For years, people have heard my story — the mistakes, the prison sentence, and the redemption that followed.

But today, we tell the story that is rarely heard.

The story of the mother.

In this deeply personal episode of the Break Phree Podcast, I sit down with the woman who stood by me during the darkest chapter of my life — my mother. While I served time behind bars, she carried a different kind of sentence: the pain, the shame, the judgment, and the prayers of a mother loving her child through incarceration.

This conversation is for every mother who has cried in silence, walked through prison doors, and held onto faith when the world said to let go.

Because sometimes the strongest person in the story… is the one waiting on the other side of the prison gate.

Four years ago, Paulette Smith came home to every parent’s worst nightmare. Her 22-year-old son was shot and killed — and to this day, she still doesn’t know who took his life. In this heartbreaking yet courageous conversation, Paulette opens up about living with unanswered questions, surviving grief without closure, and what it means to wake up every day carrying a loss that justice hasn’t resolved. This isn’t just a story about gun violence. It’s about the families left behind. It’s about a mother’s love. It’s about strength when you don’t have a choice. Some wounds don’t close — but purpose can still rise.

She was 17 when she became a mother.

She was 6 when her innocence was stolen.

She later stood in federal court facing an 89-million-dollar drug conspiracy case.

But none of that compares to the day she lost her 17-year-old son in a car accident.

In this deeply moving episode, Dr. Cynthia Williams shares her journey from trauma to transformation — from prison to purpose — and how the unimaginable loss of her son gave birth to P.A.D.D. and Love From Afar.

This conversation isn’t about staying stuck in grief.

It’s about breaking cycles.

It’s about constructive decisions over destructive ones.

It’s about healing mind, body, and soul.

Pain shaped her — but purpose defines her.

Before the stages. Before the applause. Before the voice heard on the Super Bowl. William “King” Hollis grew up carrying weight most children never choose — a mother lost to heroin addiction, a father in prison, and a childhood shaped by instability and survival. Football became his escape. He rose to become one of the top players in the nation, believing it would be his way out. When that dream collapsed, so did his sense of identity. In this episode of Break Phree Podcast, King speaks candidly about the pressure of inherited pain, the silent battle with suicidal thoughts, and the moment he chose to live — and to love deeper than the demons trying to destroy him. He reflects on his book Love Them More Than Your Demons, finding purpose in his voice, and what it meant to be affirmed by Les Brown at a moment when everything finally aligned. This isn’t a comeback story. It’s a conversation about choosing life when quitting feels easier.

In this unforgettable episode of Break Phree Podcast, we sit down with Toniya Farmer, DPT, a wife, mother, and physical therapist whose life was spared in a way only God could orchestrate. At just 39 years old, Toniya found herself racing toward the nearest hospital while experiencing what would later be confirmed as a cardiac arrest. Initially dismissed as anxiety, her symptoms were misdiagnosed — until her heart went into a deadly rhythm and she coded. It took 40 minutes to revive her. What followed was a supernatural fight for life. Toniya shares what she remembers from the 10-hour blackout, the spiritual battle that took place while her body lay unconscious, and the moment she declared, “I shall live and not die.” She opens up about surviving severe coronary artery vasospasm and SCAD, receiving an implantable defibrillator, and navigating life after death brushed past her doorstep. This episode is about faith over fear, advocacy in medical spaces, motherhood as motivation, and learning how to slow down and live with intention after being given a second chance. If you’ve ever ignored your body, felt unheard, or wondered whether purpose exists on the other side of pain — this conversation will change you.

Kaylyn Powell’s story is one of resilience, faith, and unstoppable determination.

After losing her mother to cancer at just 6 years old, Kaylyn experienced homelessness, slept on a twin mattress, in her grandfather’s closet, and even in the back of an 18-wheeler truck while pregnant. But her story didn’t end in survival — it transformed into purpose.

Today, Kaylyn is a successful entrepreneur owning billboard advertising, salon suites, a beauty supply business, and selling digital products.

In this emotional episode of Break Phree Podcast, Kaylyn shares how she survived heartbreak, poverty, motherhood under pressure, and built multiple streams of income while rewriting generational cycles.

This episode will inspire anyone who’s ever felt forgotten, stuck, or counted out.

🎯 In this episode you’ll hear:

• How childhood trauma shaped her strength

• What it’s like being pregnant and homeless

• The mindset shift from survival to CEO

• Building multiple businesses from scratch

• How faith carried her through impossible seasons

This is proof that your past does not get to decide your future.

What happens when money is flowing… but your life is falling apart?

In this raw and unfiltered episode of Break Phree Podcast, Atlanta entrepreneur Arthur “Art,” owner of Twelve 33 Sneaker Store, reveals how he was building a million-dollar sneaker business while secretly battling addiction to Percocet, Xanax, and lean for over seven years.

Born and raised in Atlanta, Art opens up about hiding addiction behind success, the pressure of entrepreneurship, the mental war of staying high while staying profitable, and the breaking point that forced him to choose between death and freedom.

Now almost two years sober, Art shares how faith, discipline, and accountability helped him rebuild his life, lead with clarity, and redefine what real success looks like.

This episode is proof that you can lose yourself chasing success — but you can also find yourself again.

🎯 In this episode you’ll hear:

• What it means to be a “million dollar addict”

• How addiction hid behind money and success

• The moment everything changed

• Life and business after sobriety

• What freedom truly looks like

If you’re fighting addiction, building a business, or searching for purpose — this episode is for you.

This episode is family… unfiltered.

In Part 2 of Can You Stand The Rain, it’s not just me and my partner Lee — it’s also Keandre “Rock”, the child we gained custody of, joining the conversation.

We open up about:

• Rock’s life before coming into our home

• The emotional transition of starting over

• What it’s like adjusting to a new family dynamic

• How my decision to take custody without Lee’s consent almost cost me my relationship

• The tension between doing what feels right and doing what’s easy

• And how love stretches when responsibility shows up

This episode isn’t about perfection.

It’s about choosing purpose over comfort.

Choosing family when it’s complicated.

And trusting God when the rain doesn’t stop.

Because sometimes obedience doesn’t look pretty…

but it changes lives.