S3E10 The Weight of Shame with Julie Wiseman
From Pondoff's Anonymous by Chris Pondoff, Jeff Allen, Zoë Mendenall
March 30, 2026 · 2h 16m · Season 3 · Episode 10
About this episode
Julie Wiseman shares her story of loss and the impact of mental health challenges in a conversation about grief and community support.
Content Note: This episode contains discussion of suicide, addiction, and mental health. Julie Wiseman with her friend (also) Julie Thanks to our sponsors: McKelvey Insurance Group http://mckelveyins.com LightSource http://FindYourLightSource.com In this episode of Pondoff’s Anonymous, Chris and Zoë sit down with Julie Wiseman, joined by her friend Dee, for a deeply honest conversation about grief, learning differences, addiction, and the long shadow of shame. Julie shares the story of her son Nick, from early struggles with dyslexia and anxiety to the deeper mental health and substance use battles that followed, and the devastating reality of losing him to suicide. Along the way, the conversation opens up into something even bigger… parenting fear, the pressure kids carry, the gaps in support for teens and families, and the kind of community that can help people feel less alone. Julie talks about creating Nick’s Beautiful Angels, Zoë reflects on her own experience with dyslexia and ADHD, and the group keeps coming back to a simple truth… isolation makes everything worse, and honest connection matters. Chapters: 00:00 Navigating Personal Challenges 02:51 Understanding Learning…
People in this episode
Hosts: Chris Pondoff, Zoë Mendenall
Guest: Julie Wiseman
Topics covered
- mental health
- addiction
- grief
- parenting
- support systems
- learning differences
- community
Keywords
- suicide
- addiction
- mental health
- dyslexia
- ADHD
- parenting
- support
- isolation
- community
Sponsors
McKelvey Insurance Group, LightSource
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