She Lost Her Son to a Broken System. Now She's Changing It. | Mandy Hamlin

She Lost Her Son to a Broken System. Now She's Changing It. | Mandy Hamlin

Mandy Hamlin sent her 20-year-old son Cooper to a licensed, accredited rehab facility in California, charging $4,200 a day. She vetted it. She FaceTimed him the night before he died. The next afternoon, she found out he was gone through a voicemail. What followed wasn't just grief. It was the unraveling of a system that failed Cooper at every level, and a mother who refused to let it stay that way. Content Notes: This episode discusses fentanyl poisoning, substance use and addiction, the death of a child, rehab facility negligence, grief, trauma, the criminal justice system, and parental loss. Listener discretion is advised. 00:00 Meet Mandy Hamlin  00:02:03 Who was Cooper?  00:06:58 When things started to change  00:10:02 A nervous system with no outlet: trauma, Covid, and the quiet  00:17:20 Cooper and Mandy vet the facility together  00:20:25 Inside the facility: what $4,200 a day actually looked like  00:24:50 The voicemail  00:26:25 What Cooper's MacBook revealed  00:31:22 Blowing up California: Mandy contacts the state investigator  00:32:37 Tracking down the dealer for $14  00:40:29 The federal indictment and the plea deal  00:44:04 A $2,500 fine and a facility that never closed  00:44:54 The scam hiding in plain sight: rehab fraud and your insurance  00:46:10 Parenting him now: how advocacy became Mandy's mission Website: traumauncensored.com [https://traumauncensored.com] Instagram: @traumauncensored TikTok: @traumauncensored Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com About the Guest Mandy Hamlin is a mother and advocate. In 2023, she lost her youngest son Cooper to fentanyl poisoning while he was a patient at a licensed residential rehab facility in California. Rather than accepting a $2,500 fine as the system's final answer, Mandy launched a relentless pursuit of accountability, working with federal investigators, the DEA, and state agencies to see the drug dealer responsible sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. She now advocates for federally mandated transparency standards for rehab facilities so no family has to vet a program blindly again. Cooper was 20 years old. About the Host Brooke Scherer is the creator and host of the Trauma Uncensored Podcast, where she leads honest, unfiltered conversations about trauma, grief, mental health, and healing. She is also a mother to Logan, Mallory, and Mila. In 2016, Brooke’s world was shattered when her son Logan was killed by a distracted driver. In the silence that followed, she found a culture unequipped to talk about child loss, grief, and trauma in any honest way. That silence became her mission. Brooke built Trauma Uncensored to offer what she once needed most: a space to speak openly, without judgment, timelines, or expectation. Through her own story and conversations with survivors, mental health professionals, and others whose lives have been permanently altered, she reminds listeners they are not alone. She believes trauma permanently changes us, but it does not have to define the limits of our lives. If this episode hit home: Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who has ever felt failed by a system that was supposed to help. It helps more people find these conversations. Want to share your story? Reach out at hello@traumauncensored.com or email Brooke directly at brooke@traumauncensored.com. If you’re struggling with thoughts of suicide or know someone who is, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support, 24/7.

Trauma Changes You: Learning to Live After the Unthinkable | Kelly Guay

Grief support and trauma healing take on a whole new dimension when you meet someone who has survived what most of us can barely imagine. Kelly Guay has lost her mother, her brother, a stillborn son, her husband, and her father — five profound losses spanning 17 years. And she is still standing. In this conversation, Kelly and Brooke explore what happens when grief keeps coming before you've finished grieving the last loss, how watching her own mother model resilience after tragedy became a blueprint Kelly didn't know she had, and why Kelly refuses to become "a miserable shrew" — even though nobody would blame her if she did. This episode is a masterclass in what it looks like to feel it fully, then ask: now what? Content Notes: This episode discusses multiple losses, stillbirth, spousal loss, grief resilience, faith, spirituality, and intergenerational healing. Listener discretion is advised. Timestamps: 0:00 "It does not matter what your trauma is. It sucks." 2:29 Walking through 25 years of loss 2:50 Losing Mom and Brother (2001–2003): the depression Kelly didn't see coming 4:37 Searching for healing: therapists, faith, and a skeptic's first visit to a medium 11:12 The stillbirth of son at 36 weeks (2011) 12:42 The dream that brought peace: Mom finally had a grandchild 14:20 "At this point, I think I could lead the support group" 16:20 Do prior losses prime you for future grief? Brooke and Kelly explore 17:40 Losing Dad in 2018: the hardest one — "my last cheerleader" 19:41 Brooke shares her own grief evolution and spirituality 24:17 Kelly's mother lost her son David in 1971: "Good things can happen from bad things" 26:34 How watching a grieving mother model joy shaped Kelly's entire foundation 28:03 The parenting philosophy: feel it, then "now what?" Connect with Trauma Uncensored Website: traumauncensored.com Instagram: @traumauncensored YouTube: @traumauncensored TikTok: @traumauncensored Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com About the Host Brooke Scherer | Creator and Host Brooke Scherer is the creator and host of the Trauma Uncensored Podcast, where she leads honest, unfiltered conversations about trauma, grief, mental health, and healing. She is also a mother to Logan, Mallory, and Mila. In 2016, Brooke's world was shattered when her son Logan was killed by a distracted driver. In the silence that followed, she found a culture unequipped to talk about child loss, grief, and trauma in any honest way. That silence became her mission. Brooke built Trauma Uncensored to offer what she once needed most: A space to speak openly, without judgment, timelines, or expectation. Through her own story and conversations with survivors, mental health professionals, and others whose lives have been permanently altered, she reminds listeners they are not alone. She believes trauma permanently changes us, but it does not have to define the limits of our lives. IF THIS EPISODE RESONATED Subscribe, share it with someone who's been carrying grief longer than they'd like to admit, and leave a review — it helps more people find these conversations. WANT TO SHARE YOUR STORY? Reach out at hello@traumauncensored.com or email Brooke directly at brooke@traumauncensored.com. CRISIS RESOURCES If you're struggling with thoughts of suicide or know someone who is, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support, 24/7. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or text "START" to 88788.

Grief on Grief: The Weight of Being the Helper | Alisha McGuire

What happens when the person helping families through death is quietly carrying grief of her own at home? Alisha sat with families in their most devastating moments while simultaneously managing a long-distance caregiving role for her mother—diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and given months to live. She lived two and a half years. This is a conversation about grief layered on grief, the weight of being the helper, generational trauma patterns, and what it actually looks like to protect yourself when your job is to hold other people’s worst days. Content Note: This episode discusses terminal illness, pediatric death, grief, compassion fatigue, caregiver burnout, childhood trauma, complicated family relationships, and end-of-life decision-making. Listener discretion is advised. Website: traumauncensored.com [https://traumauncensored.com] Instagram: @traumauncensored TikTok: @traumauncensored Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com Resources Mentioned in This Episode What Is a Genogram? https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-genogram-5217739 [https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-genogram-5217739] Alisha McGuire is a pediatric palliative care social worker with nearly a decade of experience sitting alongside families in the most devastating moments of their lives. She entered the field during one of the hardest seasons of her own—simultaneously managing long-distance caregiving for her mother, who had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer with multiple metastases and given only months to live. Her mother chose palliative radiation over aggressive treatment, and defied expectations by living two and a half years—time that allowed Alisha to do something she hadn’t been able to do before: let go of the pain in their complicated relationship and be truly present. What she calls “the knowing”—a deeper empathy earned through living through profound loss—has fundamentally changed the way she shows up for grieving families. As a new mother herself, Alisha is now navigating the same generational patterns she helps others recognize, and speaking openly about what witnessing pediatric death every day is doing to her nervous system. Her work is a reminder that the helpers grieve too, and that there is no sustainability without honest reckoning with what this work costs. Brooke Scherer is the creator and host of the Trauma Uncensored Podcast, where she leads honest, unfiltered conversations about trauma, grief, mental health, and healing. She is also a mother to Logan, Mallory, and Mila. In 2016, Brooke’s world was shattered when her son Logan was killed by a distracted driver. In the silence that followed, she found a culture unequipped to talk about child loss, grief, and trauma in any honest way. That silence became her mission. Brooke built Trauma Uncensored to offer what she once needed most: a space to speak openly, without judgment, timelines, or expectation. Through her own story and conversations with survivors, mental health professionals, and others whose lives have been permanently altered, she reminds listeners they are not alone. She believes trauma permanently changes us, but it does not have to define the limits of our lives. If this episode hit home: Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who is carrying the weight of caregiving, grief, or a job that asks too much of their heart. It helps more people find these conversations. Want to share your story? Reach out at hello@traumauncensored.com or email Brooke directly at brooke@traumauncensored.com. If you’re struggling with thoughts of suicide or know someone who is, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support, 24/7.

27 Years of Abuse Before She Had Nothing Left to Lose | Marla Grant's Story

Childhood trauma doesn't just shape your past; it shapes who you think you deserve to become.  For Marla Grant, it shaped 27 years of surviving domestic violence, PTSD, complex trauma, and the calculated plan it took to finally leave. This isn't a trauma healing story with a clean arc. It's a real-life story about staying because leaving felt more dangerous, dealing with grief you're not allowed to name, and the healing journey that starts when you finally have nothing left to lose. Content Notes: This episode discusses domestic violence, sexual assault, childhood trauma, emotional abuse, alcoholism, generational trauma, and survival. Listener discretion is advised. Connect with Trauma Uncensored Website: traumauncensored.com [https://traumauncensored.com] Instagram: @traumauncensored TikTok: @traumauncensored Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com About the Guest Marla Grant is a crisis counselor, grief coach, and domestic violence survivor who spent 27 years in an abusive marriage before leaving at age 48 with nothing but her life, her children, and $16,000 in debt. Her story isn't about one breaking point. It's about the slow accumulation of control, violence, and hypervigilance that defined her adult life, and the childhood patterns that set her up to accept it all as normal. At 21, Marla married a man fresh out of Vietnam with unaddressed trauma, alcoholism, and a sex addiction she didn't yet have the language to name. Over nearly three decades, she learned to manage his volatility, protect her children, and calculate when it would finally be safe enough to leave. That moment came after a sexual assault, weeks after he threw a leaded crystal glass at her shoulder hard enough to send her to the emergency room. Today, Marla uses her lived experience to help others navigate grief, loss, and the long road to acceptance after trauma. She works as a crisis counselor and supports clients through the kind of pain she once carried alone. Her approach is grounded in the belief that acceptance doesn't mean condoning what happened. It means refusing to let it rule your life. Marla's work is a reminder that healing doesn't follow a timeline, survival takes many forms, and you don't owe anyone an explanation for how long it took you to save yourself. About the Host Brooke Scherer is the creator and host of the Trauma Uncensored Podcast, where she leads honest, unfiltered conversations about trauma, grief, mental health, and healing. She is also a mother to Logan, Mallory, and Mila. In 2016, Brooke's world was shattered when her son Logan was killed by a distracted driver. In the silence that followed, she found a culture unequipped to talk about child loss, grief, and trauma in any honest way. That silence became her mission. Brooke built Trauma Uncensored to offer what she once needed most: A space to speak openly, without judgment, timelines, or expectation. Through her own story and conversations with survivors, mental health professionals, and others whose lives have been permanently altered, she reminds listeners they are not alone. She believes trauma permanently changes us, but it does not have to define the limits of our lives. If this episode hit home: Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who (fill in specific content). It helps more people find these conversations. Want to share your story? Reach out at hello@traumauncensored.com or email Brooke directly at brooke@traumauncensored.com. If you're struggling with thoughts of suicide or know someone who is, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support, 24/7.

Big T vs Little T | Why Every Trauma Matters—A Therapist's Confession | Jarrod Hoffman

We've all heard it: 'He's just being a boy' or 'He'll grow out of it.' But what if he doesn't? What if that 'phase' is actually deeply rooted shame? Today, therapist Jarrod Hoffman joins us to pull back the curtain on the silent epidemic facing teen boys. At 11 years old, Jarrod found pornography. Or more accurately, it found him. What started as curiosity quickly became a numbing mechanism after his parents divorced, a pattern that followed him for years. In this raw conversation, Jarrod shares his journey from a boy desperate to be seen, through years of hidden shame and addiction, to becoming a therapist who now helps other teen boys break the same cycle. If you're raising a son, mentoring a teen, or carrying this story yourself, this conversation is a roadmap for healing before the patterns become permanent. Content Notes: This episode discusses divorce, pornography addiction, childhood trauma, shame, mental health challenges, and sexual behavior. Listener discretion is advised. Connect with Trauma Uncensored * Website: traumauncensored.com [https://traumauncensored.com] * Instagram: @traumauncensored * TikTok: @traumauncensored * Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com * Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com Resources Mentioned in This Episode * Unwanted by Jay Stringer - https://a.co/d/0ji7xUyS [https://a.co/d/0ji7xUyS] * Fight the New Drug - fightthenewdrug.org [https://fightthenewdrug.org]. * 20 Questions to Evaluate Sexual Addiction https://www.sa.org/ [https://www.sa.org/] * Free Parent Quiz - https://jarrodhoffman.com/does-my-teen-need-therapy/ [https://jarrodhoffman.com/does-my-teen-need-therapy/] * Newsletter: https://jarrodhoffman.com/ [https://jarrodhoffman.com/] About the Guest: Jarrod Hoffman is a licensed therapist in Tennessee who specializes in working with teenage boys navigating pornography addiction, unwanted sexual behavior, and trauma. His work is deeply personal: at 11 years old, Jarrod was exposed to pornography shortly after his parents' divorce, and what started as curiosity became a numbing mechanism that followed him into adulthood. After years of wrestling with shame in isolation, Jarrod found healing through therapy, EMDR, and the realization that his story could help others break the same cycle. Today, Jarrod works with adolescent boys in person and virtually across Tennessee, helping them understand the root stories behind their behaviors rather than just treating symptoms. He uses play therapy, curiosity-driven exploration, and evidence-based modalities to meet teens where they are, not where adults want them to be. Jarrod also created a free quiz for parents called 'Does Your Teen Need Therapy?' to help families identify when typical adolescent behavior has crossed into something deeper. His approach is rooted in the belief that shame thrives in secrecy, and that the question isn't 'What's wrong with you?' but 'What happened to you?' For Jarrod, helping teen boys heal means helping them feel seen, often for the first time. Connect with Jarrod at jarrodhoffman.com [https://jarrodhoffman.com]. About the Host: Brooke Scherer is the creator and host of the Trauma Uncensored Podcast, where she leads honest, unfiltered conversations about trauma, grief, mental health, and healing. She is also a mother to Logan, Mallory, and Mila. In 2016, Brooke's world was shattered when her son Logan was killed by a distracted driver. In the silence that followed, she found a culture unequipped to talk about child loss, grief, and trauma in any honest way. That silence became her mission. She believes trauma permanently changes us, but it does not have to define the limits of our lives. If this episode hit home: Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it. It helps more people find these conversations. Want to share your story? Reach out at hello@traumauncensored.com or email Brooke directly at brooke@traumauncensored.com. If you're struggling with thoughts of suicide or know someone who is, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support, 24/7.