Take It From Us with Kent Johns

Josh Komen: A story of epic survival and how a Mum's love pulled him back from the brink

Josh Komen was a gun athlete with aspirations to run the 800 metres for New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games - until a cancer diagnosis changed everything.Josh's life was tipped on its head. He spent five years in Australia getting specialised treatment for Graft-versus-Host-Disease after a stem cell transplant. His new immune system was attacking his body. He suffered 12 heart attacks in Melbourne. At his lowest, Josh nearly took his own life - saved only by the love of his Mum.Josh has had to beat the odds many times to become the man, husband, and father he is today - drawing on an inner strength he didn't think he had to overcome not only cancer, but many other hurdles his body threw at him. Viktor Frankl's book Man's Search for Meaning has become his philosophy - learning that you can still choose your attitude, even when everything else is stripped away.We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text by clicking here.If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

Maree MacLean: The no bullshit guide to getting sober

Maree MacLean is an author and publisher who has helped countless people with her guides to sobriety. Her first book, The No Bullshit Guide to Getting Sober, became an Audible bestseller in 2023.Maree lost her brother Stu to alcoholism at 37 - he died in her arms at Auckland Hospital. Her own drinking started in her twenties, masked by media work and weekend partying. When she went freelance and her income became unstable, the problem became impossible to hide.She drank through a 10-year marriage in Copenhagen. After Stu's death, she came home to New Zealand and spiralled. One morning, ready to end her life, she drove to the marae instead. A psychologist named Joseph saw her walk in and knew.Maree speaks with brutal honesty and candid humour about addiction, recovery, and why helping others has kept her sober.We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text by clicking here.If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

Georgie Hanafin: Living with OCD, ADHD and intrusive thoughts

For years, Georgie Hanafin thought she was just a bad person. She struggled at school, couldn't maintain friendships, overthought every conversation.At 34, she realised she had OCD and ADHD. Getting help became its own nightmare. Emergency departments dismissed her. Crisis lines let her down. The system wouldn't listen.In October 2022, desperate and burnt out, Georgie did something drastic - she orchestrated her way into Hillmorton Hospital by unmasking publicly online.These days, she's a producer at Radio New Zealand, helping people tell their stories. This is her story - raw, honest, and powerful.We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text by clicking here.If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

Ian Walker: Surviving two spinal cord injuries - and the voice that woke him from a coma

Ian Walker has survived two catastrophic spinal cord injuries - one in 2006 when his bicycle hit a truck, another in 2019 when a 4x4 dragged his hand-cycle 15 metres down the road.  After 13 days in a coma, nothing woke him - until broadcaster Jason Pine started talking about his favourite football team, Liverpool FC, on Radio Sport. Ian clenched his fist and slowly came back. Instead of fixating on huge goals like walking again, Ian purposely chose to focus only on what was in front of him - small, achievable goals like getting into a wheelchair, transfers, then independence. Now, he completes marathons in his hand-cycle and is studying to become a youth counsellor. Ian's message of hope and resilience is ... it's 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.We'd love to hear from you. Send us a text by clicking here.If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/

Debbs Murray: Coercive control in relationships - what it really looks like

Debbs Murray endured nearly eight years of coercive control before her dad saw the knife-slashed bed where her ex-partner thought she'd been sleeping... that moment forced her to finally call the police and leave.Debbs is now the founder of Eclipse Family Violence Services, training over 6,500 frontline responders and practitioners. Her mission: teaching people that coercive control - the psychological, emotional, unseen harm - makes up the majority of family violence. It's the intentional removal of someone's liberty and freedom, yet most of it isn't criminalised in New Zealand.You can buy Debbs' book here.Content warning: This episode discusses suicidal ideation and extreme violenceWe'd love to hear from you. Send us a text by clicking here.If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/