Pondoff’s Anonymous
Episode: Shannon Bradley
Who this episode is for
- Anyone who ever drank screwdrivers in 4th grade and called it “just weekends.”
- People buried in addiction or clawing their way out with bloody fingernails.
- Families of addicts who’ve been through the emotional woodchipper.
- People who confuse “love” with “attention” and keep paying for it in scars.
- Anyone who’s ever chased that warm-blanket drug feeling until it tried to kill them.
- Folks who think Franklin County tourism starts and ends at the jail.
Episode summary
Chris, Jeff, and Jakob fire up the mics with guest Shannon Bradley for a ride that’s equal parts gut punch and gallows humor. Shannon takes them from nine-year-old vodka drinker to behavioral health tech at Illinois Recovery Center, and she doesn’t skip a single ugly or ridiculous beat.
This one’s loaded
- First drink at NINE. Pills by 13.
- Dating older guys who should’ve been carded by morals.
- Franklin County’s unofficial export: addicts and overdoses.
- Ketamine with Dad and couch-surfing as “home.”
- Why overdoses meant the drugs were “good.”
- The night she overdosed, died, got revived, and got robbed—all in one run.
- Shooting Dilaudid for the first time and describing it like a romance novel you can’t put down.
- How “getting kicked out of the hospital for a bigger OD” is somehow a thing.
- Folding a stranger’s laundry and making him cry—service work that matters.
- The long, bloody road out of toxic relationships, dope sickness, and Franklin County’s gravitational pull.
It’s not sanitized. It’s not “inspirational” in that cheesy, poster-on-the-wall way. It’s real, raw, and hilarious in the “you laugh because otherwise you’d cry” way. Chris, Jeff, and Jakob keep the conversation moving, trading digs, throwing lifelines, and sometimes just letting the silence hit.
Episode timeline
- 00:00 Introduction and Sponsorships
- 02:18 Weekend Experiences and Recovery Insights
- 05:26 Introducing Shannon: A Journey Begins
- 08:33 Shannon's Early Life and Struggles
- 11:24 The Impact of Substance Use
- 19:42 Emotional Challenges and Mental Health Awareness
- 23:37 The Transition from Pills to Heroin
- 26:01 Navigating High School and Early Relationships
- 29:10 The Impact of Family and Environment on Addiction
- 35:30 The Role of Service in Recovery
- 39:23 Escaping Toxic Relationships and Finding Self-Worth
- 51:25 Understanding Mental Health and Diagnosis
- 54:46 The Impact of Medication and Trauma
- 55:15 Struggles with Addiction and Relationships
- 01:00:51 The Allure of Substance Use
- 01:04:11 Overdoses and Consequences
- 01:10:17 The Journey Through Treatment
- 01:17:36 Facing Legal Consequences and Reflection
- 01:21:12 The Burden of Blame
- 01:22:25 Navigating the Legal System
- 01:23:43 Family Dynamics and Support
- 01:28:35 Life in Prison: A Transformative Experience
- 01:34:08 The Journey of Recovery Begins
- 01:38:18 Finding Faith and Purpose
- 01:43:25 Life After Prison: New Beginnings
- 01:44:57 The Beginning of a Faith Journey
- 01:47:06 Discovering Higher Power and Recovery
- 01:49:05 Facing Consequences and Accountability
- 01:53:35 Emotional Healing and Personal Growth
- 02:01:05 The Process of Reentry and Family Reconnection
- 02:10:10 Gratitude and Purpose in Recovery
- 02:12:27 Building Healthy Relationships Post-Recovery
Sponsored by
