My blurred opinion

Breaking bondage from addiction

Doug Sweeneys honesty in this episode was courageous, sincere, heartbreaking at times, and powerful. His story is primarily about addiction, starting within his household, and eventually succumbing to it as a child. He tried to be a full fledge, functional alcoholic, but that didn't really work, if anything, it made it worse. Eventually, drugs came into the picture, and a multitude of mistakes, and hitting multiple bottoms, somehow, to this day he still alive, and here, to tell his story to those that are also struggling with addiction, and needing guidance. He's a beautiful and brave person, and he is well needed in the fight against addiction.
His website https://www.breakingbondagefromaddiction.com

Fabulous over 50

Jen Hardy is a podcast host, author, speaker, community builder, and a stay-at-home mom that homeschools her seven children. , until she hit her 40s and her doctor diagnosed her with horrible asthma, and muscular dystrophy that went totally unnoticed.  After a hospitalization, she had time to ponder where her life is going from here, and she decided that she wanted to live her best life in her 50s, even with all of her illnesses. Jen really is a sweet, smart, brave woman, who seems to take on all the challenges that come her way, go somedays it can be hard, but she's always there to meet that challenge at the door.
Her website https://jenhardy.net
 
 
 

The black sheep

She never truly felt well. After surviving a rough childhood, torn between a narcissist of a father and an unfeeling and emotionally neglectful mother,  she learned that she was the only one she could depend on. She eventually develop an eating disorder and became an alcoholic by binge drinking. Then, from there became entangled in a relationship with a man that was very similar to her father, in certain characteristics. Then, after a drawn-out divorce when she would lose everything, but her children, she had to do some soul-searching to figure out who she was, and where her life was headed. 
Her website  https://www.wholisticnaturalhealth.com.au
Her LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/magicbarclay/

Some dreams are worth keeping

Susan Johnson is the author of “Some Dreams Are Worth Keeping” A Memoir of My Bipolar Journey and an inspirational speaker. She is one of these individuals that is pushing the envelope when it comes to mental health, as a woman who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, there's many stigma's that come with that, and she wants to educate people on those stigmas, and bring these topics to the table so that they are more widely spoken about. She wants to show people that she is an absolute success story and that having a mental illness is not a death sentence. She is now currently living her dreams as a renowned speaker, advocate, and author.
Her website https://www.sjohnsonauthor.com
Her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sjohnsonbooks/
 

The reconciliation

This is a very special episode for me, because this one is with my father, I've mentioned him on a multitude of episodes, and because our relationship has gotten better over the years, I really wanted to have him on. We discuss his upbringing, how some of his issues stem from his father, his regrets in life, specially the ones involving me, and him in current day, where he is working on himself. I never knew how this was going to play out, but it was a really peaceful, and therapeutic conversation, and I wanted this very episode to highlight the reconnection of two people who were filled with anger, resentment, and many other things that kept us apart.

Renewed hope

This episode is with Darryl Rodgers, about him and his son chase story. His son suffered from a mild case of ADHD, but his real issue was substance abuse. After getting kicked out of school, his parents had to figure out what to do with him next, and the first thing they thought of was an intervention. It seemed like the more they tried, the more they enabled him and pushed him in the opposite direction.  I don't want to give away too much of the story, but there is a period in his story that gets really dark, but through all the darkness, Darryl find what he's most passionate about, and becomes a peer support for parents with kids who have addiction issues. 
His website https://www.thefamilyrecoverycoach.com
His Instagram https://www.instagram.com/drodgers61/

Post traumatic growth

Danielle's journey starts with a traumatic brain injury, and we go into how it affected her, and the uphill climb to get back to where she was before the injury. She is another example of a person who took their pain and turned it into something beautiful. She started a company eight years ago, and now it's international, and she's helping people with their pain, whether physical or mental. She has helped many people with her business, and I believe she will continue this for as long as she is on this earth
Her website https://brainbodyself.com
Her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/_daniellematthews_/
 

Persistency is the key

From the moment of birth, Michael Kutcher has overcome challenges and conquered obstacles that most people never even catch a glimpse of. Born as an unexpected twin of Ashton Kutcher, Michael met his first of many challenges at delivery. Entering the world notably smaller than his twin at less than five pounds, Michael was hardly responsive and struggled to take his first breath.  By age three, Michael was battling significant developmental delays, caused by irreversible neurological pathologies. He was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy before he entered Kindergarten. Michael was diagnosed with heart failure at age 13 and was once again faced with an unthinkable challenge of survival. After being given a life expectancy of just three to four weeks, Michael again defeated the odds and successfully received a lifesaving heart transplant.  It was this second close brush with death that opened Michael’s eyes to the fragility of life and inspired him to take control of the future he once thought he wouldn’t have. Michael’s message is one of inspiration, hope and appreciation. Having overcome unthinkable challenges against extraordinary odds, Michael is living proof that perseverance and unwavering positivity can surmount even the most seemingly impossible of obstacles
His website https://www.michaelkutcher.com
https://www.facebook.com/mkutch/
 
 

The DeArments

This episode is about a family who is very tight and supportive of each other. Denise is the mother, Brandon is the father, and Jordan and Joe are the sons. I work with both Joe and Brandon, both great people, and stand-up guys. This episode occurred when I was on the treadmill at the gym with Joe, and he brought up his parent's participation and relationship with the Special Olympics. Jordan who is the older brother is very talented, artistic, and a very sweet guy. He was diagnosed with autism when he was three years old, and a lot of this episode is based around his upbringing, and how the family came together to provide a great life for Jordan, and for him to live out as much normalcy as possible. In the episode you get to see how supportive and loving his mother and father is, and their dedication to getting him into the Special Olympics, protecting him from any issues that would arise whether it's his schooling, medical issues, or anything else. 

One strong mother

For over a decade, Nicole worked on the communications side of the human rights world. She fought for the child bride of Uganda, the persecuted religious minority of Iran, the abortion survivor of France, and beyond. But, it wasn't until the birth of her second daughter that Nicole's mission to fight for those suffering would be given flesh and bone.Her little daughter was born in distress, resulting in the diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy, and she's spent every breath since shouting the value of all human life, from womb to tomb. Nicole is such an insightful, strong woman, I was captivated by her stories, especially her journeys on giving birth to her two children. I love people who get knocked down, and keep getting up, I know Nicole knew what was coming with her second child as far as how painful the birth could be, but she did it anyway because she wanted to bring another beautiful child into the world. 
Her website https://www.dignitydefense.org/pro-dignity-no-doubt
Her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/nicolemysmith/
Her Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NicoleMYSmith/