Pondoff's Anonymous

Tiffany Foster returns to Pondoff’s Anonymous for a conversation about grief, memory, advocacy, and learning how to keep moving when life changes again.Tiffany joins Chris, Zoë and KG on what would have been her son Zack’s 18th birthday, just days before the five-year anniversary of his passing. She talks about the ways she still celebrates him, why she prefers to call the anniversary of his death his “Forever Day,” and why talking openly about Zack has become such an important part of both her grief and her work with Addiction Is Real.Now serving as vice president of Addiction Is Real, Tiffany continues to share Zack’s story with parents and caregivers in hopes of preventing another family from experiencing the same loss. As Chris points out, her willingness to keep talking about what happened has almost certainly helped other families have conversations they otherwise may never have had.But Tiffany is also navigating a new kind of loss. After 13 years with her employer, she unexpectedly lost her job just days before recording, forcing her to confront identity, routine, responsibility and what it means to start over when you already feel like you’ve endured “tragedy on top of tragedy.”And because this is still Pondoff’s Anonymous, the conversation also somehow includes horror movies, red velvet cake, Chicago sex shops, giant.....toys, gay neighborhoods, smut books, ADHD, bears, otters and whether Tiffany was once a “soft butch.”It’s funny, messy, deeply human and ultimately a conversation about continuing to live — while making sure the people we’ve lost continue to live with us.

Michael Fowler joins Pondoff’s Anonymous to tell a story that starts with childhood trauma, addiction and years of keeping people at arm’s length and eventually leads him into treatment, recovery and a career helping other people find their own way out.Michael opens up about experiencing trauma at a young age and how it helped build the walls he carried into adulthood. In treatment, sharing that part of his story led another man to reveal something he had never told anyone before. That moment gave Michael his first glimpse of something bigger: maybe the parts of his life he had spent hiding could actually be used to help somebody else.He talks candidly about alcoholism, drugs, failed relationships, infidelity, run-ins with the law and the destructive belief that if he hurt people first, they couldn't hurt him. Recovery eventually forced him to do something very different—lower the walls, feel the pain when things went wrong and stop numbing every uncomfortable emotion.The conversation also explores Michael's evolving relationship with faith. After initially wanting nothing to do with the "God stuff" in recovery, his idea of a higher power gradually evolved from the people in the rooms to a personal relationship with Christ.And because this is Pondoff’s Anonymous, somehow all of that exists alongside restaurant hookup culture, cocaine, bowling, getting tased, The Sopranos, questionable golf-course stories and an alarming amount of discussion that probably shouldn't appear in an episode description.It's a conversation about what happens when the things you once tried hardest to hide become the exact things that allow you to connect with—and help—someone else.

This week, Chris, KG, and Erin Johnston of Addiction Is Real sit down for a conversation that challenges the way we think about addiction, recovery, and mental health.From the realities of detox and the fentanyl crisis to youth mental health, suicide prevention, Narcan, and supporting families in crisis, Erin shares what she's learned after years of working alongside people whose lives have been forever changed by substance use. But this isn't just a conversation about statistics—it's about people, compassion, and the small moments that can change the course of someone's life. The discussion also explores grace, faith, parenting, community, grief, and why creating a space where people feel seen may be one of the most powerful forms of prevention we have. As always, there are plenty of laughs mixed in along the way, proving that even the heaviest conversations can leave you with hope.If you've ever wondered how to better support someone who's struggling—or simply become a better human being—this episode is for you.