"I Stabbed Him 13 Times" with Cole Shea"I Stabbed Him 13 Times" with Cole Shea
Pondoff's Anonymous
Cole Shea recounts his journey from heroin, prison and a 13-times stabbing to long-term sobriety, unexpected reconciliation, and ongoing grief after losing his wife to overdose. With humour and honesty, the conversation highlights boundaries, faith, and forgiveness as he builds a different life for himself and his daughter.
2:15:54•6 Jul 2026
From 13 Stab Wounds to Radical Forgiveness with Cole Shea
Episode Overview
- Recovery can grow out of extreme circumstances, including prison, serious illness, and violent incidents.
- Working a 12-step programme with a sponsor can turn resentment into genuine forgiveness, even towards people who have caused deep harm.
- Boundaries with actively using family members and partners are necessary to protect sobriety, even when it feels disloyal.
- Grief, loss, and co-occurring mental health issues do not have to end sobriety if you lean on community and the tools of recovery.
- Children notice consistency and care; showing up for them can be a powerful reason to stay clean and keep healing.
“He says, this guy saved your fucking life.”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? This raw conversation on Pondoff's Anonymous follows Cole Shea as he talks through a life marked by heroin, crack, prison, diabetes, grief, and, somehow, forgiveness. Hosted by Chris Pondoff with plenty of honest interruptions and dark humour from Zoe, the episode has the feel of a late-night share after a meeting – unpolished, emotional, and very real.
Cole describes growing up around violence and heroin, losing high school football dreams, and stacking up “a dozen drug felonies” while bouncing between counties and probation. He also explains how untreated type 1 diabetes almost killed him in prison, and why methadone withdrawal was “the worst sickness I ever had.” The story turns intense as Cole recalls the night he stabbed a man 13 times in what he insists was self-defence during a chaotic attempt to rob him.
Years later, he’s put in the same cell block as that man, and eventually invites him to Narcotics Anonymous. The man gets a sponsor first and tells Cole, “this changed my life,” before a sponsor later tells Cole, “He says, this guy saved your fucking life,” about the informant who sent him to prison. From there, the focus shifts to recovery: working the steps, sponsorship, and building a life after release.
Cole shares heartbreakingly about his mum’s death from cancer, his wife’s relapse into alcohol and fentanyl, her eventual overdose, and the ongoing pain of being cut off from one of his stepdaughters. Yet what stands out is his consistent decision to choose boundaries, faith, and forgiveness over revenge. If you’re in recovery, love someone who is, or feel stuck in resentment, this episode might leave you asking: what would forgiveness look like in your story?
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