THE PODCAST
Do What You Can Live With:
A Podcast on Addiction, Harm Reduction, and Real Talk for Families
Hosted by Brandi Mac, AGACNP-BC. A critical care nurse practitioner and mother of a daughter in recovery, talking about the parts of loving someone in addiction that nobody warned you about.
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What if everything you've been told about helping someone with addiction is wrong?
This podcast is for the people loving someone in active addiction; the parent who hasn't slept in three nights, the partner who doesn't know what to say at dinner, the sibling who's tired of being told to detach.
No tough love clichés. No "let them hit bottom." No one-size-fits-all advice. Just real conversations from a critical care nurse practitioner who lived it on the other side of the chart, with guests who've been through the system and people in recovery telling you the truth about what actually works.
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Featured Episodes
FOUNDATION | 45 MIN
When Boundaries Feel Impossible: What Families Deserve to Hear
On setting and adjusting boundaries when someone you love is in active addiction, why tough love is not the only path, and how to protect yourself without abandoning them.
CLINICAL | 1 HR 15 MIN
Breaking Stigma: Harm Reduction with Taylor Nichols, MD
Dr. Taylor Nichols on what most providers get wrong about MAT, pain management, and the stigma keeping families from honest help.
PERSONAL | 56 MIN
15 Months Sober: A Raw Mother-Daughter Conversation About Recovery
My daughter Brooke at 15 months sober on what actually worked, what didn’t, and what families need to know about fentanyl, MAT, and treatment.
If you only listen to a few episodes, listen to these. They’re the foundation everything else builds on.
What does it mean to truly support someone when the traditional paths to recovery seem to fail?
Harm reduction isn't about giving up; it's about meeting people where they are and refusing to let them die there.
We have to shift our focus from perfect abstinence to immediate safety and sustainable connection.
The failures we see in the system are often a result of rigid structures that don't account for human complexity.
This conversation aims to bridge that gap with evidence-based empathy and real-world clinical experience.
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Rethinking the concept of 'hitting rock bottom' as a prerequisite for change.
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Addressing the clinical gaps in current Medication-Assisted Treatment protocols.
Moving beyond slogans and toward meaningful, data-driven family advocacy.
Join us as we explore these challenging topics with the honesty they deserve. Our goal is to empower families with tools that work in the real world, far beyond the standard advice that often leaves people feeling more alone.
YOUR HOST
I'm Brandi
Critical care nurse practitioner. Mom of four. Wife. Gigi. And the mother of a daughter who went through addiction treatment nine times in four years before finding her way to long-term recovery.
I've spent more than a decade in the ICU and ER caring for some of the sickest people in the hospital. But nothing prepared me for addiction walking through my own front door.
This podcast is the one I needed when I was the family member. Plain language. Real research. No shame. No slogans.
AGACNP-BC
Author
400K+ Community
Advocate
Speaker
Once your ready for more
BEYOND THE SHOW
If the podcast is helping. These go further
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The Book
Do What You Can Live With. The book Caron Treatment Centers recommends to families. Stage-by-stage guide for navigating a loved one's addiction.
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Free Tools
Take the four-question self-assessment. Open the Treatment Navigator. Build a boundary that holds. Free, no email required for crisis tools.
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Prescribed Chaos
My Substack on addiction, healthcare system failures, grief, and the things that don't fit in a 40-minute episode. Written for families surviving the fallout and clinicians fighting upstream. Free for those who need it most.