Brandon Novak was a world-famous, champion skateboarder. However, he was also in his first treatment center for addiction to heroin at age 17. He went on to co-star in TV and movies in the MTV Jackass and Viva La BAM series. He also went through 13 treatment centers and nearly died several times. His best selling autobiography, Dreamseller: An Addiction Memoir, was published in 2008. But Brandon did not find lasting sobriety until 2015. A new book on his life by Joe Frantz titled, The Streets of Baltimore, is now out. Brandon and Angela Kennecke met at the 2019 DEA 360 Los Angeles Opioid Awareness Youth Summit, where they spoke to 5,000 high school students, telling their individual stories. Brandon is now a Certified Interventionist Professional (CIP) and he now travels the country for Banyan Treatment Center to raise awareness and help get people into treatment. 
You can contact Brandon for help by calling: 610-624-6719.

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Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

Any parent who's lost a child wonders how they will survive. Minnesota author Pat Sheveland wrote the book: How do I Survive? 7 Steps to Living After Child Loss. Sheveland was inspired to write the book because she watched her mother deal with the loss of her brother her entire life. Her brother died before she was born, but the tragedy had a great impact on her entire family for decades. Sheveland hopes to help grieving parents find purpose and peace through a strategy called B.R.E.A.T.H.E.
You can download a free digital version of How do I Survive? 7 Steps to Living After Child, here.

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Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

When Logan Williams died at the age of 16 on April 2, 2020, it made headlines because of his roles in movies and TV shows. His mom, Marlyse Williams, recently went public with the fact that Logan died of fentanyl poisoning. He had struggled with addiction issues since a young age, but Marlyse doesn't blame his acting career. She and Angela Kennecke share their similar struggles with trying to change the course of their children's lives before they overdosed and died. Marlyse wants to make sure Logan's death was not in vain, by trying to prevent others from the same fate. 

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Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

30-year-old Samantha "Sam" was an artist, a model and a teacher. But this beautiful young woman kept a secret that was both painful and shameful to her: she had struggled with heroin addiction. Although she had started a career as a teacher and gotten married, her past always haunted her. In this podcast, Sam's mom, Kerry, shares her story and why she feels addiction resulted in Sam completing suicide in 2018. Sam's and Emily's stories have many similarities; both were beautiful, talented young women from families who truly cared and tried to help them. Angela and Kerry discuss the aftermath of such great loss and what moving forward, following the deaths of their daughters, is like for them now. 

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Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

The struggle for families dealing with a child or partner suffering from substance use disorder can be frustrating and overwhelming. Dave Jansa tried everything to help his son, Kevin. Nothing worked until he found SMART Recovery. Jansa has served as a peer addiction management coach, a peer loved one coach, director of partner relations, national trainer and most recently the Face It TOGETHER program advisor. Melissa Flynn found help and hope for her son, Nicholas, through SMART Recovery and Face It TOGETHER, before his overdose death in 2018. Melissa and Dan join Angela Kennecke to talk about better ways to interact with loved ones dealing with addictive behavior.
You can find out more about both programs here.
Face It TOGETHER
SMART Recovery

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Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz

Shortly after the death of her daughter, Emily, Angela Kennecke got an email from Fiona Cullinan Firine. Fiona had lost her son Cameron to fentanyl poisoning just a couple of months before Emily died. She was discouraged by the lack of criminal prosecution against the dealer who supplied Cameron with what looked like and Oxycontin pill. Fiona wrote Angela out of frustration and Angela encouraged her to fight for her son and find other parents who had also lost children in this way. It turned out that Connecticut did not recognize fentanyl as a narcotic. After Fiona discovered that, she gathered a group of parents, who had lost children to fentanyl poisoning, and they banned together to change Connecticut's law. Fiona and her family also started a non-profit called, "For Cameron." Through their organization they are raising money to educate law enforcement and provide software for detectives to unlock phones. They also have a scholarship for students studying addiction, which was what Cameron was doing before he relapsed and died. Fiona has channeled her grief and anger onto changing the world. 

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Podcast producers:
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According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, fake prescription pills are flooding the market in the United States. They look exactly like the real thing, but often contain the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl. In this episode, Angela Kennecke talks with DEA Agent Travis Ocken about the problem and his advice for parents in dealing with drug issues that are killing tens-of-thousands of mostly young people every year. The DEA paints a frightening picture of the hold drug cartels have on the population in the United States as the demand for illegal drugs remains high. 

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Podcast producers:
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"Grief is untamed," Ryan Blomberg's mother Denise said. Ryan died of fentanyl poisoning at age 26. Ryan was gifted in music and with languages. After a battle with heroin use, Ryan found long-term recovery. Only after the overdose deaths of two friends, Ryan relapsed and died. His mother shares his story and what she learned during his recovery and how she is coping with the loss of her son. Ironically, Angela spoke with Denise about Ryan's overdose death for the first time, on the day Emily died. Fate has brought these mothers together with a similar mission to fight the drug epidemic and save lives.  

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Podcast producers:
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Alexa Giebink's memoir Phoenix: Rising From Addiction is the true story of a family who battled their way out of the fires of addiction and rose together, stronger from the ashes. Mary Ann Giebink was a successful attorney who lost her career and her reputation because of alcoholism and depression. When her daughter, Alexa, was a junior in high school, her mother was sentenced to prison. Alexa explains how her world view has been shaped by having a parent who suffers from substance use disorder and what she's learned along the way.
You can learn more about Alexa's book here.
Her mother is now a trained interventionist. You can hear the podcast where Angela talks with Mary Ann here. 

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Podcast producers:
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Jessica Pfau has battled opioid and alcohol addiction ever since her 2011 gastric bypass surgery. Jessica has made several attempts at recovery and blown all the chances given to her by the legal system. After overdosing on heroin laced with fentanyl in March, and surviving, Jessica must now say goodbye to her three-year-old son and serve her time. She's giving us an inside look at the mind of an addict and why "they just don't quit."
You can watch Jessica's story here.

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Wishing you faith, hope and courage!

Podcast producers:
Casey Wonnenberg King & Kayli Fitz