addiction is so incredibly hard on those with addictions, as well as those that love them.”

Pj first joined Angela Kennecke on the podcast one year ago and is back to talk about how she is coping with the deaths of her two children and raising her grandchildren, all while continuing to help other mothers find hope. #NotInVain is marking four years of offering support to grieving mothers in the opioid epidemic and has now grown to 6,000 members. 

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Janet Ropp's 19-year-old son, James, died October 13, 2018, from a Xanax overdose. James had struggled with addiction throughout his teenage years. He had been diagnosed with ADHD at a young age and his mother believes he was self-medicating with illicit drugs. Janet is marking the third anniversary of James' death by sharing what she has learned about grief and how to cope.  She took classes through the Grief Recovery Method and found comfort in the book Where Did You Go, by Christina Rasmussen.

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32-year-old Tiffany Thoelke was a rebellious teen who started using meth in 8th grade. A caring teacher helped change the course of her life. Then a tragic personal loss involving mental health and addiction propelled her into a new arena, that of helping to educate young people and develop social and emotional learning curriculum in schools. Now she’s completing her degree in addiction studies and psychology. She shares her incredible journey on this edition of Grieving Out Loud. 

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Jon Sommervold grew up with high-achieving, affluent parents, but that didn’t protect him from becoming a victim of sexual abuse. He turned to alcohol at a young age to cope with trauma and eventually developed a $1,000 a day cocaine habit. Yet, Jon excelled in school and went on to be successful in the finance world. Still, his life was a mess and he failed to find true recovery after entering treatment multiple times. Today, Jon runs a recovery center and sober living homes called Tallgrass. He’s sharing his remarkable journey on this episode of Grieving Out Loud. 

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After suffering a miscarriage, Shauna Domalain dealt with her own grief and heartache, but as a spiritual medium, Shauna says she has connected with the son she lost and that has given her hope. Shauna believes we can all connect with our children in Heaven if we are open to it. She believes communication with the children we lost can lead to healing and a renewed purpose in life. She says her psychic skills were evident at a very young age and now uses them to help others find peace through her website, blog and podcast, The Oracle of Light.

Shauna's Website: www.livealifeyoulove.org

Shauna's Podcast: The Oracle of Light 

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The short film, STRUNG, is picking up plenty of awards at film festivals all over the world. It deals with the tough issue of addiction. 

Lost in the forest of his own mind, the main character, Eric must rely on the survival skills of an enigmatic nine-year-old boy to help him battle vicious withdrawals and self-deprivation to catalyze change within his family's cycle of addiction.

The filmmakers are currently working to turn STRUNG into a full-length feature film. They’re also committed to using the subject matter to raise awareness on addiction and help those struggling with this disease of the brain. 

On this episode of Grieving Out Loud,  Angela Kennecke is joined by STRUNG co-directors, Joseph Bezenek and Ryan Reid, as well as the lead actor and story creator, Jeromy Darling, who talk about the future of a full-length film and how they're giving back to help people find recovery.

Learn more about the 4est Films here. 

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Podcast producers:
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