In this heartbreaking and powerful episode of Get a Grip Podcast, Louis Essig and Aaron Garnes sit down with Tina Lester for an incredibly honest conversation about addiction, prostitution, incarceration, recovery, and unimaginable loss.
Tina's story takes us back to her childhood and the beginning of her addiction to crack cocaine. She opens up about using crack while pregnant with her son, eventually becoming involved in prostitution to support her addiction, and the dangers she faced while working the streets.
Tina shares some of the most frightening experiences of her life, including an encounter with a client that left her fearing for her life and the complicated relationship between prostitutes and pimps. Her addiction and lifestyle eventually led to a prostitution charge and time in women's prison, where she experienced situations that would stay with her long after her release.
At one point, Tina says she made millions of dollars as an escort—but despite the money, the lifestyle came at an enormous personal cost. After getting out of prison, she relapsed and found herself back in the cycle of addiction.Then Tina's story takes an even more devastating turn.She opens up about losing her daughter to heroin addiction and learning about her death from a nurse. She then suffered the unimaginable loss of her son, who died in a motorcycle accident while under the influence.
Tina also discusses the loss of her daughter to fentanyl, including the devastating reality of drugs containing extremely high concentrations of fentanyl.
The losses didn't stop there. Tina shares the pain of losing her grandson and her brother and what it was like trying to process all of that while battling addiction and eventually finding recovery.
Despite everything she has experienced, Tina continues to move forward and share her story. She reflects on her years walking the streets, the consequences of addiction, the people she lost, and the lessons she hopes others can learn from her life.
This is a raw story of addiction, survival, grief, and the devastating impact substance use can have on an entire family—but it's also a story about resilience and the possibility of finding a way forward.
🔥 Expect emotion. Expect truth. Expect hope.
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