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In this deeply personal episode of the Get Unhooked Podcast, Jason Coombs sits down with Donna Pope, Executive Director of Heart to Heart Adoptions and an adoption advocate with more than 25 years of experience.

Together, they explore the rarely discussed intersection of adoption, addiction, and purpose through both professional insight and lived experience. Jason shares his perspective as a birth father in long-term recovery, opens up about his son Nathan, and reflects on the meaning that can grow from a story still being written.

This conversation is honest, emotional, and full of hope for birth parents, adoptive families, and anyone navigating recovery.

In this episode:

• [01:00] Jason introduces Donna Pope and shares why adoption is central to both his life story and recovery story
• [03:00] The Venn diagram of purpose, adoption, and addiction
• [07:45] Donna’s origin story and the beginning of Heart to Heart Adoptions
• [09:01] Monica’s story: addiction, placement, jail, faith, and extraordinary recovery
• [15:42] Josh’s pivotal question: why was he placed for adoption, but not his older brother?
• [21:35] How common addiction is in adoption stories
• [25:27] Nature, environment, and whether substance use disorder gets passed on
• [30:58] Why attachment is at the heart of both adoption and healing
• [33:10] The painful decision to send a 17-year-old to residential treatment
• [37:23] The response from Donna’s brother that changed everything
• [38:01] Where to follow Donna’s work and what’s coming with Adoptions.com

Key themes from this episode:

• The rarely heard voice of the birth father
• Why voluntary placement can be an act of courage, not abandonment
• How recovery can reshape families across generations
• The questions adoptees carry and why honest conversations matter
• Why attachment and consistent presence matter so much in both adoption and recovery
• Hope for families walking through addiction, adoption, or both

Jason also reflects on what it has meant to remain present in Nathan’s life, and how adoption became part of the deeper story God used in his own recovery journey.

Connect with Donna Pope:

• Heart to Heart Adoptions: hearttoheartadoption.com
• Voices of Adoption Podcast
• Choosing Adoption
• Adoption Utah
• Eternal Family Adoptions
• Adoptions.com

Jason’s book Unhooked is available on Audible and Amazon.

Learn more about Brick House Recovery at www.brickhouserecovery.com.

Join Jason Coombs LIVE each week for tips and tricks and LIVE Q&A’s. Go to https://www.liveunhooked.com/live-unhooked.

For information about treatment services visit https://www.brickhouserecovery.com/

For more information about Warrior Heart Bootcamp for men visit www.awarriorheart.com

https://awarriorheart.com/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Warrior Heart = 2026Brick100

To learn more about the women’s retreat, Heart of a Woman:
https://theheartofawoman.net/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Heart of a Woman = 2026Brick100

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When a family is living through addiction, most of the focus falls on parents and spouses. But siblings carry their own kind of heartbreak, confusion, and hope.

In this episode of the Get Unhooked Podcast, Jason Coombs is joined by his brother Cory, his sister Melissa, and co-host Jennifer Chase for an honest conversation about the sibling experience in family recovery. They talk about loving someone from a distance, learning the difference between helping and fixing, and discovering that recovery can change the whole family, not just the person struggling.

You’ll hear how distance sometimes became a healthy boundary, why education helped replace judgment with compassion, how trust was rebuilt slowly over time, and what actually helped their parents during the hardest seasons. This episode is a reminder that showing up with love, honesty, and presence can matter more than having the perfect words.

If you have ever wondered what siblings feel, what they carry quietly, or how family healing really happens, this conversation will stay with you.

Show Notes
In Episode 47, Jason sits down with his brother Cory and sister Melissa to explore a side of family recovery that often goes unspoken: the sibling perspective. Together with Jennifer Chase, they unpack what it was like to love someone through addiction, support their parents from different distances, and watch recovery reshape the entire family system.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why family recovery can begin even before trust feels fully restored
• How geographic distance created natural boundaries during the chaos
• The different ways siblings process fear, confusion, and love
• How education helped replace anger and judgment with understanding
• Why trust is rebuilt slowly, honestly, and over time
• What actually helps parents in crisis and what does not
• Why listening matters more than interrogating
• How simple acts of presence can become powerful turning points in recovery

Episode Highlights:
[01:26] Jason reframes family recovery as a process separate from sobriety
[03:29] How distance became a protective boundary for sibling relationships
[09:22] Jennifer shares what she hopes to learn from a sibling perspective
[10:08] Cory reflects on a brotherly bond that never broke
[13:50] Cory shares the impact of attending Jason’s treatment graduation
[17:34] Melissa opens up about once believing Jason could “just stop”
[18:46] How reading recovery literature and attending family group changed Melissa’s understanding
[22:11] Why trust-building happens slowly and rarely in a straight line
[24:32] Cory explains how Jason’s recovery work became a mirror for his own growth
[30:22] What helped and what did not when supporting their parents
[38:41] Why listening matters more than asking more questions
[43:01] Jason closes with a reflection on showing

Join Jason Coombs LIVE each week for tips and tricks and LIVE Q&A’s. Go to https://www.liveunhooked.com/live-unhooked.

For information about treatment services visit https://www.brickhouserecovery.com/

For more information about Warrior Heart Bootcamp for men visit www.awarriorheart.com

https://awarriorheart.com/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Warrior Heart = 2026Brick100

To learn more about the women’s retreat, Heart of a Woman:
https://theheartofawoman.net/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Heart of a Woman = 2026Brick100

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Episode 46: How Do I Navigate Relapse? - Understanding the Cycle of Change

Relapse is one of the most feared words in a family’s recovery vocabulary. It shatters trust, reignites fear, and leaves everyone asking the same desperate question: Why would they go back after everything they’ve been through? In this raw and revealing episode of the Get Unhooked Podcast, Jason Coombs pulls back the curtain on his own relapse story and reframes how families can respond when their loved one stumbles. The answer is not panic. It’s not control. It’s surrender, and it looks nothing like giving up.

Episode Highlights

• [01:00] Jason introduces the topic: How do I navigate relapse?
• [02:25] Jason recounts his personal history of loss, homelessness, failed rehabs, and incarceration
• [03:24] The drug court graduation that ended with a devastating relapse in Wendover, Nevada
• [05:14] How the removal of external motivation exposed the power of the addict voice
• [07:26] The escalation from one Long Island iced tea to cocaine, debt, and a violent confrontation with a dealer
• [09:39] A participant shares her perspective on surrender and “making friends with the worst case scenario”
• [11:14] Why behaviors don’t always mirror someone’s true stage of change
• [13:19] Jason reads from his book Unhooked on the cycle of relapse and shame
• [16:32] The story of Grace: how a holiday relapse became a springboard to lasting action
• [22:14] Relapse, ambivalence, and the deep identity ties to substance use
• [25:29] Applying recovery principles as a family member and advocate
• [28:30] Introduction to the seven steps of surrender
• [30:11] Why surrender is hopeful, not hopeless

The Day External Motivation Disappeared

Jason opens this episode with a story that most families will recognize in some form. He had done the hard thing. He completed drug court. His felonies were reduced to misdemeanors. His parents took him to lunch, gave him gifts, told him they were proud. By every external measure, he had made it.

Then a coworker invited him to celebrate in Wendover, Nevada. One Long Island iced tea seemed harmless. He never really got in trouble for alcohol, after all. But the drink triggered what he describes as an allergic reaction, both physiological and mental. That single drink ignited a craving that ended the night with a thousand dollars gone, a club ejection for disorderly conduct, and a cocaine binge. By the next morning, shame had already begun feeding the cycle again.

What Jason wants families to understand is this: the promises were real. The commitment was genuine. But when external motivation lifted and internal ambivalence remained, the disease found its opening. Families often smack their foreheads and ask, What were you thinking? The honest answer is that thinking had very little to do with it.

Why Relapse Happens and What It Actually Means

Jason leans on Dr. Prochaska’s stages of

Join Jason Coombs LIVE each week for tips and tricks and LIVE Q&A’s. Go to https://www.liveunhooked.com/live-unhooked.

For information about treatment services visit https://www.brickhouserecovery.com/

For more information about Warrior Heart Bootcamp for men visit www.awarriorheart.com

https://awarriorheart.com/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Warrior Heart = 2026Brick100

To learn more about the women’s retreat, Heart of a Woman:
https://theheartofawoman.net/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Heart of a Woman = 2026Brick100

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Episode 45: Jason Coombs on That Sober Guy Podcast with Shane Ramer

A wide-ranging conversation on recovery, faith, fatherhood, identity, and the daily work of staying sober.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How a legitimate injury and pain pills turned into a life-consuming spiral
• The collapse of an OxyContin supply chain and why heroin surged next
• What it’s like to survive homelessness in a brutal winter
• The moment a text from Jason’s mom disrupted a suicidal night
• “The gift of volition” and why lasting change has to become personal
• A simple reflection practice that builds momentum instead of shame
• The difference between the “smaller story” and the “larger story”
• A faith-rooted decision framework: study it out, choose, then take it to God
• Warrior Heart Retreat and the three pillars that wake a man’s heart up again
• How Jason now supports families who feel exhausted, scared, and alone

Timestamps

• [01:00] Crossover episode intro: That Sober Guy Podcast with Shane Ramer
• [01:43] Year-end reflection: journaling victories and lessons
• [08:11] Emotionally shut down, risk-taking, anxiety/ADHD self-medicating
• [12:05] The OxyContin ring and the spiral that followed
• [16:06] Homelessness, felony charges, surviving winter on the streets
• [17:21] Court-mandated treatment, five rehabs, psychosis before sobriety
• [23:07] The text from Mom that interrupted a suicidal moment
• [24:26] “Volition”: why internal motivation outlasts external pressure
• [26:13] From selling hot dogs to a calling to help families
• [30:26] Stepping out of the smaller story into the larger story
• [36:10] 12 Steps as a pathway to conscious contact and guidance
• [40:37] Decision-making: study it out, choose, take it to God
• [44:32] Warrior Heart pillars: battle, adventure, beauty
• [52:14] Retreat impact: stripping the crust, restoring identity
• [56:50] Resources for families: book, podcast, free tools

Quotes worth revisiting

• “External pressure can work for a season. Internal motivation is what lasts.”
• “You don’t just get out of the hole. You get outfitted to climb.”
• “A plan beats panic. Support beats isolation.”

Resources mentioned

• Brick House Recovery: (add your link)
• Get Unhooked Podcast: (add your link)
• Unhooked (book): (add your Amazon/Audible links)
• Warrior Heart Retreat: (add your link)
• That Sober Guy Podcast: (add show link)

For families who feel stuck

If you love someone who’s struggling, you’re not powerless and you’re not the cause. You may not be able to control their choices, but you can change how you show up, create healthier conditions, and get support for your own nervous system, boundaries, and peace.

Gentle note

This episode includes discussion of addiction, homelessness, and suicidal moments. If you or som

Join Jason Coombs LIVE each week for tips and tricks and LIVE Q&A’s. Go to https://www.liveunhooked.com/live-unhooked.

For information about treatment services visit https://www.brickhouserecovery.com/

For more information about Warrior Heart Bootcamp for men visit www.awarriorheart.com

https://awarriorheart.com/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Warrior Heart = 2026Brick100

To learn more about the women’s retreat, Heart of a Woman:
https://theheartofawoman.net/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Heart of a Woman = 2026Brick100

Send a text

Why You Say You Want Peace… But Refuse to Do the One Thing That Brings It

Most families say they want peace.

But when it comes time to grieve the loss of the relationship they hoped for…

they tighten their grip instead.

In this deeply honest episode, Jason reveals:

• Why control disguises itself as love
• How fear keeps families emotionally hooked
• The grief step most people skip
• Why surrender is not giving up
• And how to finally reclaim your life — even if your loved one hasn’t changed

This episode is both confronting and freeing.

If you’ve been strong for far too long…

this one will hit home.

⏱ Episode Highlights

[01:01] Why families show up strong, not weak — and how control hides behind love

[03:12] Step 1: The Hula Hoop Principle — what’s yours and what’s not

[05:23] Step 2: Facing your worst fear without catastrophizing

[07:12] Step 3: Letting go of attachment to specific outcomes

[09:04] Step 4: The grief stage most families avoid (and why it keeps you stuck)

[11:30] Why families say they want peace but refuse to grieve

[14:59] The five stages of grief explained through Jason’s personal loss

[20:57] Step 5: Trusting something bigger than your fear

[21:37] Step 6: Holding onto hope while releasing control

[22:37] Step 7: The daily practice of surrender

What You’ll Learn

✔ The difference between surrender and enabling

✔ Why fear creates the very outcomes you’re trying to prevent

✔ How grief breaks the control cycle

✔ How to be okay — even if they don’t change

✔ A 14-day surrender blueprint to begin reclaiming your peace

A Personal Note from Jason

You don’t have to wait for your loved one to recover before you recover your life.

That’s not selfish.

That’s sane.

Surrender is not giving up on them.

It’s finally picking yourself back up.

Resources & Support

📖 Unhooked: How to Help an Addicted Loved One Recover — Available on Amazon & Audible

🌐 Learn more about family recovery support at:

https://www.brickhouserecovery.com

Join Jason Coombs LIVE each week for tips and tricks and LIVE Q&A’s. Go to https://www.liveunhooked.com/live-unhooked.

For information about treatment services visit https://www.brickhouserecovery.com/

For more information about Warrior Heart Bootcamp for men visit www.awarriorheart.com

https://awarriorheart.com/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Warrior Heart = 2026Brick100

To learn more about the women’s retreat, Heart of a Woman:
https://theheartofawoman.net/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Heart of a Woman = 2026Brick100

Send a text

You set the boundary. They break it. Again. And somehow, you end up feeling like the bad guy.

If you’ve ever tried to hold the line with an addicted loved one—only to second-guess yourself, give in, or get gaslit—this episode is for you.

In Episode 43 of the Get Unhooked Podcast, Jason unpacks the BOUNDARY Framework—a practical, compassionate tool for setting and holding boundaries that actually work. Through a powerful real-life story about a woman named Grace, you’ll see how relapse and resistance aren’t always failures—they might just be the painful catalysts for lasting change.

Whether you’re deep in the cycle of enabling, drowning in guilt, or exhausted from carrying the weight of someone else’s choices, this episode offers clarity, direction, and hope. Learn how to protect your peace, reclaim your power, and stop rescuing someone who isn’t ready to change.

You’ll discover:

• The hidden reason your boundaries keep getting ignored
• How to respond calmly—without becoming a doormat
• Why “natural consequences” matter more than ultimatums
• The most misunderstood stage of change (and why it matters)
• What it really means to “Get off the beach”

And most importantly: how to put yourself first… without giving up on them.

🎯 This is one of the most requested topics from families—and it could be the mindset shift you’ve been praying for.

📌 Show Notes:

In this episode:

• [00:00] Intro: Setting boundaries in quicksand
• [03:17] Grace’s story: When relapse becomes resolution
• [10:08] The 5 stages of grief in addiction recovery
• [14:40] Why boundaries fail (and how to fix them)
• [19:02] The BOUNDARY Framework (step-by-step)
• [34:11] “I’m not leaving the relationship—I’m leaving this conversation.”
• [37:26] What putting yourself first really means

Links & Resources:

👉 Free resources for families: brickhouserecovery.com/unhooked

👉 Read the book Unhooked: https://a.co/d/08ZF46B4

👉 Need support? Learn more about our Family Recovery Program

https://www.liveunhooked.com/live-unhooked-order-form

Join Jason Coombs LIVE each week for tips and tricks and LIVE Q&A’s. Go to https://www.liveunhooked.com/live-unhooked.

For information about treatment services visit https://www.brickhouserecovery.com/

For more information about Warrior Heart Bootcamp for men visit www.awarriorheart.com

https://awarriorheart.com/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Warrior Heart = 2026Brick100

To learn more about the women’s retreat, Heart of a Woman:
https://theheartofawoman.net/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Heart of a Woman = 2026Brick100

Send a text

🎙️ “When Numb Isn’t Working Anymore – The Battle to Live Fully Alive” with Doug Nielson

In this soul-stirring Part 3 of the Warrior Heart series, Jason Coombs sits down with licensed psychotherapist and Warrior Heart co-founder Doug Nielsen to uncover what really keeps men stuck in cycles of addiction, burnout, and emotional disconnection—and what it takes to break free.

Drawing from decades of clinical experience, personal recovery, and transformative men’s retreats, Doug shares a raw, powerful framework for reclaiming agency, healing the heart, and living fully alive. This isn’t about behavior change—it’s about identity, faith, and the courageous journey back to who you were created to be.

Whether you’re in recovery, love someone who is, or simply feel like you’ve lost touch with your purpose—this conversation will wake something up inside you.

🔥 Episode Highlights:

• [02:59] Warrior Heart changed Jason’s life
• [07:35] “I want to live fully alive… and help others do the same.”
• [13:18] Disconnection from God as the root of addiction
• [15:26] Why the heart is the real battleground
• [22:18] Counterfeit adventure and the pain of false validation
• [26:29] The nobility of divine masculinity
• [31:40] Why clarity often comes in silence and solitude
• [34:03] Practical outcomes from Warrior Heart retreats.

💡 Key Themes:

• Take Life by the Helm: Doug introduces a powerful framework of anchors, compasses, and the North Star to help men rediscover direction, purpose, and peace.
• The 3 Core Desires: A battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to pursue. When these are unmet, men settle for counterfeits—substances, status, or thrill-seeking.
• Agency & Identity: Recovery is a return to the present moment, where God speaks and where real change begins.
• The Power of Retreat: Jason shares how a single Warrior Heart weekend created clarity in his relationship with his daughter—and how silence and nature cut through the noise of everyday life.

🙏 Final Takeaway:

Recovery isn’t just about getting clean. It’s about remembering who you are, whose you are, and what you were made for. Doug’s message is clear: You are not broken. You are noble. And it’s time to come home.

📚 Resources Mentioned:

For more information about Warrior Heart Bootcamp for men visit www.awarriorheart.com

https://awarriorheart.com/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Warrior Heart = 2026Brick100

To learn more about the women’s retreat, Heart of a Woman:
https://theheartofawoman.net/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Heart of a Woman = 2026Brick100

• Book: Take Life by the Helm by Doug Nielsen https://a.co/d/fbs3Gxt
• Wild at Heart by John Eldredge
• Unhooked by Jason Coombs https://a.co/d/aOymJ3w
• Brick H

Join Jason Coombs LIVE each week for tips and tricks and LIVE Q&A’s. Go to https://www.liveunhooked.com/live-unhooked.

For information about treatment services visit https://www.brickhouserecovery.com/

For more information about Warrior Heart Bootcamp for men visit www.awarriorheart.com

https://awarriorheart.com/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Warrior Heart = 2026Brick100

To learn more about the women’s retreat, Heart of a Woman:
https://theheartofawoman.net/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Heart of a Woman = 2026Brick100

Send a text

Dropping the Pose Is Where Healing Starts.

I used to think most men were struggling with behavior.

But a lot of the time, they’re struggling with hiding.

In Part 2 of the Warrior Heart series, I sit down with Duane Crabtree, Executive Director of Warrior Heart, to talk about the mask men wear and why most of us don’t even see it.

What looks like confidence is often fear.

What looks like strength is often self-protection.

We talk about porn, people-pleasing, compulsive behaviors, and the quiet search for validation that drives so many men.

We also get practical about what it means to fight for your beauty.

Not with grand gestures.

With presence, safety, and emotional intimacy.

This episode is for men who are tired of performing.

And for women who want to understand what’s really happening behind the silence.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• What “the poser” is and why it hides in plain sight
• The two questions every man is asking and why taking them to people keeps him stuck
• How fatherlessness shapes every man, even with a good dad
• What women actually need and how it differs from what men assume
• Simple ways to battle for her heart without slipping back into the pose
• A sacred moment of brotherhood and grief that changed how I showed up for my family

This is Part 2 of 3.

If Part 1 opened the door to identity, this one shows what happens when a man finally stops faking it.

For more information about Warrior Heart Bootcamp for men visit www.awarriorheart.com

https://awarriorheart.com/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Warrior Heart = 2026Brick100

To learn more about the women’s retreat, Heart of a Woman:
https://theheartofawoman.net/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Heart of a Woman = 2026Brick100

Join Jason Coombs LIVE each week for tips and tricks and LIVE Q&A’s. Go to https://www.liveunhooked.com/live-unhooked.

For information about treatment services visit https://www.brickhouserecovery.com/

For more information about Warrior Heart Bootcamp for men visit www.awarriorheart.com

https://awarriorheart.com/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Warrior Heart = 2026Brick100

To learn more about the women’s retreat, Heart of a Woman:
https://theheartofawoman.net/

$100 DISCOUNT CODE for Heart of a Woman = 2026Brick100