The Suffering Podcast

Episode 258: The Suffering of Will Power with Will Gordon

Send us a textWill Gordon is a dedicated school teacher in Boston, sobriety coach, and host of The Willpower Podcast, a dynamic YouTube channel and multi-platform show that amplifies raw stories of resilience, recovery, and redemption to empower listeners worldwide. For years, a hidden battle with severe alcohol addiction ravaged his life, culminating in a dire diagnosis: just two weeks to live before an emergency liver transplant on May 2, 2023. The fight was far from over—three weeks later, a catastrophic stomach rupture claimed half his colon and his gallbladder, plunging his survival odds to a mere 4%. Defying the odds through ileostomy surgery, its reversal six months on, and a kidney transplant four months after that, Will emerged as a dual-organ transplant survivor, channeling his unimaginable trials into a fierce, renewed purpose: guiding others from despair to durable strength.Since launching The Willpower Podcast in 2024, Will has built a thriving community of over 11,000 YouTube subscribers, with episodes reaching hundreds of thousands across All Platforms. He spotlights guests from fellow addicts and athletes to entrepreneurs, who've stared down their demons. At its core, the podcast preaches that willpower isn't flawless heroism; it's the messy courage to show up, one day at a time, and reclaim your story.As a sober mentor coach, Will delivers tailored, compassionate support drawn from his classroom roots and personal victories, equipping clients with real-talk tools for early recovery and life reconstruction. Prioritizing self-kindness over impossible ideals. A beacon for turning pain into unshakeable power, he reminds us all that redemption is possible for anyone willing to lean in.Find Will GordonYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheWillpowerPodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewillpowerpodcast/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewillpowerpodSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3WvQu1NfcabZZvs99vCKCwApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thewillpowerpodcast/id1778478464Sober Mentorship Inquiries: thewillpowerpodcast@gmail.comFind The Suffering PodcastThe Suffering Podcast InstagramKevin Donaldson InstagramTom Flynn InstagramApple PodcastSpotifyYouTubeThe Suffering Podcast FamiSupport the showThe Suffering Podcast Instagram Kevin Donaldson Instagram TikTok YouTube

Episode 257: The Suffering of Seminar Stack with Kate Califano and Eric Smith

Send us a textKate and Eric are BACK!Kate Califano, an entrepreneur, founded Seminar Stack with the support of her husband, Pennsylvania State Trooper Eric Smith, to equip first responders and civilians with essential safety and resilience skills. Eric’s dedication stems from his recovery after a near-fatal on-duty crash in 2020, during which he discovered the Adopt A Cop BJJ program. Training together, Kate and Eric saw the immense benefits of BJJ for fitness, mental resilience, and law enforcement.Motivated by BJJ’s transformative power, they launched Seminar Stack to provide real-world training in gun retention, use of force, trauma response, and de-escalation, alongside practical BJJ instruction. The event goes beyond workshops, featuring keynote speakers, expert-led seminars, and hands-on demonstrations that equip attendees with actionable skills. It also fosters community connections through networking, vendor spaces, and fundraising. Their mission is to enhance officer safety, build trust between first responders and the public, and create a safer, more prepared society.Seminar Stack TeamSeminar StackInstagram@seminarstackFind The Suffering PodcastThe Suffering Podcast InstagramKevin Donaldson InstagramTom Flynn InstagramApple PodcastSpotifyYouTubeThe Suffering Podcast FamilySherri AllsupSupport the showThe Suffering Podcast Instagram Kevin Donaldson Instagram TikTok YouTube

Episode 256: The Suffering of Being Italian with Mike Marino

Send us a textMike Marino – affectionately known to millions of his fans worldwide as New Jersey’s Bad Boy – might as well be the element Carbon with his versatility. He’s a comedian, an actor, a philanthropist, basically everything except a husband and father (at least that we know of) who’s shared the stage and screen with names, somehow, even more household than his own.Mike entered this mortal realm in New Jersey where he grew up with his Italian family that he mines for material in his stand-up bits. He was a born thespian, so he entered the entertainment industry at an early age and even attended prestigious acting schools like the Herbert Berghof Studio and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts just to make sure their teaching were up to snuff. The Clio Awards recognized Mike’s god given gift with a best actor nomination for one of the countless iconic television commercials he starred in. But Mike’s not only been in advertisements, he’s been in movies and shows ranging from Criticsized to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to his very own web series Make America Italian Again, which you can ingest for free on his illustrious YouTube channel aptly named Mike Marino Live. Find Mike MarinoFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/mikemarinoliveInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/mikemarinolive/YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/mikemarinoliveTikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@mikemarinoliveXhttps://x.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2FmikemarinoliveFind The Suffering PodcastThe Suffering Podcast InstagramKevin Donaldson InstagramTom Flynn InstagramApple PodcastSpotifyYouTubeThe Suffering Podcast FamilySherri AllsupSupport the showThe Suffering Podcast Instagram Kevin Donaldson Instagram TikTok YouTube

Episode 255: The Suffering of A Post Police Career with Tom & Kevin

Send us a textLeaving a career in law enforcement isn’t just a professional change—it’s a personal transformation. For many former officers, the badge was more than a job; it was an identity, a community, and a sense of purpose. But when the uniform comes off, countless men and women are left asking the same question: What’s next? This podcast dives into the emotional, mental, and practical challenges of life after police work.Through candid conversations and real stories, we explore the struggles of rediscovering identity, managing the loss of camaraderie, and facing the uncertainty of building a second career. From financial pressure to navigating industries that don’t always understand a law enforcement background, the road forward is often filled with obstacles—and opportunities for growth.Each episode sheds light on the resilience, vulnerability, and determination required to start over. Kevin and Tom have a unique perspective on this topic as they both left a job they loved unexpectedly and had to find a new way and purpose.  Whether you’re a former officer, a family member, or someone curious about life beyond the badge, this podcast offers insight, inspiration, and a reminder that there is life—and purpose—after police work.Find The Suffering PodcastThe Suffering Podcast InstagramKevin Donaldson InstagramTom Flynn InstagramApple PodcastSpotifyYouTubeThe Suffering Podcast FamilySherri AllsupSupport the showThe Suffering Podcast Instagram Kevin Donaldson Instagram TikTok YouTube

Episode 254: The Suffering of Healing with Natanya Wachtel

Send us a textNatanya Wachtel knows what it’s like to lose everything—more than once. She’s lived through physical trauma, medical crises, paralysis, and the kind of pain most people don’t talk about out loud. She’s had to relearn how to live inside a body that stopped working—and fight to reclaim parts of herself that the world was all too willing to discard.But she didn’t stop at survival.Natanya has turned that pain into purpose, creating healing frameworks and trauma-informed tools that meet people where they are—especially those who’ve been overlooked, underestimated, or left behind. Through her platform, The NatanyaExperience, she works with first responders, veterans, incarcerated individuals, and survivors of deep personal loss to help them rebuild not just their identity, but their sense of worth.She’s not a guru. She’s not a life coach. And she doesn’t show up with a script. She shows up because she’s been there.Alongside her lived experience, Natanya brings decades of work in behavioral science and integrative wellness, volunteering her time in nonprofits focused on suicide prevention, trauma recovery, and mental health access for vulnerable communities. She collaborates with pioneers in brain science and medical innovation to advance non-invasive technologies—from vagus nerve stimulation to vibrational healing and neuroplasticity-based interventions—because she believes that true healing requires both science and soul.Her mission is simple: to help people remember they’re not broken—they’re becoming.For the audience of The Suffering Podcast, Natanya offers no platitudes. Just real conversation, hard-earned wisdom, and an unshakable belief that the things that tried to destroy us can become the very things that set us free.Find NatanyaNew Solutions Network WebsiteNatanya's WebsiteWoman Who Create WebsiteEvr More WebsiteFind The Suffering PodcastThe Suffering Podcast InstagramKevin Donaldson InstagramTom Flynn InstagramApple PodcastSpotifyYouTubeThe Suffering Podcast FamilySherri AllsupSupport the showThe Suffering Podcast Instagram Kevin Donaldson Instagram TikTok YouTube