Valerie is one of Paul’s friends from his support group. She shares stories from her childhood in Rome, which included a philandering and deceptive father. She also digs deep into her own relationship patterns and how she’s trying to break them.
Dr. Arash Javanbakht @Arash_Javanbakht is a psychiatrist and serves as the director of the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic (STARC) at Wayne State School of Medicine. He shares his work studying PTSD and other trauma, in particular the wild success that has been achieved via Augmented reality tech treatments. Check out his book Afraid: Understanding the Purpose of Fear and Harnessing the Power of Anxiety
Penn and Kim Holderness talk about living with and navigating their marriage through ADHD. They open up about their struggles and share strategies to make living with ADHD a little easier. Look out for their new book, ADHD is Awesome.
A favorite among listeners, this Best Of episode was originally recorded in 2011, in the first months of the podcast. Stand-up Comedian, Skateboarder and co-host (with Karen Kilgariff) of the podcast Do You Need A Ride? Chris Fairbanks (aka @Chris_Fairbanks) talks with Paul about his mother’s battle with alcoholism, Alzheimer’s and Dementia and its effect on him growing up and today. They talk about the link between pain and creativity, peer acceptance, dark voices in their heads and they both share chilling stories about dead people.
A favorite episode among listeners and from the first year of the podcast (2011). How do you cope when you are convinced your life is constantly in danger as a child? First, you band together with your siblings and form an army, then you learn about the sweet oblivion of addiction. Paul’s friend Karma withholds her last name and picture so she can fully reveal the family life that nearly killed her, but ultimately forced her to grow. A fairly heavy interview so Paul throws in a little something after the interview to hopefully make you laugh.
Dave Manheim is a producer and podcaster (Dopey) who shares his story of recovery and what it was like to create a podcast dedicated to addiction stories–and then to suddenly lose his co-host and creative partner to an overdose.
Marcy Langlois was born with a physical deformity, which required 23 surgical procedures before the age of 18, and was involved in a devastating, life-changing accident at the age of 17. She shares her story and opens up about the ways in which she has been able to heal and to focus on life’s infinite possibility. Look for her podcast Living Beyond Limits.
Erin Williams is an author, illustrator, and healthcare researcher who joins Paul to discuss chronic pain and how her own struggles with it have served her art. Look for her new book What’s Wrong?: Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine
Michael Laurie is an actor, a small group facilitator, and a parent. He talks with Paul about his road to recovery and shares his unusual story of becoming a foster parent, with all the love and pain that entails.