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

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

Favorites
34
Followers
Typical duration
45 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

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

March 28, 2022 A Mother on Surviving the Loss of Two Sons to Overdose
Denise Roberts’ two sons, Matthew and Dillan, were born on the same day, four years apart. She was married to her husband, Tom, for ten years when he had a heart attack at age 42 and died. They were already trying to get her son, Dillan, who was 17 at the time, help for substance use disorder. Dillan went through treatment three times, but he died two years later from a heroin overdose. His older brother Matthew struggled with Dillan’s death and also turned to drugs. Six years after Dillan’s overdose, Matthew also overdosed and died.
In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Denise shares how she keeps going and growing, in spite of her great losses. Denise says her motto is, "Get up, dress up and show up. No matter what you do, never GIVE UP!”

You can read more of Matthew and Dillan's story here.

Send us Fan Mail
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

43 min
March 13, 2022 Navy Admiral on loss of son to overdose and reversing the epidemic
A former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his family were not immune to the overdose epidemic. Retired four-star Navy Admiral James "Sandy" Winnefeld has become an influential advocate to end overdoses after the loss of his 19-year-old son, Jonathan. He and his wife, Mary, started the Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic, or SAFE Project, a non-profit, that much like Emily's Hope, is working toward ending stigma, preventing overdoses, and getting people the help they need. Admiral Winnefeld shares Jonathan's story, the mission of SAFE Project, and what action he believes the U.S. needs to take to end the suffering caused by the astronomical number of overdose deaths.

Details on SAFE Project:
Website
Facebook
Instagram

USA Today Op. Ed. by Admiral James Winnefeld Jr.
USA Today Op Ed. by James "LJ" Winnefeld III
Send us Fan Mail
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
February 21, 2022 How a high school dropout and meth user found recovery and became a college professor
Dr. Melissa Dittberner’s or "Dr. Mo," as she is known to her students, began using meth at age 14. Dr. Mo has had such a storied life. After giving up methamphetamines when she became a mom and eventually a single mom, she turned to alcohol. This high-school dropout was a welder and roller derby queen, before eventually earning her Ph.D. in addiction studies. She has a deep understanding of addiction, both personally and professionally.

Dr. Mo is a member of the Emily’s Hope Board of Directors and Prevention Education Committee. Dr. Mo is a professor in the Addiction Counseling and Prevention Department at the University of South Dakota and has been teaching in higher education for more than seven years. She has a Ph.D. in counseling and psychology in education, plus a master’s degree in addiction studies, and a bachelor’s degree in health sciences. She does research on college students’ substance use, pedagogy, addiction, and harm reduction. Not only is she very passionate about drug and alcohol prevention, helping skills, and telehealth technology, she has also worked on many grants surrounding substance use disorders. Dr. Mo is also a certified prevention specialist.

Send us Fan Mail
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

37 min
January 26, 2022 Man who lost son, wife to addiction is "Living Undeterred"
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

Send us Fan Mail
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

41 min
December 17, 2021 The Scourge of Fentanyl & Meth on our Nation
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.

Send us Fan Mail
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

41 min
November 21, 2021 Emily's teammate finds recovery through Emily's Hope Treatment Scholarship
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.

Send us Fan Mail
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

20 min
November 07, 2021 Shayla's Story
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.

Send us Fan Mail
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
October 24, 2021 Founder of Facebook group to help mothers grieving overdose deaths loses a second child to overdose
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.

Send us Fan Mail
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

41 min
October 13, 2021 Coping with a Xanax overdose death
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.
Send us Fan Mail
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

42 min
September 19, 2021 A woman's journey from meth and tragedy to hope for others
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.

Send us Fan Mail
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

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…