When Addiction Enters a Household, the Walls Collapse with Nancy Espuche

Emily Harman, the host of Onward Podcast, interviews Nancy Espuche, Director of Business Development at Lexolution in New York City. February 18th, 1991 was the best day of Nancy Espuche’s life. December 19th, 2016 was the day that she was forever changed. On that day, her beautiful boy Lucas lost his gripping and grueling battle with addiction. In this episode, we discuss Nancy’s long and heart-wrenching journey. Nancy is the founder of Kardboard House, a business committed to addressing and repairing the impact of addiction on those living with a loved one’s substance abuse. For the last decade, Nancy has been an active participant in the recovery community as she faced the daunting challenge of her son’s opioid addiction. Her mission and purpose is to explore, develop, and provide steps for healing, tools for recovery, and opportunities for transformation. Episode Highlights:

• Emily Harman introduces Nancy Espuche.
• Why is the subject of addiction so hard to talk about? 
• Nancy shares the story of her son Lucas’s’ battle with drugs. 
• Did Lucas agree that he needed help with his drug problem? 
• What was it like when Lucas went to rehab for the first time? 
• Why did Lucas leave the recovery house after 5-6 months? 
• When Nancy talks to employers what is her message? 
• Nancy’s son told her that it wasn’t her fault. 
• How has Nancy moved on in her life after the loss of her son? 
• Compassion, acceptance, and truth-telling  build stronger relationships. 
• What does Nancy do to take care of herself? 
• Nancy has had success by communicating with psychic mediums about Lucas. 
• What wisdom can Nancy offer to others?  
• Drug abusers have a lot of secrets.
• Nancy talks about Kardboard House. 

3 Key Points:

1. One out of three people know somebody that has been impacted by the opioid epidemic. 
2. Trust and believe your instincts. They speak very loud. 
3. Employers need to understand the impact of substance abuse disorder on their workforce.  

Tweetable Quotes:

• “The sad thing is, the subject matter of drugs has always been somewhat of a stigma and people have really shied away from even talking about addiction in any fashion at all.” – Nancy Espuche
• “We are not only trying to save our children or our loved ones, we are trying to save ourselves too, and we show up everyday at work half alive.” – Nancy Espuche  
• “You don’t really understand the world of addiction until you are in the world of addiction.” – Nancy Espuche 

Resources Mentioned:

• Nancy Espuche’s Linkedin
• kardboardhouse.com/services
• Chris Wivholm Foundation – Chris Wivholm Foundation – funding research and support for a cure for substance use disorder
• https://drgabormate.com/
• https://ryanhampton.org/love-world-couldnt-save-son-addiction/
• https://www.twincities.com/2019/04/13/rosario-a-mothers-loss-turns-to-advocacy-for-others-in-the-workplace/
• https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/newss-chasing-the-dragon-the-life-of-an-opiate-addict/view
• Emily Harman
• Soul Pajamas
• Onward: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Onward Facebook Group
• PodcastPress