Who this episode is for:
- Anyone who’s ever woken up wondering how the hell they survived their 20s
- Former party girls turned spiritual gangsters
- People in recovery who still laugh at their darkest stories
- Anyone with complicated daddy issues
- Midwest transplants trying to make peace with the lack of decent tacos
- And most importantly: the still-struggling, the not-yet-sober, the ones who think it’s too late—this one’s for you

Addiction, Grief, and Grace with Rene Hudson

Rene Hudson didn’t just dip her toe in the chaos—she cannonballed straight into it. In this raw-as-hell episode, Chris, Zoe, and (MIA) Jeff sit down with Rene, a certified SoCal wild child turned St. Louis recovery badass, to unpack a story that ricochets from beach bonfires and punk shows to addiction, grief, and spiritual rebirth.

This isn’t some sanitized, “I found Jesus and now everything’s fine” kind of thing. Rene brings the real: pierced nipples as teenage rebellion, doing shots and hitting rock bottom, crashing on a boat with no working toilet, and falling into a love story that ends in heartbreak and hard lessons.

You'll hear about her fast spiral into addiction, her time as the life of the party in OC’s house scene, meeting her late partner Noah (who moved in after one night and never left), and how she went from vodka breakfasts to full-body baptisms at The Gathering.

The crew veers off course plenty—talking bridges, airport food etiquette, Sergeant Sausage the male stripper, and Nicholas Cage melting down at Newport bars—but it always comes back to the raw truth of recovery, trauma, and what it means to rebuild a life from scratch.

This one’s funny, heartbreaking, weird, and wildly human. Just like Rene.

00:00 Shoutout to the sponsors
02:59 Bridge drama and Midwest geography lessons
06:07 Boomers, Gen Z, and Y2K brain damage
08:57 Growing up in SoCal
11:58 St. Louis nice vs. California real
15:01 Bonfires, beach boys, and busted boat toilets
18:04 Nick Cage is a freak and we love that for him
18:55 Con Air, In-N-Out, and late-night cravings
21:19 Airport food shaming and clean eating confessions
24:41 Real ones go to church
27:56 First time telling the whole damn story
33:37 Turning the wreckage into something valuable
39:36 Military childhoods and doing it all yourself
42:01 Teenage love, heartbreak, and “marriage?!”
45:55 Nipples pierced out of spite
48:50 Party girl era unlocked
54:59 It starts out fun—until it’s not
01:00:02 Running from everything
01:02:59 A brain full of chaos
01:04:57 Moving to Florida, still running
01:06:55 Relationships, broken and breaking
01:10:01 Losing Noah
01:16:58 Grief, relapse, and trying to survive it
01:20:21 Family pain and recovery roadblocks
01:24:11 Putting the pieces back together
01:26:40 Finally giving recovery a real shot
01:27:25 Why extended care isn’t optional
01:31:40 Love, support, and the shit that saves us
01:33:20 The slippery slope of sobriety
01:39:25 Finding your people
01:42:11 Helping others = healing yourself
01:46:55 It gets better—but not by accident

Check out the recovery community that helped change Rene’s life:
👉 https://gatheringnow.org/recovery

Sponsored by
🛡️ McKelvey Insurance – https://www.mckelveyins.com/
💡 LightSource Psychotherapy – https://findyourlightsource.com/

This ain’t your tidy little self-help podcast. This is a molotov cocktail of truth, trauma, healing, heartbreak, and a whole lotta swearing. We’re cracking open some of the rawest, realest, and most *fuck-it-let’s-go-there* moments from Season Two. If you're not ready to get honest, bounce now.

First up, Megan Gehrs and Bree Badgley are back after five years. These two come in hot—talking relapses, divorces, cookie cakes, sober birthdays, and how to sit in self-pity without drowning in it. Megan shares what it’s like staying sober with a fully stocked liquor cabinet in the house. Bree opens up about blackouts, bruises, and holding her newborn niece in the hospital while still swollen from the night before. This ain’t Instagram recovery—it’s the messy, beautiful kind.

Then Christina Preston drops a fucking hammer: kidnapped, trafficked, and held in a hotel room with a pistol on the console. She survived it. Barely. And now she’s helping women claw their way back from the same hell she escaped. This is not a movie. This is real. And it happens down the damn street.

Kurt Garner swings through next—radio host, tequila junkie turned sober globetrotter. From Mexican strip clubs with angry bouncers to solo Valentine’s Day JT concerts in Chicago, he proves life doesn’t end when the bottle does. His turning point? A 10 a.m. tequila binge after a failed date that led to pouring out the bottle and walking toward something better.

Then we go deep with Sean Weiss—yeah, *that* Sean Weiss. Goldberg from *The Mighty Ducks*. You’ve seen the mugshots. But this dude has lived through shit most people wouldn’t survive. $20K gone in three months. Dope. Shoplifting. Using a needle he *knew* was HIV-positive because detox hurt more than death. This conversation isn’t for the faint of heart—but it’s for the ones still out there thinking there’s no way back.

And finally, Rafe Williams takes the mic. Stand-up comic, radio guy, and full-time truth-teller. He cracks jokes about Southern Illinois, grandma’s Doral cartons, and Paducah gas station cigarettes—but make no mistake, he’s lived it. The rooms, the relapses, the rollercoaster of finding peace in a loud-ass world. He gets honest about masculinity, depression, and why vulnerability is a hell of a lot scarier than any open mic.

This one’s for anyone who’s tired of hiding. You don’t have to pretend anymore. Just press play.

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CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to Honest Conversations

02:08 Returning to Recovery: Megan Gehrs and Bree Badgley

05:01 Personal Struggles: Divorce and Alcoholism

12:15 The Impact of Alcohol on Relationships

19:52 Mental Health: Anxiety and Depression

25:35 The Journey of Healing and Community Support

26:03 Understanding Human Trafficking and Addiction

35:00 Finding Redemption and New Beginnings

40:41 The Wild Night Out in Mexico

45:43 Rediscovering Life Without Alcohol

51:31 Finding Joy in Sobriety

56:14 The Cost of Addiction

01:01:05 The Importance of Family in Recovery

01:06:15 The Journey of Recovery and Transformation

01:20:13 Reflections on Home and Change

01:23:14 Growing Up in Small Towns: A Unique Perspective

01:26:00 The Struggles of Vulnerability and Masculinity

01:29:18 The Battle with Addiction: A Personal Journey

01:31:07 The Impact of Sobriety on Relationships

01:33:02 The Downfall of a Sports Star: Addiction and Consequences

01:40:13 Finding Humility in Recovery

01:45:59 The Role of Faith in Overcoming Addiction

01:47:50 Understanding Identity and Acceptance

01:59:29 Gratitude for Honest Conversations

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Sponsored by McKelvey Insurance

https://www.mckelveyins.com/

And LightSource Psychotherapy

https://findyourlightsource.com/

Who this episode is for:
- Parents who’ve lost a child and are still standing somehow
- Anyone who’s ever loved an addict and didn’t know how to help
- Folks who’ve been burned by shady recovery programs
- Those struggling with meth, depression, or both
- Anyone trying to make meaning from unimaginable grief
- And anyone who’s ever made a mess of their life and lived to tell the tale

This one’s not for the faint of heart.

Shelly Viverito joins the Pondoff’s Anonymous crew to tell a story no parent should ever have to tell — the rise, fall, and redemption of her son Nick, who battled brutal addiction, got clean, rebuilt his life, and then was ripped away by a random, deadly brain bleed. He beat meth. He beat depression. And he still died at 39.

This is a mother’s war story. From locking her door at night during his meth psychosis… to getting a tattoo of his sobriety date… to launching a foundation in his name that now funds sober living for other young men fighting for their lives.

Nick Wilson may be gone, but his light — and his pit bull Jax — continue to move mountains through Shelly’s advocacy, fundraising, and raw honesty.

Learn more:
💥 The Nick Wilson Foundation: https://www.thenickwilsonfoundation.org
💥 Learn to Live Recovery: https://learntoliverecovery.com
💥 Harris House: https://www.harrishouse.org

Time Stamps:
00:00 Introduction to Recovery and Support
02:51 Navigating Personal Stories and Backgrounds
12:51 The Journey of Addiction and Recovery
26:19 Understanding the Impact of Addiction on Families
27:22 The Cost of Recovery Programs
28:44 The Challenges of Interventions
30:34 The Impact of Hope in Recovery
32:18 Navigating Relapse and Recovery
37:30 Finding Support in Recovery Programs
40:10 The Role of Family in Recovery
43:55 The Journey to Independence
53:28 Tragedy and Loss in Recovery
56:35 The Gift of Life: Organ Donation and Its Impact
57:57 Navigating Grief: A Mother's Journey
01:00:02 Finding Purpose Through Pain: Advocacy and Speaking Out
01:02:57 Creating a Legacy: The Nick Wilson Foundation
01:07:34 Community and Connection: The Power of Support Groups
01:12:57 Healing Through Fun: The Importance of Joy in Grief
01:22:33 Creating Community and Support
01:25:06 The Power of Shared Experiences
01:29:50 Fundraising and Community Events
01:31:11 The Importance of Mental Health Awareness
01:34:40 Finding Hope in Tragedy
01:39:04 Celebrating Life and Connection

Sponsored by:
👉 McKelvey Insurance: https://www.mckelveyins.com
👉 LightSource Psychotherapy: https://findyourlightsource.com