Stephanie Wittels Wachs and her younger brother Harris were best friends. So when he confided that he was struggling with opioid addiction, Steph believed they’d find a way through it together, like they always had. But Harris didn’t survive his addiction. 

Steph immersed herself in research on addiction to better understand what her family had been through. This week, Steph joins Maya to share what she’s learned about the disease and how we can help save more lives. 

Check out Steph’s new book “Last Day: How to Stop Losing Our Loved Ones to the Opioid Crisis” and find her podcast, “Last Day” wherever you like to listen.

For more on addiction and healing, we recommend our conversation with singer-songwriter Jason Isbell, “Jason Isbell on Resisting the Mythos of Sobriety.”

If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction or if you’d like to learn more about the topic, resources are available at FindSupport.gov.

Order Steph’s book Last Day: How to Stop Losing Our Loved Ones to the Opioid Crisis at ⁠https://bit.ly/LastDayBook⁠, and the audiobook at ⁠https://bit.ly/3RW4WtF⁠, or wherever books and audiobooks are sold.

LAST DAY BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE

Please join Steph on the road and RSVP at the links below!

📍 Carmel Valley, CA Saturday, September 12th, 7:00 PM at Olivia & Daisy Books.⁠ Reserve your spot →⁠

📍 Houston, TX Thursday, September 17th, 7:00 PM at Blue Willow Bookshop.⁠ Reserve your spot →⁠

📍 Summerland, CA Friday, September 25th at Godmother's Books, in conversation with Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. ⁠Reserve your spot →⁠

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Most friendships start because you have something in common: work, hobbies, fashion, books, sense of humor. But not all friendships are formed because of something wholesome in common. Sometimes, you share an experience so life-changing that you are drawn to each other. That is how, nine years ago, Nora and Steph Wittels Wachs became friends. Steph lost her brother, Harris, to an opioid overdose. Grievers can always find common ground: losing someone changes you.

If you have lived this before, you’ll find it feeling familiar. If you haven’t, consider yourself lucky. Watching a family member suffer from opioid addiction is crushing. Losing them is debilitating.

Watch us on YouTube here!

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Listen to Geoffrey’s album on Spotify and Apple!

You can buy Nora’s books on Bookshop or Amazon, or wherever you buy books.

Nora is on IG, TikTok, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Order Steph’s book Last Day: How to Stop Losing Our Loved Ones to the Opioid Crisis at https://bit.ly/LastDayBook, and the audiobook at https://bit.ly/3RW4WtF, or wherever books and audiobooks are sold.

LAST DAY BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE

Please join Steph on the road and RSVP at the links below!

📍 Carmel Valley, CA Saturday, September 12th, 7:00 PM at Olivia & Daisy Books. Reserve your spot →

📍 Houston, TX Thursday, September 17th, 7:00 PM at Blue Willow Bookshop. Reserve your spot →

📍 Summerland, CA Friday, September 25th at Godmother's Books, in conversation with Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. Reserve your spot →

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do we create smart drug education that actually makes an impact on the next generation? After losing their son Charlie to an accidental fentanyl overdose, Ed and Mary Ternan created Song for Charlie to educate young people and their parents about the risks of counterfeit prescription pills and other drugs. In this episode, Stephanie talks to Ed and Marcia Lee Taylor, strategy advisor for the organization, about Charlie's last day and how to have honest conversations with kids about drugs.

This episode is made possible by Song for Charlie, the family led non-profit behind the New Drug Talk program—offering free, science-backed resources for parents and caregivers.

To learn more visit thenewdrugtalk.org and songforcharlie.org and follow @thenewdrugtalk (Instagram & Facebook), @song4charlie (Instagram) @songforcharlie (TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube)

Order Steph’s book Last Day: How to Stop Losing Our Loved Ones to the Opioid Crisis at https://bit.ly/LastDayBook, and the audiobook at https://bit.ly/3RW4WtF, or wherever books and audiobooks are sold.

LAST DAY BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE

Please join Steph on the road and RSVP at the links below!

📍 Carmel Valley, CA Saturday, September 12th, 7:00 PM at Olivia & Daisy Books. Reserve your spot →

📍 Houston, TX Thursday, September 17th, 7:00 PM at Blue Willow Bookshop. Reserve your spot →

📍 Summerland, CA Friday, September 25th at Godmother's Books, in conversation with Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. Reserve your spot →

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What role does connection play in helping us survive life's hardest moments? In this episode, Stephanie talks to Allison Gilbert, a journalist, speaker, and the creator of More Connected, a first-of-its-kind app helping people build deeper belonging and togetherness IRL. Together, they explore what’s behind the loneliness epidemic, how we can embrace the messiness of human connections, and why closeness is an upstream intervention for addiction.

To learn more, check out  ⁠BeingMoreConnected.com⁠, ⁠AllisonGilbert.com⁠ and ⁠Mental Health Storytelling Initiative⁠. You can follow Allison on Instagram: ⁠@itsallisongilbert⁠.

Order Steph’s book Last Day: How to Stop Losing Our Loved Ones to the Opioid Crisis at ⁠https://bit.ly/LastDayBook⁠, and the audiobook at ⁠https://bit.ly/3RW4WtF⁠, or wherever books and audiobooks are sold.

LAST DAY BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE

Please join Steph on the road and RSVP at the links below!

📍 Carmel Valley, CA Saturday, September 12th, 7:00 PM at Olivia & Daisy Books.⁠ Reserve your spot →⁠

📍 Houston, TX Thursday, September 17th, 7:00 PM at Blue Willow Bookshop.⁠ Reserve your spot →⁠

📍 Summerland, CA Friday, September 25th at Godmother's Books, in conversation with Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. ⁠Reserve your spot →⁠⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Nadia Bowers's sister Sasha died of fentanyl overdose in 2015, Nadia was seven months pregnant with her first child and had gotten married just six weeks earlier. Suddenly she had to ask herself: how do I go on after the worst thing that's ever happened to me? In this episode, Nadia tells Stephanie how writing her new memoir, Dear Dealer, helped her process her rage, grief, and the anxiety of new motherhood while navigating this crippling loss.

Pick up a copy of Dear Dealer, available wherever books are sold or listen to the audiobook, narrated by Nadia.

Order Steph’s book Last Day: How to Stop Losing Our Loved Ones to the Opioid Crisis at https://bit.ly/LastDayBook, and the audiobook at https://bit.ly/3RW4WtF, or wherever books and audiobooks are sold.

LAST DAY BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE

Please join Steph on the road and RSVP at the links below!

📍 Santa Monica, CA Thursday, August 20th, 6:00 PM at Zibby's Bookshop, in conversation with Claire Bidwell Smith. Reserve your spot →

📍 San Francisco, CA Saturday, August 22nd, 11:00 AM at Book Passage, in conversation with Maya Shankar. Reserve your spot →

📍 Carmel Valley, CA Saturday, September 12th, 7:00 PM at Olivia & Daisy Books. Reserve your spot →

📍 Houston, TX Thursday, September 17th, 7:00 PM at Blue Willow Bookshop. Reserve your spot →

📍 Summerland, CA Friday, September 25th at Godmother's Books, in conversation with Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. (Link coming soon!)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephanie Wittels Wachs has written a new book, Last Day: How to Stop Losing Our Loved Ones to the Opioid Crisis – and to celebrate, the podcast is back for a four-episode mini-season. In these new episodes, we’ll revisit the opioid crisis with fresh eyes, exploring grief and loss, unconditional love and radical acceptance, connection and reinvention. Stay tuned for episodes dropping August 19th. 

Order Steph’s book Last Day: How to Stop Losing Our Loved Ones to the Opioid Crisis at https://bit.ly/LastDayBook, and the audiobook at https://bit.ly/3RW4WtF, or wherever books and audiobooks are sold.

LAST DAY BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE

Please join Steph on the road and RSVP at the links below!

📍 Brooklyn, NY Tuesday, August 18th, 7:00 PM at PowerHouse Arena, in conversation with Dave Manheim. Reserve your spot →

📍 Santa Monica, CA Thursday, August 20th, 6:00 PM at Zibby's Bookshop, in conversation with Claire Bidwell Smith. Reserve your spot →

📍 San Francisco, CA Saturday, August 22nd, 11:00 AM at Book Passage, in conversation with Maya Shankar. Reserve your spot →

📍 Carmel Valley, CA Saturday, September 12th, 7:00 PM at Olivia & Daisy Books. Reserve your spot →

📍 Houston, TX Thursday, September 17th, 7:00 PM at Blue Willow Bookshop. Reserve your spot →

📍 Summerland, CA Friday, September 25th at Godmother's Books, in conversation with Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. (Link coming soon!)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re introducing you to a powerful new podcast, Senseless with Erika Mahoney. Everything changed one ordinary Monday, when Erika Mahoney’s mom called to say there was an active shooter at the grocery store nearby. In a matter of seconds, ten people were killed – including Erika’s father. 

With the high-profile trial of the shooter as a backdrop, Erika speaks to survivors of mass shootings, community leaders, and others impacted by the tragedy in Boulder, on her deeply personal quest to move forward after the unthinkable. 

Mass shootings have become a daily, uniquely American tragedy. But what happens to those left behind afterward? Senseless is a raw, unfiltered journey through grief, trauma, resilience, and moving forward after your world shatters forever. We’re going to play you the first episode when Erika’s life gets turned upside down. After you listen, search for Senseless with Erika Mahoney wherever you get your podcasts, or head to https://lemonada.lnk.to/SenselesswithErikaMahoneyfd

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gun violence in America is at a crisis point. It’s now the number one killer of kids and teens – a stat that should make us all pause. But instead of throwing up their hands, healthcare leaders, gun violence survivors, physicians, community members and faith leaders are doing something about it. In this episode, we’re diving into Northwell Health’s groundbreaking Gun Violence Prevention Forum, where they’re treating it as the true public health emergency that it is and elevating the conversation around safe firearm storage and gun violence prevention. 

This episode is presented by Northwell Health. To learn more, visit preventgunviolence.com/resources. You can also check out agreetoagree.org. 

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, use a safe computer and contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at www.thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-7233. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Christmas Day, we’re sharing the last episode of Squeezed, fittingly about the end of life. ​​Alua is a renowned death doula, author, and educator who believes that living fully requires all of us to face mortality head-on. Whether it’s providing support at the bedside or making end-of-life-plans well in advance, Alua works with clients at every stage of life to embrace the inevitable with heart and humor. Death can be scary, but doulas like Alua are revolutionizing end-of-life-care by teaching us how to live more presently… so we can die peacefully.

Squeezed is a Lemonada Media original. Yvette Nicole Brown is the host of this show. Chrystal Genesis is our senior producer. Giulia Hjort, Tess Novotny, and Hannah Boomershine are our producers. Ivan Kuraev is our engineer. Our theme music is by Andi Kristinsdottir, with additional music by APM music. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Executive producers are Yvette Nicole Brown, Jessica Cordova Kramer, and Stephanie Wittels Wachs.

This show was created in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.

Follow Squeezed wherever you get your podcasts, or listen ad-free on Amazon Music with your Prime Membership. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts. 

Follow Yvette Nicole Brown on Instagram at @yvettenicolebrown. Stay up to date with us on X, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.  

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jessica Guthrie is squeezed. A decade ago, at 26 years old, Jessica unexpectedly became a caregiver for her mom, Constance, who is now living with late-stage Alzheimer’s. Over the years, Jessica has left behind a life in Texas, moved back home to Virginia, and quit her job to focus on caregiving full-time. While so much of her life is on hold, Jessica has gained a lot and found a powerful community of caregivers online. 

Squeezed is a Lemonada Media original. Yvette Nicole Brown is the host of this show. Chrystal Genesis is our senior producer. Giulia Hjort, Tess Novotny, and Hannah Boomershine are our producers. Ivan Kuraev is our engineer. Our theme music is by Andi Kristinsdottir, with additional music by APM music. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Executive producers are Yvette Nicole Brown, Jessica Cordova Kramer, and Stephanie Wittels Wachs.

This show was created in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.

No one should face Alzheimer’s or dementia alone. The Alzheimer’s Association is there to help. The Association has a free 24/7 Helpline – available day or night – and a robust website with education and support services. Call the Association’s Helpline at 1-800-272-3900 or visit its website at alz.org

Follow Squeezed wherever you get your podcasts, or listen ad-free on Amazon Music with your Prime Membership. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts. 

Follow Yvette Nicole Brown on Instagram at @yvettenicolebrown. Stay up to date with us on X, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.  

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sadé is squeezed. Five years ago, she became a first-time parent. She expected her parents to help her out with the day-to-day work. But a series of unforeseen diagnoses left Sadé in an all-hands-on-deck caregiver situation – taking care of a new baby and her aging parents. Sadé is the family’s “Goddess of Efficiency,” and while she’s busy caring for everyone else, her own debilitating health needs often end up in last place. 

Squeezed is a Lemonada Media original. Yvette Nicole Brown is the host of this show. Chrystal Genesis is our senior producer. Giulia Hjort, Tess Novotny, and Hannah Boomershine are our producers. Ivan Kuraev is our engineer. Our theme music is by Andi Kristinsdottir, with additional music by APM music. Jackie Danziger is our VP of Narrative Content. Executive producers are Yvette Nicole Brown, Jessica Cordova Kramer, and Stephanie Wittels Wachs.

This show was created in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.

Follow Squeezed wherever you get your podcasts, or listen ad-free on Amazon Music with your Prime Membership. You can also get premium content and behind the scenes material by subscribing to Lemonada Premium on Apple Podcasts. 

Follow Yvette Nicole Brown on Instagram at @yvettenicolebrown. Stay up to date with us on X, Facebook and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia.

Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.  

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices