S E12: Breaking the Cycle: Kids of Addicts Finding Healing and Hope
About this episode
The episode explores the experiences of children raised by parents with addiction and their journeys toward healing.
Hunter talks to three people who were raised by parents suffering from addiction, and how that changed them. Meet this episode’s strangers: -Troy was raised from age two to seventeen by his stepdad, who is an ex-NFL player. Troy looked up to him, but as his stepdad’s alcoholism spiraled out of control, he drifted out of Troy’s life. Troy describes watching him slide into depression and isolation, and the heartbreak he felt discovering that his “superhero” stepdad was deeply flawed. Despite long absences, Troy continues to reach out to his stepfather and hopes one day he will find the help he needs. -Taylor’s father fell into drug addiction when she was 10 years old. The addiction changed him drastically. He became abusive and struggled to maintain a job and home, forcing the family to become unhoused. She describes celebrating her 16th birthday living in a shelter. Now, as an adult, Taylor is working to heal her relationships with her mother and her father, who has found sobriety. -Jeffery describes growing up with a mother who became addicted to opioids. Even after repeatedly confronting her about her addiction, she continued to use. He describes living in fear that she would…
People in this episode
Host: Hunter
Guests: Troy, Taylor, Jeffery
More episodes of Stories from a Stranger
- S E18: Loving Yourself: Stories of Identity and Healing
- S E17: Fathers: The Wounds, The Love, The Legacy
- S E16: Learning to Belong: Immigrant Childhoods, Family Sacrifice, and Self-Discovery
- S E15: Falling in Love is Beyond My Control
- S E14: Still Thinking About Them: Stories of Love, Loss, and Legacy
- S E13: Lost Time, Found Compassion: Healing My Teenage Self
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