About this episode

Cole Shea shares his journey from addiction to sobriety, discussing the impact of his turbulent childhood and the choices that shaped his life.

Some people hit rock bottom in a single moment. For others, it's thousands of small decisions that slowly pull them further away from the life they were meant to live. On this episode of Pondoff's Anonymous , Cole Shea shares the winding road that led from a turbulent childhood and high school football dreams to heroin addiction, prison, and eventually a decade of sobriety. Growing up surrounded by addiction, violence, and instability, Cole explains how loyalty to family often collided with the boundaries that others tried to set for him—and how those choices shaped the course of his life. Cole opens up about surviving Type 1 diabetes while incarcerated, navigating years of active addiction alongside family members, the reality of prison life, and the moment he realized he couldn't keep outrunning the consequences of his decisions. Along the way, the conversation explores trauma, accountability, recovery, and the difference between simply surviving and genuinely learning how to live. Whether you've lived this story yourself or loved someone who has, Cole's honesty is a testament to the idea that your past doesn't have to write the rest of your story.

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