🎧 Listen now: https://risefromtheashespodcast.com/home - Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and iHeartRadio

What happens when a 20-minute errand becomes a lifetime of grief? Carol Hodges thought she was picking up her daughter from acting class. She came home to find Corinne hanging outside the kitchen window.

This isn't just another mental illness story. It's a mother's brutal journey through gaslighting, failed systems, and the devastating reality that "tough love" doesn't work when suicide is real.

"I didn't think she'd do that. I thought she was too selfish." - Her husband's words as their daughter lay in a coma.

Join Baz Porter on Rise from the Ashes as Carol maps the long road from a thriving career and marriage to discovering forged documents, rescuing an emaciated daughter from New York, and learning why bringing food matters more than perfect words.

Key Moments:
• [6:50] The forged document that revealed years of gaslighting
• [12:13] Flying cross-country to pack up a daughter's shattered life
• [23:06] The day everything changed in 20 minutes
• [29:10] What actually helps when grief becomes your teacher

Keywords: Mental illness, grief, gaslighting, suicide prevention, mother's story, Baz Porter, Rise from the Ashes

If you're navigating mental illness or supporting someone who is, this episode offers hard-earned wisdom about spotting the signs, building safety plans, and why simple presence trumps advice.

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If You’ve Been Hooked on These Episodes… This Is for You

If this podcast has been landing deep… if each story feels like it’s peeling back something raw and real in you… then don’t ignore that.

Every guest you’ve heard made the same decision: to stop performing and start healing.

Now it’s your turn.

Take the Silent Collapse Diagnostic. It’s not a quiz. It’s a wake-up tool for women who are done pretending they’re fine.

No fluff. No journaling prompts. Just a straight-up mirror into where you’re silently collapsing behind the mask of success.

If you're serious about reclaiming your energy, your clarity, your life start there.

Because breakthrough doesn’t begin with doing more. It begins with finally seeing what’s been stealing your power.

Take the self-audit now.

Learn more about Baz Porter at www.bazporter.com

Chanda Spates went from needing a babysitter for her suicidal son to building the largest youth mental health summit in US history.

Every 11 minutes, someone dies by suicide in America. One in four are children.

Chanda's solution? Do something every 11 minutes to save them.

Her Olympic Stadium event on May 23rd-24th will be streamed globally on gaming and music platforms—meeting kids exactly where they are.

This is how one mom's crisis became America's mental health revolution.

Send us a text

Support the show

If You’ve Been Hooked on These Episodes… This Is for You

If this podcast has been landing deep… if each story feels like it’s peeling back something raw and real in you… then don’t ignore that.

Every guest you’ve heard made the same decision: to stop performing and start healing.

Now it’s your turn.

Take the Silent Collapse Diagnostic. It’s not a quiz. It’s a wake-up tool for women who are done pretending they’re fine.

No fluff. No journaling prompts. Just a straight-up mirror into where you’re silently collapsing behind the mask of success.

If you're serious about reclaiming your energy, your clarity, your life start there.

Because breakthrough doesn’t begin with doing more. It begins with finally seeing what’s been stealing your power.

Take the self-audit now.

Learn more about Baz Porter at www.bazporter.com

Chanda Spates needed a babysitter for her 17-year-old son.

Not because he was immature because severe bullying had led to a suicide attempt and she was terrified to leave him alone.

Her desperate Facebook post asking for help went viral and revealed a shocking truth: she wasn't alone.

Today, Chanda's Flourish Foundation Project is revolutionizing suicide prevention by meeting kids where they actually are—spending 7-8 hours a day on social media and music platforms.

This is how one mom's crisis became a movement that's saving lives.

Send us a text

Support the show

If You’ve Been Hooked on These Episodes… This Is for You

If this podcast has been landing deep… if each story feels like it’s peeling back something raw and real in you… then don’t ignore that.

Every guest you’ve heard made the same decision: to stop performing and start healing.

Now it’s your turn.

Take the Silent Collapse Diagnostic. It’s not a quiz. It’s a wake-up tool for women who are done pretending they’re fine.

No fluff. No journaling prompts. Just a straight-up mirror into where you’re silently collapsing behind the mask of success.

If you're serious about reclaiming your energy, your clarity, your life start there.

Because breakthrough doesn’t begin with doing more. It begins with finally seeing what’s been stealing your power.

Take the self-audit now.

Learn more about Baz Porter at www.bazporter.com

Dr. Eugene Manley was hospitalized 20-30 times a year until he was 10.

Chronic asthma. Anaphylactic allergies. A father battling emphysema.

Most kids would be broken by this. Eugene was forged by it.

Today, those brutal experiences became his superpower driving him to revolutionize healthcare access for underserved communities through his award-winning SCHEQ Foundation.

This is how pain becomes purpose, and struggle becomes strength.
What You'll Discover:
• How 20-30 hospital visits a year shaped his mission to save lives
• Why he chose lung cancer despite the stigma and judgment
• The celebration milestones most entrepreneurs never track
• His funding strategies that raised $200K in under 2 years
• The Chicago summit that's changing healthcare forever
• How to turn your biggest struggle into your greatest strength

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
01:04 Eugene's Journey and Achievements
03:24 Future Goals and Vision
04:57 Personal Story and Inspiration
09:05 Funding and Support
13:18 Final Thoughts and Advice

🎧 Full Episode: https://risefromtheashespodcast.com/home
📖 Baz's Book: https://bazporter.com/die-empty-live-full
🌐 Connect: https://bazporter.com/
🏥 SCHEQ Foundation: scheq.org

Subscribe for stories that prove your pain has purpose.

Send us a text

Support the show

If You’ve Been Hooked on These Episodes… This Is for You

If this podcast has been landing deep… if each story feels like it’s peeling back something raw and real in you… then don’t ignore that.

Every guest you’ve heard made the same decision: to stop performing and start healing.

Now it’s your turn.

Take the Silent Collapse Diagnostic. It’s not a quiz. It’s a wake-up tool for women who are done pretending they’re fine.

No fluff. No journaling prompts. Just a straight-up mirror into where you’re silently collapsing behind the mask of success.

If you're serious about reclaiming your energy, your clarity, your life start there.

Because breakthrough doesn’t begin with doing more. It begins with finally seeing what’s been stealing your power.

Take the self-audit now.

Learn more about Baz Porter at www.bazporter.com

Dr. Eugene Manley has three degrees and couldn't get a job.

This mechanical engineer, biomedical engineer, and molecular biologist discovered the brutal truth: academia teaches you everything except how to succeed outside academia.

Growing up first-generation in Detroit, watching his family struggle with healthcare, he saw the devastating gaps in medical access for underserved populations.

Now he's fighting back through the SCHEQ Foundation, exposing why diverse scholars can't find work and why minorities don't get equal healthcare information.

This conversation will shatter everything you think you know about higher education and healthcare equity.

Send us a text

Support the show

If You’ve Been Hooked on These Episodes… This Is for You

If this podcast has been landing deep… if each story feels like it’s peeling back something raw and real in you… then don’t ignore that.

Every guest you’ve heard made the same decision: to stop performing and start healing.

Now it’s your turn.

Take the Silent Collapse Diagnostic. It’s not a quiz. It’s a wake-up tool for women who are done pretending they’re fine.

No fluff. No journaling prompts. Just a straight-up mirror into where you’re silently collapsing behind the mask of success.

If you're serious about reclaiming your energy, your clarity, your life start there.

Because breakthrough doesn’t begin with doing more. It begins with finally seeing what’s been stealing your power.

Take the self-audit now.

Learn more about Baz Porter at www.bazporter.com

Steven Clarke's mother died broke.

But before she left, she whispered something that would dismantle billion-dollar industries: "Always give first."

Impossible advice from a woman who had nothing to give.

Today, that death-bed wisdom is feeding millions, housing the homeless, and proving that the most revolutionary business models don't come from Harvard MBA programs they come from the brutal classroom of poverty.

Steven isn't building another charity. He's not launching another "social good" startup that sounds nice but changes nothing.

He's weaponizing his mother's final lesson into the first social impact model that actually works. The first system where everyone wins more than they contribute. The first blueprint that makes solving world hunger more profitable than ignoring it.

Governments have failed. Charities have failed. Billionaire philanthropists have failed.

But a kid who grew up eating scraps just cracked the code they all missed.

This conversation will shatter everything you think you know about business, impact, and what's actually possible when you stop trying to get rich and start trying to give first.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:45 Stephen Clarke's Vision for the Future
01:36 Focusing on North America
02:51 Addressing Global Issues
03:15 The Food Industry and Waste
04:06 Innovative Solutions for Social Issues
07:12 The Model Explained
10:25 Collaboration and Sustainability
15:50 Overcoming Challenges
17:55 How to Get Involved
20:48 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

🎧 https://risefromtheashespodcast.com/home

Send us a text

Support the show

If You’ve Been Hooked on These Episodes… This Is for You

If this podcast has been landing deep… if each story feels like it’s peeling back something raw and real in you… then don’t ignore that.

Every guest you’ve heard made the same decision: to stop performing and start healing.

Now it’s your turn.

Take the Silent Collapse Diagnostic. It’s not a quiz. It’s a wake-up tool for women who are done pretending they’re fine.

No fluff. No journaling prompts. Just a straight-up mirror into where you’re silently collapsing behind the mask of success.

If you're serious about reclaiming your energy, your clarity, your life start there.

Because breakthrough doesn’t begin with doing more. It begins with finally seeing what’s been stealing your power.

Take the self-audit now.

Learn more about Baz Porter at www.bazporter.com

Steven Clark grew up so poor that some days, his family "did without."

But his mother taught him something that would eventually change everything: "Always give and help other people first."

It seemed impossible. How do you give when you have nothing? How do you help others when you can barely help yourself?

Steven didn't understand it then. He was too busy escaping poverty through hockey, building a successful advertising empire, and accumulating the wealth his childhood lacked.

Then his mother died. His rock. His foundation. The woman who raised him with nothing but somehow gave him everything.

"My mother had passed away and she was my rock. And so I wanted to always, I still do today. It was always about, is my mother going to be proud of me?"

In his grief, Steven realized something profound: his mother hadn't just taught him values. She'd given him a blueprint to solve the world's biggest problems.

"My company was really built around the premise that she brought me up with, even though we didn't have anything to give... she was always talking about giving and helping other people first."

Today, Steven's revolutionary business model - built on his mother's poverty wisdom - is disrupting industries and creating sustainable solutions for hunger and homelessness. What started as a poor woman's philosophy has become a system he believes will last "hundreds of years."

Discover how a mother's wisdom from the depths of poverty became her son's mission to change the world.

Connect With Stephen here

find out more about Social impact https://www.rtggroupusa.com/

Timestamps:
[00:00] Introduction and Welcome
[01:15] Steven's Background and Early Life
[03:22] From Hockey Player to Advertising Executive
[07:45] Building Brands for Entrepreneurs
[12:30] Challenges in Business Growth
[18:15] Navigating Competition and Market Entry
[22:40] Learning and Adapting in Business
[28:10] Legacy and Purpose
[32:45] Closing Remarks

Send us a text

Support the show

If You’ve Been Hooked on These Episodes… This Is for You

If this podcast has been landing deep… if each story feels like it’s peeling back something raw and real in you… then don’t ignore that.

Every guest you’ve heard made the same decision: to stop performing and start healing.

Now it’s your turn.

Take the Silent Collapse Diagnostic. It’s not a quiz. It’s a wake-up tool for women who are done pretending they’re fine.

No fluff. No journaling prompts. Just a straight-up mirror into where you’re silently collapsing behind the mask of success.

If you're serious about reclaiming your energy, your clarity, your life start there.

Because breakthrough doesn’t begin with doing more. It begins with finally seeing what’s been stealing your power.

Take the self-audit now.

Learn more about Baz Porter at www.bazporter.com

After 16 years in business, Kim Speed was getting bored. The entrepreneur who had transformed from corporate creative director to successful brand builder was feeling stagnant, looking for "something new that I'm interested in."

Then AI arrived. And everyone said it would destroy small businesses like hers.

Instead, it made her feel like superwoman.

"As a small business owner, it has made me feel like superwoman," Kim reveals. "It has helped me to research, expand my learning, build my business, become more visible and stay visible."

But Kim's AI transformation wasn't just about tools and efficiency. It was about rediscovering the excitement of being a beginner again, the thrill of mastering something that could revolutionize everything.

"I think it has revitalized my business. It's revitalized me in that this is something new that I'm interested in... This changed everything for me."

While other entrepreneurs feared AI would replace them, Kim discovered it could amplify them. While others worried about authenticity, she learned to train AI to sound exactly like her. While others saw threat, she saw the biggest business opportunity since the internet.

Discover how Kim went from AI skeptic to AI evangelist, why she argues with her AI (and threatens to fire it), and how artificial intelligence became the renaissance her 16-year business desperately needed.

Timestamps:
[00:00] Introduction and Welcome Back
[00:51] Kim's Background and Brand Building
[01:20] Impact of AI on Small Businesses
[04:06] Challenges and Misconceptions About AI
[06:45] Effective AI Tools for Business
[13:28] Human Connection in Business
[18:25] Future of AI and Business Adaptation
[20:51] Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Send us a text

Support the show

If You’ve Been Hooked on These Episodes… This Is for You

If this podcast has been landing deep… if each story feels like it’s peeling back something raw and real in you… then don’t ignore that.

Every guest you’ve heard made the same decision: to stop performing and start healing.

Now it’s your turn.

Take the Silent Collapse Diagnostic. It’s not a quiz. It’s a wake-up tool for women who are done pretending they’re fine.

No fluff. No journaling prompts. Just a straight-up mirror into where you’re silently collapsing behind the mask of success.

If you're serious about reclaiming your energy, your clarity, your life start there.

Because breakthrough doesn’t begin with doing more. It begins with finally seeing what’s been stealing your power.

Take the self-audit now.

Learn more about Baz Porter at www.bazporter.com

What happens when losing everything you've worked for becomes the best thing that ever happened to you?

Kim Speed spent 20 years building her dream career as a creative director for global brands like Coca-Cola, Ford, and Toyota. She had the title, the salary, the recognition - everything she thought she wanted.

Then 2008 hit. The recession destroyed her agency. Her corporate identity vanished overnight.

But something shocking happened in the wreckage: "There was this new calm. Calmness and joy," Kim admits. "For the first time in a very long time, there was no more crazy mornings and crazy nights."

The woman who thought she was living her dream suddenly realized she'd been trapped in a nightmare of her own making. No more screaming at kids to get ready. No more flipping switches between "corporate Kim" and "mom Kim." No more performing a life that looked successful but felt suffocating.

"It was my identity, right? It was what I had worked up to. It was where I had wanted to be," she explains. But when that identity died, she discovered something terrifying: she didn't know who she was underneath the corporate costume.

The recession didn't just destroy her career - it revealed that what she called success was actually a prison. And for the first time in decades, she could finally breathe.

Discover how Kim transformed from corporate prisoner to authentic entrepreneur, and why sometimes losing everything is exactly what you need to find yourself.

Timestamps:
[00:00] Introduction and Guest Welcome
[00:33] Kim's Background and Career Transition
[01:59] The Impact of the 2008 Recession
[03:32] Finding Peace and New Opportunities
[07:44] Starting a Business Without a Plan
[09:21] Navigating Entrepreneurial Challenges
[13:35] The Power of Networking
[21:04] Realizing Self-Worth and Value
[24:13] Conclusion and Teaser for Part Two

Send us a text

Support the show

If You’ve Been Hooked on These Episodes… This Is for You

If this podcast has been landing deep… if each story feels like it’s peeling back something raw and real in you… then don’t ignore that.

Every guest you’ve heard made the same decision: to stop performing and start healing.

Now it’s your turn.

Take the Silent Collapse Diagnostic. It’s not a quiz. It’s a wake-up tool for women who are done pretending they’re fine.

No fluff. No journaling prompts. Just a straight-up mirror into where you’re silently collapsing behind the mask of success.

If you're serious about reclaiming your energy, your clarity, your life start there.

Because breakthrough doesn’t begin with doing more. It begins with finally seeing what’s been stealing your power.

Take the self-audit now.

Learn more about Baz Porter at www.bazporter.com

What happens when losing your children means losing yourself completely? After four devastating deaths, Vickie Menendez faced something even more terrifying than grief - she became nobody.

"When my kids passed away, it's like that identity was dissolving," she admits. "Even though I still had my son with my second husband, it's like when you lose those things, like you lose your home, you lose your job, you lose a relationship, you lose your children. Then you start asking these questions, who am I?"

The woman who had been defined as "mother" for decades suddenly had no children to mother. The identity that had anchored her entire existence was gone. She wasn't just grieving her babies - she was grieving herself.

But in her darkest moment of complete dissolution, Vickie created something that would save her: the butterfly field visualization. Instead of remembering her daughter dying in a hospital bed, she imagined their last moments together in a field of wildflowers where her daughter turns into thousands of butterflies, saying "bye for now."

"Every time I think of her, we go to that field together," Vickie explains. Those butterflies didn't just help her remember her daughter - they taught her how to become someone new.

Discover how a woman who became nobody when everything fell apart used butterflies to rebuild her identity from absolute nothing - and why your complete dissolution might be exactly what you need to discover who you're truly meant to be.

Send us a text

Support the show

If You’ve Been Hooked on These Episodes… This Is for You

If this podcast has been landing deep… if each story feels like it’s peeling back something raw and real in you… then don’t ignore that.

Every guest you’ve heard made the same decision: to stop performing and start healing.

Now it’s your turn.

Take the Silent Collapse Diagnostic. It’s not a quiz. It’s a wake-up tool for women who are done pretending they’re fine.

No fluff. No journaling prompts. Just a straight-up mirror into where you’re silently collapsing behind the mask of success.

If you're serious about reclaiming your energy, your clarity, your life start there.

Because breakthrough doesn’t begin with doing more. It begins with finally seeing what’s been stealing your power.

Take the self-audit now.

Learn more about Baz Porter at www.bazporter.com