Never Lose Hope with Tennille Heitkamp

Tennille Heitkamp joins Pondoff’s Anonymous to share the long, painful, and hopeful story of walking through addiction with her son, Jacob. What starts as a conversation about Underground and finding the right support community turns into a brutally honest look at what addiction does to an entire family.

Tennille talks about Jacob’s childhood, ADHD, early struggles to fit in, his exposure to pills and fentanyl, emergency room visits, detox, sober living, relapse, and the emotional chaos that came with trying to keep him alive. She also opens up about the toll it took on her, her marriage, her other son, and her own mental health as she tried to hold everything together.

But this episode is not just about the darkness. It is also about not giving up. Tennille shares how Jacob eventually found real help, how Florida became a turning point, how he is now six months sober, and how hope slowly started to return. The conversation also highlights Tennille’s work with Addiction is Real, where she now helps other families recognize warning signs, find resources, and feel less alone.

This episode is for parents, loved ones, and anyone who has ever felt exhausted by addiction and wondered if things can still get better.

Sponsored by:

McKelvey Insurance Group — https://www.mckelveyins.com

LightSource Psychotherapy — https://findyourlightsource.com

00:00 Sponsor message: McKelvey Insurance Group + LightSource

00:56 Theme song

01:30 Welcome and meeting Tennille

06:48 How Tennille found Underground

09:16 Trying different support spaces until something fits

12:12 Creating a safe place for scared newcomers

15:27 Underground becomes bigger than anyone expected

17:42 Why Chris wanted Tennille to tell this story

18:43 Jacob, Jayden, and the beginning of the family story

24:02 Jacob’s childhood, diagnoses, surgeries, and early struggles

30:38 High school football, wanting to fit in, and pills

32:16 First exposure to fentanyl

33:34 Moving out, chasing belonging, and things unraveling

40:12 The first major fentanyl scare and ER trip

42:09 Detox, sober living, and the insurance nightmare

58:30 Family disease, shame, and trying to fix everything

1:01:33 Learning boundaries and finding family support

1:21:08 Another sober living setback

1:25:39 Airport chaos and getting Jacob back to treatment

1:30:54 New Jersey, sober living, and another return home

1:33:21 A good stretch, then relapse again

1:37:05 Hospital scare and the move to Florida

1:38:05 Florida treatment and meeting Emily

1:40:21 Six months sober and a different future

1:42:48 Tennille’s work with Addiction is Real

1:50:39 How Jacob is doing now

1:53:55 Credits

1:54:26 Light in the Dark coffee outro