Finding Strength After Unimaginable Loss: Jeff Johnston on Grief, Purpose, and Choosing a New Path

Content Warning: This episode includes conversation about suicide, substance use, and grief. Listener discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is struggling or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 in the U.S. If outside the U.S., visit iasp.info/crisis for international support.

In this powerful episode of Sandwiched, host Paul H. Richardson Jr. sits down with Jeff Johnston, founder and CEO of Brighten and host of the Living Undeterred podcast. Together they explore grief, resilience, and the complexity of caregiving through unimaginable loss.

Jeff shares his journey after losing his 23-year-old son to fentanyl poisoning, the years of alcoholism that followed, and the heartbreak of losing his wife shortly after. He speaks openly about the toll grief took on his family and the moment he chose to rebuild; leading to sobriety, purpose, and a mission to help others navigate suffering with compassion and courage.

Together, Paul and Jeff discuss caregiving behind closed doors: supporting a spouse through addiction, parenting teenagers in grief, raising a young granddaughter, and later stepping into caregiving for aging parents. Jeff also shares the origin of Brighten, the mental wellness app inspired by his granddaughter, and why prevention and access are essential in the future of mental health support.

This is a conversation about pain, hope, identity, and what it means to choose life after loss.