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

Your host of Grieving Out Loud, Angela Kennecke, first met Dr. Mark Vande Braak shortly after the death of her 21-year-old daughter, Emily. Dr. Vande Braak sat down with Angela’s entire family to help them “reframe” their loss.

Dr. Mark Vande Braak is a board-certified music therapist and Thanatologist (grief educator). He previously spoke with Angela on Episode 10 of Grieving Out Loud, Broken Heart Syndrome: 4 Ways We Grieve. Now, Mark is back on the podcast for this episode to take about coping with loss over the holiday season when grief can come into sharp focus, as we intensely miss the ones who are no longer with us to celebrate all of our family traditions.

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Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

Originally released July 15th, 2019

Celia Farmer, unfortunately, knows the pain of losing a child to suicide. Her 14-year-old daughter, Mali, completed suicide in 2017. Celia was among the first parents who've experienced loss to reach out to Angela after Emily died from fentanyl poisoning. Both Celia and Angela have experienced the stigmatized death of a child, where parents can find themselves being harshly judged by society. 

In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Angela and Celia share how they have coped with their losses and what has helped and hurt them most. Both have found healing in focusing on helping others. 

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Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

Brenda Schivito says her son Nick’s drug usage began when he was just a kid and would ride his bike to the gas station and buy Spice, a synthetic marijuana. The adverse side effects of Spice include psychosis, hallucinations, delirium, and paranoia. When Nick was older, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and his battle with substance use disorder kicked into high gear. Nick died of fentanyl poisoning at the age of 22. 

In response to their family’s tragedy, Brenda started Angels Against Addiction, a non-profit organization that is raising awareness and helping people getting out of inpatient treatment for substance use disorder transition into recovery communities. 

Brenda also hosts a cable program called, You Are Not Alone.

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Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

Former drug dealer Scott Silverman now helps families in crisis navigate the road to recovery. The California man is also the author of The Opioid Epidemic: What You Don't Know Will Destroy Your Family and Your Life. Your host, Angela Kennecke, has a frank conversation with Scott about the public health crisis involving fentanyl. 

Scott is a crisis coach and family navigator and runs a recovery center in San Diego. In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, he has advice for families dealing with someone with active addiction. 

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Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

In our last episode, we introduced you to the central character of the Netflix docuseries, The Pharmacist, Dan Schneider. Dan told us he had no idea his son was using crack before he was murdered in New Orleans in the late 90’s. While police didn’t show much interest in his son’s case, Dan took it upon himself to use every investigative tool at the time to find his son’s killer. But the story doesn’t end there. In his role as a pharmacist, Dan was among the first to spot the opioid epidemic in this country and actually do something about it, shutting down pill mill doctors and pushing for a prescription monitoring program in his state. Dan has never stopped pushing for change to save lives, lost unnecessarily to drugs. Now he’s turning his attention to the availability of medically assisted treatment, or MAT for short. He has started a coalition and your host Angela Kennecke is now a part of it. 

Dan talks about this partnership with Dr. Arun Gupta. You can listen to our podcast with Dr. Gupta here.

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Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

Netflix docuseries, The Pharmacist, shows how Dan Schneider solved his son's murder in the case of a drug deal gone wrong. Schneider was an early identifier of the opioid crisis in this country and pushed for reform. He joins your host, Angela Kennecke, for two episodes of Grieving Out Loud to give us all the twists and turns in the case and how the unbelievable unfolded.  In this first episode, Schneider shares what happened to his son, how he pushed police to take the case seriously, and even befriended his son's killer. Schneider talks about forgiveness. He says he is driven by a greater purpose to save the lives of other people's children when he recognized the plight of opioids on young people and the medical system's role in it.
 
You can learn more about all of Schneider's efforts on his website: Tunnel of Hope.

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Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

Shortly after her husband, Doug, was elected governor of North Dakota in 2016, Kathryn Burgum decided to share her personal story. Burgum is in recovery for substance use disorder after battling alcohol addiction for 20 years. Her platform as First Lady of North Dakota is to end the shame and stigma surrounding the disease of addiction.  Kathryn’s Recovery Reinvented event is coming up on November 3rd, and you can participate. She shares what keeps her in recovery and what she's doing to change attitudes and get people help in her state in this episode of Grieving Out Loud.
Register for Recovery Reinvented on Nov 3rd here. 

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Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

Don’t let the title of this episode fool you. Angela is NOT signing off on this podcast, In fact, you’ll be hearing more from Angela on this platform. But she has signed off on her last broadcast after a 35-year television career to focus on the mission of Emily’s Hope.  Angela talks about what went into her decision precipitated by the death of her oldest daughter at age 21 and how she is now determined to save as many lives as possible.
The two books mentioned as inspiration in this podcast:
From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life.  by Albert C. Brooks
The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life,  by David Brooks

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Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

27-year-old Mariah Earp, a mother to three children, died of fentanyl poisoning in 2020 after taking what she thought was Xanax. Now her mother, Rachel Carlisle has become an outspoken advocate to break the stigma and tell Mariah’s story on TikTok, where her videos have received more than 200,000 likes. Rachel says he wants other parents to know it’s okay to talk about the loss of a child to fentanyl and to know they are not alone, just like we do on this podcast. Rachel also had billboards put up with her daughter's photo in her Indiana community to draw attention to fentanyl pills flooding the area. 

Find Rachel on TikTok: @JustMeRachelC
Find Emily's Hope on TikTok: @EmilysHope_

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Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

Dr. Nzinga Harrison is working to change the conversation around substance use disorder and encouraging it to be treated like any other disease. In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, she shares a new approach to those who suffer from addiction which involves compassion and support. 

Dr. Harrison is the Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of Eleanor Health, whose mission is to help people affected by addiction live full, healthy lives. She was also featured in the documentary, Tipping the Pain Scale.

Find the podcast Dr. Nzinga Harrison discusses in this episode of Grieving Out Loud here - In Recovery with Dr. Nzinga Harrison.

www.emilyshope.charity

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Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz