You Matter!

The lives of Kari Kelly, her son Patrick, and family friend Carla Tardif are intertwined in a way that is both tragic and beautiful. Kari, Patrick and Carla lost a husband, father and friend to brain cancer. Pat Kelly, a Syracuse University football standout who later played for four years in the NFL, died at the age of 37 after a two-year battle with brain cancer. On Pat's deathbed, he asked his college friend Carla to fulfill one wish: to find a way for families going through cancer to focus on their recovery instead of the financial burdens imposed by a cancer diagnosis. Today, Carla is the CEO of Family Reach, a nonprofit organization dedicated to removing the financial barriers standing between a cancer patient and their treatment. One of Carla's initiatives through Family Reach is the launch of Pat's legacy, The Pat Kelly Promise, which further provides hope to families burdened with the financial side effects of their diagnosis.

Chris is a high school basketball legend from Fall River, Massachusetts; he was named to the 1994 McDonald's All-American team and began his collegiate career at Boston College. After failing several drug tests, Chris transferred to Fresno State where he was one of the best point guards in the country. In 1999, Chris was drafted by the Denver Nuggets and then in 2000, traded to his hometown team, the Boston Celtics. What no one knew during Chris's collegiate and professional basketball career was that Chris struggled with substance abuse disorder. Chris's journey to recovery has been documented in the bestselling memoir, Basketball Junkie, the Emmy-nominated ESPN Films documentary, Unguarded, and in countless local, national and international stories by The New York Times, The Boston Globe and Sports Illustrated, among others. Chris has made it his life's mission to facilitate honest discussions about substance abuse disorder and wellness and has conducted presentations on the subjects to over 1 million students and community members since 2011.

Karen speaks with Seymour Josephson, the father of Samantha Josephson, a 21-year-old senior at the University of South Carolina who, on March 29, 2019, was kidnapped and murdered when she was targeted by a person posing as a rideshare driver. Immediately following this unspeakable tragedy, Seymour and Samantha's mom, Marci Josephson, set out to educate others on the importance of rideshare safety so that no other family would have to suffer this kind of loss.

Melissa's father, Ed DeAngelo, was a lieutenant in the Ewing Township, NJ, Police Department when he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as ALS; Lieutenant DeAngelo died from ALS four years after his diagnosis. Melissa, now a nurse, shares her father's story of life with this unforgiving disease.

Kelly, a college student, shares her story of struggling with depression and being the survivor of a traumatic event that led to an unsettling and abusive experience in a psychiatric hospital.

Catherine is an author and actress, best known for her role as Amanda Carrington in the 1980s prime time soap opera Dynasty, in addition to other movie and television roles, who has always been a strong advocate on women's issues. India, Catherine's daughter, is also an author, actress, producer and writer. Catherine and India are here to talk about India's 7-year experience in a cult called NXIVM, and Catherine's attempts to rescue India that spanned several years.

In our season finale, Karen speaks with Kathy Kleiner Rubin who was a student at Florida State University and a member of the Chi Omega Sorority. She was living in the sorority house in 1978 when serial killer Ted Bundy broke into the house, murdered two of Kathy's sorority sisters and attempted to kill Kathy and her roommate Karen. Kathy and Karen survived Bundy's brutal attack, and Kathy is here to share her story.

Bessel van der Kolk, MD, is a clinician, researcher, and teacher best known for his work with post-traumatic stress; he is the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Body Keeps the Score. Dr. van der Kolk has been active in the field of mental health since the 1970s and currently serves as medical director at the Trauma Center in Boston.

Katie is a returning guest from Season 2 who shared her story as the mother of transgender daughter Sara. Katie returns with Sara so that Sara can share her story in the hopes that it could help another young transgender person going through similar difficulties.

Both attorneys, guests Michelle and Brian speak with Karen about Michelle's cancer diagnosis in 2015. They recount their journey from cancer discovery to diagnosis and recovery, and how cancer has impacted their lives, both professionally and personally.