Close To Home: Personal Details and Insights From His Addiction and Recovery with Brenda’s Son, Enzo Narciso
For years listeners of Hopestream have heard stories about my own family’s experiences with substance misuse and recovery. Today, after (only!) 185 episodes, I’m so proud to finally introduce you to my son, Enzo. I’m not just proud of him for building a meaningful life free of substance misuse, but also for the time and energy he dedicates through his work to helping kids struggling with their own path to recovery. This is a conversation between two people who did pretty much everything wrong, but now spend our lives trying to help others meet these challenges more prepared than we were.
Substance Misuse Makes Perfect Sense: Redefining Addiction and Recovery, with Adam Sud
After years of stimulant abuse, Adam Sud tried to take his own life with an overdose - which thankfully failed. In the decade that followed that pivotal event, he became a behavioral wellness nutrition expert, international speaker, and the founder and CEO of a nonprofit that studies how nutrition impacts mental health and addiction. Adam has so much to share about the core motivations and behaviors connected to substance misuse. He’s full of truths that are sometimes hard to hear, but are invaluable to help parents understand what their kids are going through, as well as how to be an active part of their recovery - and importantly, how not to sabotage it.
An Unexpectedly Humorous Take on Substance Misuse, Borderline Personality, Trauma and Tragic Loss, with Jess Kupferman
On this episode of Hopestream, the show comes full circle to its roots. My guest, Jess Kupferman, is the CEO of She Podcasts, a membership-based group of all-women podcasters that played an important role in the creation of this show. What I didn’t know when I launched the podcast was that Jess lost her daughter to a heroin overdose at the same time I was going through our family struggles with my son. One of the most fascinating things about Jess is the way she has learned to process this trauma with a sharp sense of humor rarely seen in addiction and recovery spaces. Don’t feel bad if you laugh a few times while listening to her story, but take her advice on telling your own story seriously.
the question parents really need to ask their kids who struggle with substance misuse and addiction, and some big news! with Brenda Zane
In today’s episode I announce some big news for my organization and also share the question parents really need to ask in order to help their kids heal and move away from misusing substances.
eight free and impactful ways of being that allow your child to change their relationship with drugs and alcohol, with Brenda Zane
In this episode I share the reason behind my passion for helping parents navigate this stressful season of life, and share eight important, free and available things you can do that will help your child become more motivated to change their relationship with substances.
creating impact from tragedy with MAPDA’s janet janes
Mamas are so fierce. They are incredible protectors- and not just of their own children, but of the whole village. My guest today is Janet Janes, is a warrior mama and founder of MAPDA (Mothers Against Prescription Drug Abuse). She is bravely telling the story of the loss of her son to one methadone pill in hopes of saving others from this unimaginable loss.
clinging to hope: an epic saga of addiction, medical innovation, loss, recovery, hope and unconditional love, with Pattie Vargas and Rebekah Mutch
Sometimes there's a story so unbelievable it's hard to know where to start when telling it. This is one of those. My guests are mother and daughter and they trusted me with sharing their family's journey to hell plus the miraculous twist that no one saw coming. It's a binge-worthy episode that merits its own NETFLIX series. You'll come away awestruck by the determination of a Scottish surgeon, the power of a mother's fierce love, and the realization that parents should never, ever stop clinging to hope.
Four Common Beliefs Parents Have About Fentanyl That Put Their Teens and Young Adults At Risk For Overdose, with Brenda Zane
In this extremely important episode I cover what's actually going on with fentanyl and the impact it's having on people under the age of 30. I talk about the four very common beliefs parents have about this substance and why that could be the very thing that ends their child's life.
Ryan Hampton reveals the truth from inside the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy in his newest book, Unsettled
In this episode, I sat down with Ryan Hampton, author and activist, to talk about his newest book, Unsettled: How the Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Failed the Victims of the American Overdose Crisis and how his experience of being involved in the trial impacted him personally.
from heroin needle to sewing needle, giving back through recovery with Jeremy Melloul, MOLT Clothing
If you've ever wondered if recovery is a real thing, you will absolutely want to hear Jeremy Melloul's incredible story of recovery and giving back. You'll hear how a young man from an ambitious immigrant family found the relief of alcohol at age 11 before traveling a long and painful journey of addiction, eventually living off of Twizzlers, peanut butter cups, and heroin. But the story doesn’t even come close to ending there.
Owen Fielding of NET Recovery: the drug-free, non-traditional treatment that bypasses withdrawal torture and restores choice to those trapped in addiction
For anyone trapped in the cycle of addiction and withdrawals hearing there's a way to remove cravings without having to suffer the agony of withdrawal would almost be too good to be true. That's why Owen Fielding and the team at NET Recovery are kicking off FDA trials (Nov. 2021) for their health-tech device that has been working since the 1970s in an attempt to curb the astounding numbers of people living in addiction and dying from overdoses.
The Final Fix: an unflinching documentary investigating a radical, 49-year old technology that could change everything we know about addiction and recovery, with Director Norman Stone
If your son graduated from high school, was a nationally ranked tennis player, went to West Point, became an Army Ranger, served in Afghanistan, and went to law school, you might think all was good. But for Tripp Johnson, who achieved all of these markers of external success, life wasn't all good.
Tripp’s story takes us from sourcing drugs off the Dark Web to law school, a yoga mat, and ultimately, creating a whole-person focused treatment program for guys struggling with substance use.
my experience & relationship with stress, trauma, food, pain and healing; an interview on The Work IN podcast
I'm excited to share this episode of The Work IN podcast where I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with Erika Thomas, founder of Elemental Kinetics and talk about my experiences and relationship with stress, trauma, food, pain, An-Anon, family, triggers, exercise and more! We often find ourselves in physical pain, mentally exhausted, and generally unhealthy when we have a child misusing drugs or alcohol. At one point I wondered if I was just getting old or if there was really something medically wrong with me. It's confusing and you need to know it's normal - which is why taking care of yourself is one of the most important things you can do to help your child.
a special episode: in the grip
I believe it's important to humanize the faceless statistics you see in the news about those struggling with substance use and addiction - the people are real, the families are real, and each has its own distinct story. The impact is massive and is made up of millions of individual tragedies. While I take a short break I'm sharing this special project with you, a short collection of writings called "In The Grip." These are 20 short chapters that drop you directly into our lives, hospital rooms, and conversations during a 30 day period when my son experienced two (non-fatal) overdoses in 2017.
dear friends and family, this is what i need you to know; a shareable episode to open conversations, with Brenda Zane
It can be really hard to tell friends, family members, and co-workers about your situation if you have a child who's misusing substances - first, you're too exhausted to talk about it, also, they probably won't really understand the nuances and depth of the confusion, fear, and helplessness you feel. I created this episode as one you can share with those people in your life who need to know what's going on but you're having a hard time getting the words out.
everything you need to know about medications like Suboxone, methadone and Vivitrol for opioid addiction treatment, with Lauren Hoffman, Ph.D.
Who's confused about using medication to treat opioid addiction? For parents who have an adolescent or young adult child struggling with opioid use, medication could be a viable option but there's confusion around it and information can be hard to find. In a deep-dive conversation, Dr. Lauren Hoffman and I covered a lot of ground to answer all the questions.
why your child’s substance use makes perfect sense and four helpful strategies when they’re not open to change, with Brenda Zane
This episode will give you an alternative view to your child's substance use that might create more space for empathy and an understanding of why they continue in high-risk behaviors. I'll share four helpful things you can do when your child isn't showing signs of wanting to change what they're doing and you're pulling your hair out.
a brother stolen by addiction and thriving despite generational trauma with City Girl Gone Mom's Danielle Schaffer
Danielle Lucia Schaffer is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to her business and her family, but not even this determined, dynamic Italian "momshell" who hails from New York City could save her baby brother from the grip of addiction. As founder of the insanely popular blog and Instagram account, City Girl Gone Mom, and host of The Mom Confidential podcast, Danielle puts her mind to something and then makes it happen. But sadly, when it comes to addiction, even when you love someone to the ends of the earth, you can't always save them.
think overdose isn’t relevant to you? think again, with Brenda Zane
Think Overdose Isn't Relevant to You? Think Again, on Int'l. Overdose Awareness Day. This informative episode will highlight why drug overdose is closer than you think, why it's on the increase during COVID, and some simple things you can do to save a life, even if you don't know anyone who's addicted.
10 hard truths you need to hear if your teen is experimenting with drugs or alcohol with Brenda Zane
This is for you, parents, if you are in that stage where you've smelled weed a few times, or you've heard from a neighbor that there was a lot of alcohol at the party the kids were at last weekend. And you may be getting knots in your stomach when your son or daughter comes home and they quickly avert and avoid your eyes before disappearing into their room. Because it's hard. It's hard to know what's going on. It's hard to know how to respond to that. And all I can say is welcome to the difficult years.