268 Odyssey House Journals - Nine268 Odyssey House Journals - Nine
Odyssey House Journals
Nine talks openly about losing her brother, spending years addicted to meth, and the impact on her family and young daughter. The conversation focuses on her current treatment journey, cultural background, and determination to build a sober life and repair relationships.
29:39•30 Oct 2026
From Grief and Meth Addiction to Hope: Nine’s Road Back to Her Daughter
Episode Overview
- Addiction is described as feeling like slavery and drowning, highlighting how overpowering the compulsion to use can be.
- Unprocessed grief from her brother’s death and a family culture that avoided discussing feelings contributed to long-term substance use.
- Nine’s meth addiction severely damaged relationships with her siblings, and she now focuses on making amends and understanding their perspective.
- She is working towards reunification with her seven-year-old daughter, aiming to become the best version of herself as a sober parent.
- Treatment at Odyssey House provides time, structure and strong peer and professional support, helping her heal childhood and adult wounds.
“Addiction is like you’re drowning and there’s nobody there to help you besides yourself.”
What remarkable journeys have people faced head-on against addiction? This episode follows Nine, a first-generation Tongan woman, as she talks candidly about grief, meth addiction, and the slow rebuilding of her life in recovery. Odyssey House Journals keeps its trademark straightforward style here: a relaxed chat between TV news veteran Randall Carlisle and his guest, full of humour, hard truths and emotional pauses.
Nine explains how her nickname came from her brothers mispronouncing her given name Pauline, then shifts into heavier ground: losing her brother when he was struck by lightning at a family reunion and feeling utterly unprepared to cope. She describes trying meth out of curiosity while holding down a good job and going back to school, and how quickly that curiosity turned into, in her words, being “a slave” to the drug.
There’s a mix of pain and hope as she shares how her daughter still calls her “mom” and asks when she’s coming home, while Nine commits to becoming “the best version of myself for her.” The conversation also gives a vivid description of life in active addiction: the feeling of drowning, the constant fear and distrust on the streets, and the belief that “there’s no love in the streets.” In contrast, Nine highlights the support, growth and emotional work happening in treatment, from impact letters to peer support and therapy.
You’ll hear how her addiction strained family relationships, especially in a culture where feelings weren’t discussed and mental health wasn’t acknowledged. Her honesty about hurting her siblings and wanting to repair those bonds adds a powerful emotional thread. A major focus is her seven-year-old daughter. Nine talks about doing her best to shield her child from the drug lifestyle, losing custody, and now working towards reunification while in treatment at Odyssey House.
If you’re curious what sustained meth recovery, cultural pressure, and parenting through addiction actually sound like, this episode offers a raw, relatable window into that journey. What parts of Nine’s story resonate most with where you are right now?
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