Grieving Out Loud: A Mother Coping with Loss in the Opioid Epidemic

She’s one of the world’s most recognized sex and relationship therapists. From The Oprah Winfrey Show to The Dr. Oz Show, Dr. Laura Berman has spent more than three decades helping people navigate relationships and life’s challenges. But nothing could have prepared her for the loss of her 16-year-old son, a relationship she says continues even though he is no longer here in this physical world. He died from fentan...

Overcoming one challenge after another has been part of Shaheed Morris’ life story. Abandoned at birth by his mother, who used substances during pregnancy, Shaheed was born with severe health challenges, and doctors weren’t sure he would survive. His grandmother stepped in, taking him to physical therapy and making sure he received the care he needed, despite financial struggles.

Today, Shaheed is a college graduate who ...

For much of her life, Simone Bowyer struggled to believe she was enough. Growing up with an abusive father who battled alcohol addiction, Simone says childhood trauma sent her down a dangerous path that included an eating disorder, addiction and depression.

After years of therapy and hard work, Simone found recovery and a new sense of purpose. Today, she’s an author, speaker and founder of Light Within Collective, where she fo...

Millions of people have watched Bryan Blackmon’s TikTok videos featuring his nearly 90-year-old landlord, Elaine. But Elaine has done far more for Bryan than help him become a social media sensation.

Before those videos ever went viral, Bryan was homeless and battling addiction. Elaine was a stranger who took a chance on him, offering him a place to live and helping him find sobriety after decades of addiction. That simple act...

Jason Granberg spent 25 years chasing a high, first with alcohol and later cocaine, believing the next dollar, success or possession would finally make him happy. Behind the success of building his own business, he was quietly battling depression and anxiety. 

A few years ago, Jason made a decision that terrified him; he called a helpline and asked to be sent somewhere far away, leading him to 42 days of detox and treatment in ...

Nearly two decades of addiction took Austin Rampt to some of the darkest places of his life. He went through eight rehabilitation programs, crossed international borders searching for an escape, and eventually found himself living alongside members of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.

It was there that Austin experienced a near-death moment he never saw coming. That moment became one part of a long journey toward change and recovery.

Tod...

Regret and the tendency to punish ourselves can show up in everyday moments, like forgetting your phone at home, or in life-altering ways, like wondering what you could have done differently to prevent a tragedy.

Today’s guest on Grieving Out Loud shares why holding onto that regret can be so damaging. Stephanie Renner lost her 18-year-old son, Jordon, to suicide after years of mental health struggles.

Even after 25 years as an...

Anne Fundner lost her 15-year-old son, Weston, to fentanyl poisoning in 2022. Weston was a high school freshman, a kid who was loved, supported, and given every opportunity his family could provide.

But in one moment of peer pressure, he took a pill he thought was something else. It contained fentanyl, and he never woke up that February morning.

Anne has refused to let Weston’s life be reduced to a statistic. Since his death, s...

Katie Rizzo holds two master’s degrees in science from Yale and the University of Colorado School of Medicine and has spent more than 15 years teaching high school AP Biology and Anatomy.

She never thought of herself as a writer. That changed on September 17, 2024, when she lost her firstborn son to substance use disorder.

Before her son died, she had never written poetry, but suddenly she had no other language. She began writi...

From Saturday Night Live to hit films like Black Sheep and Tommy Boy, Chris Farley was one of the defining comedians of the 1990s. But behind the fame and larger-than-life humor, he was quietly battling substance use disorder. In 1997, Chris died at just 33 years old from an accidental overdose of cocaine and morphine.

His brother, Tom Farley, is the guest on this episode of Grieving Out Loud. He knows firsthand what it’s like...

When your child is struggling with addiction, the fear can be overwhelming, and the loneliness can feel just as heavy.

Today’s Grieving Out Loud guest knows that reality all too well. Brenda Zane’s son was just 15 years old when addiction entered their lives and changed everything. Their journey pushed them to the brink, with two fentanyl overdoses in just three days. After the second overdose, he nearly died, spending t...

Juli Shamash is getting national attention for an issue she wishes she never had to talk about. Her 19-year-old son survived a drug overdose, and the hospital ran a standard drug screen, but fentanyl wasn’t included. It isn’t part of the routine ER drug panel used in many hospitals across the country.

Her son, Tyler, died the next day.

It wasn’t until five months later, after a toxicology report from the coroner, th...

In the United States, nearly one in two adult women experience some form of unwanted sexual contact, and more than one in five have experienced completed or attempted rape, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The effects of that trauma can be profound and long-lasting, including an increased risk of substance use and addiction.

On this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Lorie Seeking Land shares how a sexual assa...

What happens when the hopes and dreams you have for your child begin to unravel? When they make choices you don’t understand, or find themselves in trouble? Like many parents, you may try to step in and fix it. That’s exactly what today’s guest on Grieving Out Loud did when she discovered her youngest son was experimenting with drugs.

As she watched her son struggle with substance use disorder for years, going in a...

Addiction is a complex disease, and there’s no guidebook for how to navigate it. Today’s guest on Grieving Out Loud knows that reality all too well.

Leslie Collins struggled with substance use disorder for years before finding recovery. But as she began to rebuild her life, her son started down the same devastating path.

Leslie tried everything she could think of to help him fight the disease, but nothing seemed to work. ...

This week we are revisiting one of our favorite episodes as we prepare to head to Orlando for CADCA's 25th Annual Mid-Year Training Institute, July 12-16, 2026.

CADCA, or Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, represents thousands of community coalitions across the country working to prevent substance use and save lives. This year's conference theme is Powered by Purpose, and we could not think of a more fitting episode to share...

As a veteran of the music and entertainment industry, David Nathan has helped shape the careers of A-list artists including Taylor Swift, Amy Winehouse and Ariana Grande.

But behind that success, he faced a loss he never could have imagined. His son took what he believed was a Percocet, unaware it was laced with fentanyl, and died at just 19.

Now, Nathan is focused on his most personal work yet: helping others navigate mental health ...

Today’s guest on Grieving Out Loud found success early in life. Mark Ehrenkranz built a career in the entertainment industry in California and New York, taking on a range of roles. But beneath that success, he was quietly fighting a battle with addiction.

Over the years, Mark says recovery would come in long stretches, sometimes years before everything would unravel again. In one case, he says it was triggered by a medication ...

She’s walked the runway at New York Fashion Week, won titles like Miss Mt. Rushmore, and may soon have a documentary made about her life. But just a few years ago, Danica Miller was on a very different path.

At just 13, she entered treatment for the first time, struggling with an addiction to inhalants. That struggle deepened over the years, leading to harder drugs, including meth, and at 19, a prison sentence after assaulting...