Patricia Roos was a professor of sociology at Rutgers University when in 2015 her 25-year-old son Alex died from a heroin overdose. Her training as a sociologist led her on a quest to better understand what happened to her family. Building on her professional and academic perspectives, she wrote a sociological memoir, Surviving Alex: A Mother's Story of Love, Loss, and Addiction, published in May 2024 by Rutgers University Press.

Web page: patroos.com (https://www.patroos.com/)

Instagram: roos.p (https://www.instagram.com/roos.p/)

New book: Surviving Alex: A Mother's Story of Love, Loss, and Addiction Published May 17, 2024

Tracey Yokas creates stuff. When she isn't writing about mental health and wellness, she can be found playing with paint, glitter, and glue. She shares about her family's journey with mental illness so others will know they are not alone. She is dedicated to supporting women in the journey towards authenticity, and fulfills her mission by creating safe spaces where art, words, and vulnerability meet in dynamic community. Tracey earned her master's degree in counseling psychology from California Lutheran University and lives in Newbury Park, CA, with her family.

You can find her on Facebook (@traceyyokascreates) and Instagram (@traceyyokas) or on her website, www.traceyyokascreates.com.

Her memoir: Bloodlines: A Memoir of Harm and Healing. (Pub date: May 7, 2024)

Summary

In this interview on the Ruthless Compassion podcast, Dr. Marcia Sirota speaks with Tracey Yokas, a retired sociologist and author of “Surviving Alex: A Mother’s Story of Love, Loss, and Addiction,” a poignant memoir about her son Alex’s struggle with addiction and his tragic death from a heroin overdose. Tracey shares her journey of transforming personal grief into advocacy, emphasizing the importance of compassionate approaches to addiction rather than punitive measures. She discusses the stigma surrounding addiction, the need for public health strategies, and the significance of harm reduction methods in addressing the ongoing crisis of substance use in society.

Key Points

• Tracey Yokas retired from academia after over 30 years at Rutgers University.
• Her son Alex died from a heroin overdose in 2015, prompting her to shift her research focus to addiction.
• “Surviving Alex” is a memoir that combines personal narrative with a call to action for families affected by addiction.
• Tracey emphasizes the therapeutic power of writing and speaking about grief and loss.
• She advocates for a public health approach to addiction rather than punitive criminal justice measures.
• She highlights the importance of harm reduction strategies and multiple treatment paths for addiction recovery.
• Tracey discusses the societal stigma surrounding addiction and the need for greater understanding and compassion.
• She is actively involved in advocacy work and aims to educate others about the realities of addiction and recovery.

Key Quotes from Tracey Yokas:

“Throughout our journey, I discovered countless families facing similar challenges. However, I found a lack of personal narratives that captured the mother’s perspective and the family’s experience.”

“It took me a significant amount of time to understand that I couldn’t dictate the course of my daughter’s illness, no matter how much I wanted to help.”

“To truly support my daughter in a healthy way, I needed to confront and heal my own unhealthy behaviors that were affecting our relationship.”

“Engaging in creative activities has become a profound passion for me; it not only combats perfectionism but also nurtures self-acceptance and awareness within a supportive community.”

“If we neglect our own well-being, we inadvertently teach our loved ones that they should do the same; prioritizing self-care is essential for everyone’s growth.”

Michael Tennant is the Founder, and CEO of Curiosity Lab, a purpose-driven venture studio and consultancy that builds products and experiences that teach empathy, creator of the empathy card game, Actually Curious, and author of The Power of Empathy, described by Inc. as "effectively balancing a self-help approach with a practical explanation of how we can use empathy as a tool". Michael and his work has been featured by the New York Times, Beyoncé, the Today show, Good Morning America, and many others. In his role as CEO, Michael creates and incubates businesses to help values-aligned individuals and organizations use empathy to live happier and healthier lives, and to nurture inclusive and innovative environments. In 2022, Curiosity Lab received an investment from Pharrell and the Black Ambition Prize.

Relevant Social Media Handles: 

Instagram: @michaeltennantnyc / @actuallyc_rious / @c_riositylab 

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/michael-tennant 

Digital course: https://fivephasesofempathy.com 

Conversation card game, Actually Curious: https://actuallycurious.com 

15% off Actually Curious card games on actuallycurious.com with code RUTHLESSCOMPASSION

Book: https://thepowerofempathy.chroniclebooks.com

Anita Nowak, PhD, is an empathy evangelist, author, TEDx speaker, podcaster, award-winning educator, certified coach, and founder of Purposeful Empathy by Design, an advisory firm that helps purpose-driven organizations create cultures of empathy and social impact. Passionate about mentoring the next generation of changemakers, she teaches Leadership, Ethics in Management, and Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation at McGill University in Montreal. And this fall, she's excited to teach a new course about purpose, happiness and well-being. She's also on faculty with the McGill Executive Institute. Her debut book, Purposeful Empathy: Tapping Our Hidden Superpower for Personal, Organizational, and Social Change was published in 2023. Her podcast/YouTube series (also called Purposeful Empathy) is dedicated to amplifying the voices of people from across the globe who understand the world needs more empathy - and are doing something about it.

Website https://bit.ly/4dbD7Dm

Book https://bit.ly/3A81W4g

LinkedIn https://bit.ly/3YtLVzD

Instagram https://bit.ly/3SvMZ2l

Facebook https://bit.ly/4c8qmI8

Facebook Group https://bit.ly/3WNsBMs

Podcast Audio https://bit.ly/4d3H3WF

Purposeful Empathy: Tapping Our Hidden Superpower for Personal, Organizational, and Social Change link: https://bit.ly/3A81W4g

Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale: https://bit.ly/3SwuQ4q

Jessi Kneeland (they/them) is a queer and non-binary body image coach, speaker, and author of the book BODY NEUTRAL: A Revolutionary Guide to Overcoming Body Image Issues. Through a concept called body neutrality—the practice of consciously stripping our bodies of all false or inflated meaning, biases, and moral significance—Jessi is committed both to helping individuals feel more empowered, worthy, and confident in themselves, and to advancing collective liberation and healing from systems of oppression.

Instagram, tiktok, facebook, and twitter: @jessikneeland 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JessiKneeland 

Podcast- This Is (Not) About Your Body: https://rss.com/podcasts/jessikneeland/ 

Website: jessikneeland.com

Award-winning author, Alysson Foti Bourque, began her career as a teacher after graduating from University of Louisiana Lafayette with a degree in Elementary Education. She earned a law degree from the Southern University Law Center in 2007. After practicing law for six years, it was time to trade in writing trial briefs for writing children’s books. Alysson enjoys speaking with children and teachers at school and library visits with the life-size Alycat mascot and hopes to inspire people to believe in themselves, their work, and to keep writing stories. 

Alysson is releasing her newest book in the award-winning series on March 18. - Alycat and the Sunday Scaries

Website: www.alycatseries.com 

Facebook: @thealycatseries 

Instagram: @thealycatseries 

X: @AlyssonFBourque

Dr. Leslie Dobson is a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist in California. She has over 20 years of psychology experience. She has worked in maximum security settings with individuals who committed violent felonies and were found to have a severe mental illness. Over the past three years, Dr. Dobson has primarily focused on civil law. She is an expert in psychological evaluations to determine the truth. Through a variety of assessment measures, she determines the truthfulness of claims regarding emotional distress, especially sexual abuse allegations. In her clinical practice, she focuses on trauma, and also empowering clients to set interpersonal boundaries. Dr. Leslie spent years with psychopaths, and she is passionate about educating and empowering clients, especially women, to live their best life and set boundaries with toxic people, preserving their energy. Dr. Dobson's first book, The Friend Cleanse: How to Identify Energy Vampires, Set Boundaries & Balance Your Glass of Life, was published on January 1, 2024.

Website: www.drlesliedobson.com 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/drlesliedobson 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drlesliedobson

Disclaimer: We were having difficulties with our audio. We apologize for the poor sound quality.

Loretta Breuning, PhD, is Founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and Professor Emerita of Management at California State University, East Bay. She is the author of many personal development books, including Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin and Endorphin Levels. As a teacher and a parent, she was not convinced by prevailing theories of human motivation. Then she learned about the brain chemistry we share with earlier mammals and everything made sense. She began creating resources that have helped thousands of people make peace with their inner mammal. Dr. Breuning's work has been translated into sixteen languages and is cited in major media. Before teaching, she worked for the United Nations in Africa. Loretta gives zoo tours on animals behavior, after serving as a Docent at the Oakland Zoo. She is a graduate of Cornell University and Tufts. The Inner Mammal Institute offers videos, podcasts, books, blogs, multimedia, a training program, and a free five-day happy-chemical jumpstart. Details are available at InnerMammalInstitute.org.

Website: https://innermammalinstitute.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LorettaBreuningPhD

X: https://twitter.com/InnerMammal

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inner.mammal.inst/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/InnerMammalInstitute

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorettabreuning/

New book: Why You're Unhappy: Biology vs Politics https://innermammalinstitute.org/why

Promo Code: 20% off my course with the code HAPPY20 https://innermammalinstitute.org/course

Dr. Paul Zeitz is a preventive medicine physician, epidemiologist, author, and award-winning champion of global justice and human rights. He has been on the front lines of the global AIDS movement, climate transformation, racial and gender equity, authentic democracy, sustainable development, and child welfare in the U.S. and around the world. Often when the odds against success appeared to be insurmountable, with Dr. Paul’s leadership and support, barriers fell and victories arose. Through his many challenges and experiences, he also learned to fail forward!

Dr. Paul is sparking personal and global conversations to heal and repair ourselves, our relationships, and awaken political imagination and stimulate a new vision of peaceful, revolutionary transformation. His committed work over the past thirty years reveals a deep truth: When we look within and approach our personal healing work with self-compassion and love, we strengthen ourselves and are better able to extend a hand and heart of peace to others—to serve and participate in the urgent issues of the day with empathy, understanding, and wisdom. In his acclaimed new book Revolutionary Optimism: 7 Steps for Living as a Love-Centered Activist, Dr. Paul shows us how to break free from feelings of confusion, pessimism, and cynicism about the world and step into a place of empowerment, resourcefulness, and inspiration. Through this inside-out approach to healing, self-liberation, and transformation, Dr. Paul ignites in us a profound depth of optimism that has the power to change lives.

Facebook: @DrPaulZeitz 

Instagram: @drpaulzeitz 

X: @drpaulzeitz 

LinkedIn: /in/paul-zeitz/

His new book: Revolutionary Optimism: 7 Steps for Living as a Love-Centered Activist

Liza holds a master's degree in counselling psychology and a PhD in general psychology. She conducts research, teaches and writes in an attempt to spread awareness and knowledge beyond the four walls of her therapy practice. A passionate believer in social equality and social justice, Liza serves on the board of ALFREDS, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and communities. You can also hear Liza on CBC's Here & Now where she addresses listeners' parenting issues.

Website: lizafinlayassociates.com