Rebekah Nowell: The Gift of Grief | The Hopeaholics Podcast

In this deeply moving episode of The Hopeaholics Podcast, guest Rebekah Nowell shares her extraordinary journey of resilience, healing, and transformation through profound trauma, addiction, and grief. Raised in the Mississippi Delta within a missionary family, Rebekah recounts a childhood shaped by her parents’ calling to serve abandoned children in Central America, where she lived in Costa Rica and Honduras until her teens. Her life took a devastating turn in December 2012 with the tragic loss of her two-year-old son, Brennan, in an accident involving her father, triggering a decade-long struggle with cocaine, alcohol, and unprocessed trauma from childhood molestation and eating disorders. A pivotal moment in April 2023 marked the beginning of her recovery, as she quit cocaine cold turkey, pursued accelerated resolution therapy, grief counseling, and later achieved 16 months of sobriety from alcohol by 2025, despite facing significant health challenges like low iron and gastrointestinal issues. Guided by faith and a supportive recovery community, Rebekah now dedicates her life to reaching women secretly grappling with addiction, particularly those hiding their pain behind a polished facade in places like Orange County. Her recitation of the “Holes” poem by Scott Lewis beautifully encapsulates her journey from despair to purpose, emphasizing the power of safe spaces to heal shame and inspire hope. This episode is a testament to the strength found in vulnerability and the universal connection forged through shared pain.

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Timestamps:
00:04:11 - Missionary Upbringing
00:06:27 - Pivotal Decision to Heal
00:08:22 - Loss of Her Son
00:12:03 - Sobriety and Therapy Journey
00:14:20 - Mission to Share Hope
00:15:30 - Early Traumas Uncovered
00:26:38 - Protecting Inner Peace
00:30:09 - Power of Recovery Community
01:00:06 - Post-Sobriety Health Struggles
01:05:02 - Bold Prayer for Alignment
01:10:00 - Reaching Women in Hidden Pain
01:12:17 - Shame Dies in Safe Spaces
01:20:31 - Inspiring “Holes” Poem