S2E1: Road to Resilience: Choosing Hope After Unimaginable Loss

From the Living Undeterred Podcast, Powered by Brightn

By Jeff Johnston, Founder of Brightn and Host of the Living Undeterred Podcast

Watch the full episode below:

Why This Series Matters

Welcome back to the reimagined Living Undeterred podcast. I’m Jeff Johnston, dad, founder, and someone who has walked through some of life’s darkest valleys and come out changed.

This new three-part solo series is about honesty, healing, and hope. It’s deeply personal. My goal isn’t to provide answers, but to share my own road through loss and resilience in the hope that it offers a hand to anyone struggling to find their way forward.

This first episode is called “The Road to Resilience.” It’s the origin story behind Brightn, but more importantly, it’s the story of how I went from surviving tragedy to choosing to live with purpose.

From Wealth Management to Purpose-Driven Work

For much of my early life, success was measured by dollars. I entered the wealth management industry after college, chasing achievement and financial gain. I wanted to build a strong book of business, but in hindsight, my ambitions were more self-centered than service-driven.

Things began to shift as I started a family. I planted roots in Iowa with my wife, Prudence, and our three sons. Life looked stable from the outside. But as my oldest, Seth, began to struggle, the cracks became harder to ignore.

What began as academic challenges soon evolved into something far more serious.

A System That Failed My Family

Seth was bright and full of energy, but like many kids, he didn’t fit the mold of the traditional school system. His teachers flagged concerns and eventually urged us to have him evaluated. That’s when he was diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Adderall.

I call this the start of the “hamster wheel.” A diagnosis. A pill. A path that we hoped would help, but instead led him deeper into addiction.

Adderall wasn’t the right tool for Seth. Like many young people, he began to misuse it. From there, it escalated to alcohol and marijuana. We tried to intervene. We tried everything.

Eventually, Seth found himself incarcerated for a serious offense. It was heartbreaking. But as strange as it sounds, prison gave him structure. It was the first time in a long time that we saw glimpses of clarity in his eyes again.

Then came the news: he was getting out early. I remember saying to Prudence, “I think that’s the worst news we could’ve gotten.” I knew the world outside wasn’t ready to hold him safely.

Just weeks later, on October 4, 2016, Seth died in a motel room in Waterloo, Iowa. He was 23. The drugs he used were laced with fentanyl... a word I barely knew back then.

A Father’s Choice: Two Roads

That moment, telling my wife that our son was dead, was the most painful moment of my life.

But as the dust settled, I knew I had a responsibility to my two younger sons, Ian and Roman. They were 15 and 13 at the time. I sat them down, looked them in the eyes, and told them this:

“We have two roads ahead. One filled with anger, bitterness, and blame. Or one filled with love, hope, and a mission to help others. I’m taking the second road and I’d love for you to join me.”

I didn’t tell them how to grieve. I gave them a choice.

And to their credit, they chose the second road too. Ian went on to do remarkable things. Roman became a certified scuba diver and developed a deep love for the earth and nature. I’m endlessly proud of both of them.

When Resilience Breaks Down

But I wasn’t done falling apart.

For 14 months after Seth died, I stayed home and drank. I was already an alcoholic, had been for over 30 years, but this was different. This was numbing. This was pain drowning pain.

My wife and I sat in that house, pouring drinks and replaying regrets. And one day, I looked at her. She was nine years younger than me, looking suddenly looking nine years older.

And I thought, I couldn’t save Seth… but maybe I can save her.

That’s when I stopped drinking. On December 24, 2017, I poured my last glass. I haven’t touched alcohol since. Not because I had to. But because I chose to. I did it for her.

Another Loss, Another Turning Point

And still—it wasn’t enough.

On June 29, 2021, Prudence passed away at the age of 46. Her death certificate cited alcoholism, but I know better. It was grief. It was trauma. It was heartbreak left untreated.

After she died, we found 12 prescription bottles in her name.

It became painfully clear that the system that failed Seth had failed her, too. A system built to numb, not to heal. To diagnose, not to empower.

That realization became fuel. It’s what led me to start Brightn. To write my book. To get in an RV and travel the country talking to others who’ve felt this pain.

The Lowest Moment: My Closet, My Crossroads

Then came my rock bottom.

Four months later, in December 2021, I lost my mom. And one weekend, I sat in my closet with a gun in my hand, convinced that death would hurt less than living.

I didn’t want peace, I just wanted the pain to stop.

But something in me kept counting backward from ten. Over and over. I never pulled the trigger. I still don’t quite know why. But I didn’t.

That closet is sacred ground to me now. Not because I almost died there—but because I didn’t.

What Brightn Was Built On

Brightn isn’t just a wellness app. It’s my family's legacy.

Every day, 909 people die in the U.S. from deaths of despair: overdose, suicide, or alcohol. I say 909—not 900—because every life counts. Every person matters.

I can’t bring back Seth. I can’t bring back Prudence. But I can help someone else avoid this path. I can be the voice in the dark that says, “You’re not alone. You’re not broken. And you can make it.”

That’s why I do what I do.

A New Chapter Begins

This podcast is more than just a platform, it’s a purpose. My hope is that this series meets you where you are. So when life tests you—and it will—I hope you remember:

You’ve survived 100% of your worst days so far. What makes you think you can’t survive the next?

So let’s keep going. Together.

What’s Next in the Series

In the upcoming episodes of this solo series, I’ll be exploring:

2. The Intersection of Health, Wealth, and Purpose

Why true mental wellness must be holistic, not just clinical.

3. Faith and Forgiveness

How rediscovering my faith became my most powerful tool for healing.

Final Thoughts

I’m not special. I’m not superhuman. I’m a dad from Iowa who lost almost everything—and made the decision not to let it define me.

I chose to become better, not bitter.

And if I can do it, so can you.

This is the Road to Resilience. Brighter days are ahead.

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Final Thoughts

I’m not here to be a guru. I’m here as someone who’s been shattered—and slowly put the pieces back together.

If I can do it, so can you.

Welcome to the Road to Resilience.

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