Ep 14 | Finding Light in the Darkest Moments | With Fiona Spargo-Mabbs

Content Warning: This episode contains references to drug use and the death of a teenager. Please listen with care.

Angela Mabbs never thought of herself as brilliant. But when her daughter Fiona's world shattered with the loss of her 16-year-old son Dan, Angela became the quiet force that held everything together — moving in for six weeks, shielding her family from the media storm, and playing the 'glad game' even in grief.

This is a story about a mother who taught resilience not through grand gestures, but through kindness, presence, and an unshakeable belief that there's always something to be grateful for — even when life is unimaginably hard. Fiona Spargo-Mabbs, founder of the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation and OBE recipient, shares how her mum Angela's quiet strength shaped her into someone who could turn tragedy into a mission to protect young lives through drug education.

From childhood lessons in Pollyanna's 'glad game' to five major surgeries faced with grace, Angela embodies what it means to choose light — not by denying darkness, but by refusing to let it have the final word. This episode is a love letter to the unsung brilliant humans who show up, hold space, and remind us what we're capable of becoming.

You can learn more about the amazing work Fiona and the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation are doing by visiting https://www.dsmfoundation.org.uk/