Benefitting #igotout

Do you think you could never be indoctrinated into a cult? Sarah Edmondson wants you to think again. Sarah spent 12 years in the NXIVM cult, where otherwise bright, well-meaning women were being coerced, abused and turned into sex slaves by the now convicted felon, Keith Raniere. In this episode, Sarah shares how her own intuition was slowly dismantled by the cult, and how you can spot the red flags of any type of abusive power before it’s too late.

Benefitting Gabrielle's Wings

Survival looks different for everyone. For Michelle Hord, it was about finding ways to honor her daughter Gabrielle’s life, which was taken at only 7 years old by her then husband, in an unthinkable act of violence that no one could have imagined. But her lessons on grief are not just for those who have experienced tragedy. In this episode, Michelle shares how we can take back our narrative after loss of any kind, and decide what the next chapters will be.

Benefitting Friendly House

Laura Cathcart Robbins first started using Ambien to help her get some sleep. But as the pressures of her public life grew, so did her usage of the drug. She was swallowing lethal amounts of sleeping pills and washing them down with booze. At the heart of her addiction was a feeling that she wasn’t able to be honest about who she really was – beginning in childhood at the hands of an abusive step-father, through motherhood and a Hollywood marriage. In this episode, Laura shares how the choice to release her secrets allowed her to start living instead of just existing.

Benefitting Human Prison Hospice Project

Death Doula Diane Button has served as a companion to hundreds of clients and their families through the end of life process. She is a lead instructor at the University of Vermont's End of Life Doula Certificate program, a founding partner of the Bay Area End of Life Doula Alliance, and the author of the bestselling new book, Dear Death: Finding Meaning in Life, Peace in Death and Joy in an Ordinary Day. Today she shares the lessons she’s gathered from her clients through the years, whom she refers to as The Wisdom Keepers, so that the end of your life can be the best possible journey that it can be.

Benefitting Jeanette Joan Saffold Foundation

Anthony Brown spent 23 years living on the streets battling homelessness, addiction and incarceration. He describes his state of mind as one without hope, trying not to feel, trying not to care. Until one day a police officer asked if he wanted some help. Today Anthony is a registered nurse, an author, speaker and founder of Brown Manor, a safe place where those in need can restore their lives.

Benefitting Love Life Now Foundation

When Tom asked Kate to move in with him after dating for three months, she was thrilled. He seemed really into her and wanted to make her life as a single mom easier. But once they were married and had a child together, things got dark. Her “too good to be true” husband became jealous, controlling, and ultimately, deadly. Kate Ranta shares the warning signs and red flags that just might save the life of somebody you know.

Benefitting Postpartum Support International

When Jessica Ekhoff gave birth to her son, the last thing she planned for was a mental health crisis. The signs were there within days of delivering, but with no history of mania, it was easy to overlook the obsessive, grandiose thinking, the hyperfixation and impulsivity. Eventually, a terrifying delusion landed Jessica in a psychiatric ward where she was able to get a diagnosis and receive treatment. Post-recovery, Jessica is sharing her story through her book: Super Sad Unicorn: A Memoir of Mania. Her mission is to shine a light on postpartum bipolar disorder, and tell those who are affected that they are not alone.

Benefitting Erin's House

Austin Hatch is one in a million. Scratch that. One in 3.4 million. Those were odds that an MIT statistician gave of him surviving the plane crash that killed his mom and two siblings. But then, just days after being accepted to play basketball for his dream school, the University of Michigan, Austin was in a second plane crash – this one claiming the lives of his dad Steve and his step-mom Julie. Yet with all this loss, Austin has found a way to keep living by finding ways to honor the family he loved. His gratitude for life and his message of creating your legacy every day has inspired people all over the world to reconcile living while coping with tragedy.

Benefitting The Petey Greene Program

He knew he was loved by his mother, and because she loved him, Yusuf Dahl knew he was worth something. Growing up in a food insecure and financially unstable household in Milwaukee taught Yusuf what not to do in order to be a successful adult. Those lessons made him a profitable drug dealer. After landing in prison, however, Yusuf began applying himself in a new way. The investment in himself set him up for a future he never could have imagined, including a degree at Princeton, a real estate career, and a mission to make housing more affordable and available for everyone.

Benefitting APLA Health

In part two of this series, Ken Coll recounts his experience raising Matthew and surviving the stabbing that nearly took his life.

A few years after adopting baby Matthew, it became clear to Tom Boulet and his husband Ken Coll that something wasn’t right. Matthew had severe behavioral issues and an oppositional, defiant nature that had him bouncing from school to school. Still, Tom and Ken left no stone unturned to get Matthew the care and treatment he needed. After finishing high school and attending a few years of college, Matthew returned home one summer and attempted to kill both Tom and Ken, stabbing them a combined 31 times in the middle of the night. After a miraculous recovery, Tom and Ken share reflections on parenting a child with mental illness and how they found meaning and purpose and a renewed devotion to each other amid tragedy.

Benefitting Crisis Text Line

A few years after adopting baby Matthew, it became clear to Tom Boulet and his husband Ken Coll that something wasn’t right. Matthew had severe behavioral issues and an oppositional, defiant nature that had him bouncing from school to school. Still, Tom and Ken left no stone unturned to get Matthew the care and treatment he needed. After finishing high school and attending a few years of college, Matthew returned home one summer and attempted to kill both Tom and Ken, stabbing them a combined 31 times in the middle of the night. After a miraculous recovery, Tom and Ken share reflections on parenting a child with mental illness and how they found meaning and purpose and a renewed devotion to each other amid tragedy.

Benefitting the ASPCA

Most people don’t change unless they have to. For Paul Gilmartin, it was facing a life without experiencing the intimacy he saw other people had. First he needed to know how to deal with his feelings and then find healthy ways to express them, which he does very openly on his popular podcast, The Mental Illness Happy Hour. But the biggest piece of the puzzle for Paul was facing the childhood trauma he spent 20 years avoiding through therapy, support groups and sobriety.

Benefitting Heroic Hearts Project

Meyli Chapin was trapped in a hotel room for 17 hours in Nairobi while Al-Shabaab terrorists attacked the property. She was alone and certain she was going to die. But through the incredible efforts of brave men who fought to recover Meyli and extract her to safety, she survived. However, after the attack, PTSD left her mind shattered. She felt like a fraction of the strong, confident, capable woman she used to be. She thought she was uniquely traumatized and couldn't understand why she was unable to leave her apartment, why she couldn't sleep, and why she wished she had died in the terrorist attack. It was a long, hard road, but eventually Meyli did find the light at the end of the tunnel. She shares her experience of healing from PTSD, as well as thoughts and strategies to help anyone suffering from trauma to find hope and relief.

Benefitting Hope Central Watts

Somewhere after gang life, incarceration and a stint with a Mexican Cartel, Jose Hernandez felt a stirring in his heart, which would eventually lead him towards ministry and a legacy of leadership and healing in Watts, California. But in order to move forward, Jose first had to make peace with his past, including the suffering and pain he caused others. Today, Pastor Jose Hernandez is a role model and father figure to many young boys in Watts, setting a strong example of hope, dedication and the power of personal transformation.

Benefitting The Frederick Douglass Project for Justice

It never occurred to Amanda Knox that she would be looked at as a suspect for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher. The police told her she was their star witness. But once the story made international headlines, the investigation quickly turned into a calculated and violent interrogation that left Amanda without a voice and with a wrongful conviction that would change the course of her life forever. Who do our stories belong to? And how can we avoid objectifying the real people at the center of them?

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month

As part of Mental Health Awareness month, we are re-airing the episode when Kimi revealed to the world that she has bipolar disorder and that she had kept her diagnosis a secret for two decades.

Kimi's life was changed when this episode first aired. She let go of shame and secrecy and allowed herself to be fully seen. Kimi has helped dozens of families navigate their own mental health journeys over the past three years. Finding the courage to discuss the thing she was most ashamed of made this possible.

Benefitting The Herren Project

NBA player Chris Herren was spending $20,000 a month on Oxycontin, which then turned to heroin. Overdoses, car crashes and hospitalizations couldn’t keep him from destroying his career, his family, his entire life. Now fourteen years sober, Chris travels the country speaking to middle school and high school students about the dangers of drug addiction, and parents about what actually works to keep their kids from falling prey to the lure of substance abuse.

Benefitting Pear Mentor

After serving 17 ½ years in prison for drunk driving and manslaughter, 42 year-old Martin Lockett is now a free man, stepping into a very different world than the one he left (what’s a macbook?). He emerged from prison with a graduate degree, two published books, and a certification as a substance abuse counselor…ready to continue sharing his story and keeping his promise to his victims to do whatever it takes to prevent others from following in his footsteps.