16: After The Storm: Where Healing Begins presented by Brian D. Smith - Episode 16

16: After The Storm: Where Healing Begins presented by Brian D. Smith - Episode 16

What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? This conversation on UK Health Radio brings together host Brian D. Smith and guest Rich Dunning for a raw look at trauma, addiction, and the long road to healing. Rich grew up in New York City in extreme poverty, surrounded by violence, addiction, homelessness and hunger. As he says, "silence was my first language"—staying quiet and invisible was how he survived abuse and chaos.

That same silence followed him into adulthood, even as he appeared successful: college graduate, professional, husband and father. Inside, he describes living as "an imposter", armoured by shame and relying on alcohol to outrun old pain. You'll hear Rich talk frankly about years of blackout drinking, the toll on his family, and the terrifying moment he tried to end his life by climbing over a hotel balcony—only to be stopped by his 10-year-old son.

That date, 7 July 2017, marks his sobriety, but the episode makes clear that stopping drinking was just the beginning. The heart of the conversation sits around grief, guilt and the cost of silence. Brian, himself a certified grief guide after the loss of his daughter Shana, asks whether you can grieve a childhood you never really had.

Rich answers by describing how he "grieved that kid" he once was, and how learning to say, "your past doesn't have to define you" became central to his healing. Rich also shares how 15 years of writing his memoir *Silence Was My First Language* helped him break his silence, and why he created the First Language Foundation to support children facing abuse, homelessness, hunger, addiction and exploitation.

If you've ever felt beyond redemption or have carried secrets so long that silence itself feels heavy, this episode might leave you asking: what would happen if you finally said it out loud?