This week, we’re re-airing one of our favorite episodes of Heart of the Matter, featuring author and founder of The Luckiest Club, Laura McKowen. When Laura first stopped drinking, she thought of it as “the end of all the color” in her life. But after weathering one particularly challenging night, she realized the magic that comes with being in recovery and feeling fully present in her life. Together, Elizabeth and Laura discuss the pain that lies at the root of drinking, the glamorization of alcohol, the power of truth-telling and why Laura considers herself “lucky” to have faced addiction.

Related reading:

After you listen, explore these resources from Partnership to End Addiction to learn more about the topics and themes discussed in this episode:

•   Alcohol: What Families Need to Know to Help Protect Young People
• Is Alcohol Use Spiking in Your Home?
• Online Support Community for Parents & Caregivers

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed on Heart of the Matter are those of the podcast participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Partnership to End Addiction. We are also mindful that some of the personal stories feature the word “addict” and other terms from this list. We respect and understand those who choose to use certain terms to express themselves. However, we strive to use language that’s health-oriented, accurately reflects science, promotes evidence-based treatment and demonstrates respect and compassion.

To learn more:
Partnership to End Addiction website
Donate today to help us provide free resources to families
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

This week, we’re re-airing one of our favorite interviews from Heart of the Matter with Elizabeth Vargas featuring Emmy Award winner Patricia Heaton, star of Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle. While Patricia was working long hours on TV sets and taking care of her four young children, she kept her drinking at bay. But when those shows ended and her children had left the house, she started looking forward to drinking in a way she hadn’t ever before. 

Re-join Patricia and Elizabeth as they connect over “self-medicating” through alcohol, feeling “unmoored” during the COVID-19 pandemic and working in a business that can be unkind to women as they get older. 

Explore more on topics and themes discussed in this episode: 

• I Addressed My Own Drinking and It Was the Key to My Son’s Recovery 
• Lessons Learned from COVID-19 Can Help You Protect Your Child from Substance Use and Addiction 
• Coping with Fear, Anger and Other Negative Emotions 

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed on Heart of the Matter are those of the podcast participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Partnership to End Addiction. We are also mindful that some of the personal stories feature the word “addict” and other terms from this list. We respect and understand those who choose to use certain terms to express themselves. However, we strive to use language that’s health-oriented, accurately reflects science, promotes evidence-based treatment and demonstrates respect and compassion.

To learn more:
Partnership to End Addiction website
Donate today to help us provide free resources to families
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

This week, we’re re-airing one of our favorite interviews from Heart of the Matter with Elizabeth Vargas, featuring chef Gregory Gourdet. When Gregory was an up-and-coming chef at a top Manhattan restaurant, he found himself spending nights after shifts partying, fueled by alcohol and cocaine. It was only when he moved across the country to Portland, Oregon, and found a community of chefs who had also struggled with addiction, that he was able to make the changes he needed. 

Re-join Elizabeth as she and Gregory speak about the first time he met someone in recovery, substance use in the culinary industry, his work to remove the stigma of addiction and finding a community among fellow chefs in recovery. 

Related reading 

After you listen, explore these resources from Partnership to End Addiction to learn more about the topics and themes discussed in this episode: 

• Alcohol: What Families Need to Know to Protect Young People  
• Recovery Support Groups for Addiction: One Size Does Not Fit All 
• Alcohol: What Families Need to Know to Protect Young People  

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed on Heart of the Matter are those of the podcast participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Partnership to End Addiction. We are also mindful that some of the personal stories feature the word “addict” and other terms from this list. We respect and understand those who choose to use certain terms to express themselves. However, we strive to use language that’s health-oriented, accurately reflects science, promotes evidence-based treatment and demonstrates respect and compassion.

To learn more:
Partnership to End Addiction website
Donate today to help us provide free resources to families
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

This week, we’re re-airing one of our favorite interviews from Heart of the Matter with Elizabeth Vargas, featuring actress and star of 3rd Rock from the Sun Kristen Johnston. When Kristen first started finding success in television, feelings of self-doubt and panic began to overwhelm her. She turned to prescription painkillers, and addiction began to take over her life. 

Re-join Elizabeth as she and Kristen speak about the events that led her to recovery, the experience of loving someone who themselves is struggling with substance use, and the pain of losing her sister to an accidental overdose. 

Related reading 

After you listen, explore these resources from Partnership to End Addiction to learn more about the topics and themes discussed in this episode: 

• Understanding Prescription & Over-the-Counter Medication 
• Preparing for Life and Recovery Following Treatment 
• I Know I Need to Take Care of Myself Too, but How? 

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed on Heart of the Matter are those of the podcast participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Partnership to End Addiction. We are also mindful that some of the personal stories feature the word “addict” and other terms from this list. We respect and understand those who choose to use certain terms to express themselves. However, we strive to use language that’s health-oriented, accurately reflects science, promotes evidence-based treatment and demonstrates respect and compassion. 

To learn more:
Partnership to End Addiction website
Donate today to help us provide free resources to families
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

A fighter in every sense of the word, boxing champion Mia St. John encountered addiction from a young age, growing up with a father who struggled with drinking and attending her first Alcoholics Anonymous group when she was just twelve years old. Years later, she witnessed her son's struggle with mental illness and a cycle of substance use as self-medication. 

Tune in as Mia opens up to Elizabeth about enduring the loneliness of relapse, finding a home in Alcoholics Anonymous and weathering the losses of her son, Julian, and her former husband, Kristoff St. John. 

Content warning: This episode discusses topics of suicide and suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 or text “HOME” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741. Both programs provide free, confidential support 24/7. You are not alone. 

Explore more on topics and themes discussed in this episode: 

• Grief Resources for Families 
• Recovery Support Groups for Addiction: One Size Does Not Fit All 
• Does Relapse Mean Failure? 

To learn more:
Partnership to End Addiction website
Donate today to help us provide free resources to families
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Bestselling novelist and essayist Anne Lamott had more than her share of experience with substance use disorders: Growing up with family members with addiction, she also had distinct memories of drinking as a child. Decades later, she watched as her son Sam began struggling with methamphetamines. Today, both mother and son have been in recovery for many years. 

Join Elizabeth as she speaks to Anne and Sam about addiction in the family, the influence of believing in a higher power, the importance of searching for inner grace rather than external accolades, and how it felt for Anne to witness her son’s struggle with addiction as a person in recovery herself. 

Explore more on topics and themes discussed in this episode: 

• When Addiction is in Your Family Tree 
• Get One-on-One Help to Address Your Child’s Substance Use 
• What Types of Addiction Treatment Are Available? 

To learn more:
Partnership to End Addiction website
Donate today to help us provide free resources to families
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

To the fans who watch her on their TV screens, Cheryl Burke leads the picture-perfect life, dancing her way across countless stages and starring on national broadcasts. However, there is more to the “Dancing with the Stars” competitor than may meet the eye: Beneath the impressive veneer is someone who is unafraid to open up about her struggles with alcohol, mental health and abuse. 

As a competitor, Cheryl was taught that showing emotions is a sign of weakness, and turned to alcohol as a way to soothe anxiety and uncertainty. Tune in as Elizabeth and Cheryl talk about the ways drinking fosters emotional disconnection, growing up with addiction in the family, the events that led Cheryl to put down alcohol for good and how she has come to find strength in vulnerability. 

Explore more on topics and themes discussed in this episode: 

• When Addiction is in Your Family Tree 
• Substance Use + Mental Health: Your Guide to Addressing Co-occurring Disorders 
• I Know I Need to Take Care of Myself Too, but How? 

To learn more:
Partnership to End Addiction website
Donate today to help us provide free resources to families
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

In the early 2000s, Ryan Hampton was homeless and struggling with an opioid addiction, wondering how he had gone from working as a White House staffer to begging for change on a California street corner. A decade later in recovery, Ryan found himself at the epicenter of Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement, fighting for justice in a case that gripped a nation in the midst of an overdose crisis. 

In this episode of Heart of the Matter, Elizabeth Vargas sits down with Ryan to discuss his role in Purdue’s bankruptcy proceedings, how it felt to witness the now-infamous depositions of the Sackler family firsthand and why he believes the justice system, as it stands today, could never deliver accountability for Purdue’s victims. 

 Ryan Hampton’s new book Unsettled: How the Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Failed the Victims of the American Overdose Crisis details the shocking injustice at the heart of the Purdue Pharma settlement. 

Explore more on topics and themes discussed in this episode: 

• Your Comprehensive Guide to the Opioid Epidemic — and What You Can Do About It 
• Take Action: Increase Access to Opioid Addiction Treatment 
• I Got My Son Back: A Mother’s Struggle with Her Son’s Addiction 

To learn more:
Partnership to End Addiction website
Donate today to help us provide free resources to families
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Join us for a bonus episode! Recently, Elizabeth was interviewed by Annie Grace, host of This Naked Mind, a podcast that explores the role alcohol plays in our world and in our lives, with honesty and without judgment. Tune in as Elizabeth shares her story about drinking, working in broadcast television, and now, being a woman in recovery.

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If you enjoyed this episode, take a moment to subscribe to This Naked Mind Podcast.

If you want to learn more about Annie Grace and her work, visit This Naked Mind Website.

To learn more:
Partnership to End Addiction website
Donate today to help us provide free resources to families
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

In this episode of Heart of the Matter, Elizabeth Vargas interviews Emmy Award- winning actress Patricia Heaton. When Patricia was in the middle of it all — working all hours on wildly successful shows like Everybody Loves Raymond, while taking care of her four young children — she kept her drinking at bay. But when these shows ended and her children had left the house, she started looking forward to drinking in a way she hadn’t ever before.  

Join Patricia and Elizabeth as they connect over “self-medicating” through alcohol, feeling “unmoored” during the COVID-19 pandemic and working in a business that can be unkind to women as they get older. 

Explore more on topics and themes discussed in this episode: 

• I Addressed My Own Drinking and It Was the Key to My Son’s Recovery 
• Lessons Learned from COVID-19 Can Help You Protect Your Child from Substance Use and Addiction 
• Coping with Fear, Anger and Other Negative Emotions 

To learn more:
Partnership to End Addiction website
Donate today to help us provide free resources to families
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts