The Rollercoaster Podcast

What happens when the very things you swore you'd never become are the things that slowly take over your life?

In this episode of the Rollercoaster Podcast, I sit down with Natalie Stavola, a recovery coach, filmmaker, and survivor whose life was shaped by childhood trauma, abusive relationships, addiction, and years of self-destruction.

Natalie shares the harrowing moments that changed her forever, including having a gun held to her head by a man she loved, battling alcoholism and cocaine addiction, and finding herself trapped in cycles of abuse she never thought she would tolerate. Despite studying psychology and criminology, she discovered firsthand that understanding trauma and escaping it are two very different things.

Together, we explore how childhood wounds can shape our adult relationships, why addiction is often rooted in pain, and what it really takes to heal after years of running from yourself. Natalie also opens up about the spiritual awakening that helped her get sober and the work she now does helping others find hope in their darkest moments.

If you've ever struggled with addiction, experienced abuse, battled your inner demons, or wondered whether healing is possible after trauma, this conversation will stay with you.

In this episode:
Growing up in a home marked by emotional abuse
The relationship that ended with a gun to her head
Alcohol, cocaine addiction, and hitting rock bottom
Why trauma keeps us returning to toxic people
The moment she knew she needed help
Sobriety, healing, and rebuilding her life
Finding meaning in the pain she survive
How she now helps others heal from trauma and addiction

Key Moments:
00:00 The Moment He Put a Gun to My Head
05:05 When I Became My Own Worst Enemy
08:12 Why I Never Fit In Anywhere
12:15 Looking for Good in a Broken World
15:06 Why Pain Can Become Your Purpose
18:07 The First Drink That Changed Everything
24:06 The Dangerous People We Choose
26:49 Why Some People Never Ask for Help
31:32 Can You Save Someone From Addiction?
35:04 The Relationships That Nearly Destroyed Me
37:20 He Put a Gun to My Head
40:13 Why I Went Back to Him Anyway
45:01 The Day My Healing Finally Began
47:44 The Protest That Broke Me Open
50:10 When I Could No Longer Hide My Trauma

Connect with Me:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tyler.hall/

Connect with Natalie Stavola:
Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/nataliestavola/⁠

What do you do when the person you've loved for 20 years decides they no longer want to live?

In this episode of the Rollercoaster Podcast, I sit down with Tommy O'Mara to talk about the day that changed his life forever. After two decades together, Tommy came home expecting an ordinary morning with the woman he loved. Instead, he found Cynthia unconscious on the floor after she had intentionally taken her own life.

Tommy shares the heartbreaking moments of performing CPR on his partner, watching paramedics fight to save her, and the crushing guilt that followed after her death. In the months that followed, he found himself carrying her medications in his car and questioning whether he wanted to keep living himself.

But this conversation isn't just about loss.

It's about surviving the unimaginable. It's about learning to live with grief, finding support after suicide, overcoming guilt, and discovering that life can still hold joy after tragedy.

We also explore addiction recovery, mental health, spirituality, healing after suicide loss, and Tommy's belief that love continues long after death.

If you've ever lost someone you love, struggled with grief, or wondered whether life can get better after heartbreak, this episode is for you.

Key Moments:
00:00 - I Thought She Was Sleeping, But She Was Already Gone
03:42 - The Brutal Assault That Started Her Downward Spiral
06:04 - "I'll Never Be Pretty Again"
08:21 - The Woman Who Saved My Life
12:15 - Finding Hope After Unimaginable Loss
16:08 - The Morning I Found Her Unconscious
18:09 - The Moment They Covered Her Face
21:33 - Why I Still Talk to Her Every Day
24:49 - Can We Communicate With Loved Ones After Death?
27:03 - Why I Started Believing in More
30:19 - My Journey Through Addiction and Recovery
33:10 - Was Her Death Part of a Greater Purpose?
38:35 - The Truth About Suicidal Thoughts
41:27 - What To Do When You Want to Give Up
43:16 - The Power of Grief Support Communities

Connect with Tyler: 
IG: @tyler.hall (https://www.instagram.com/tyler.hall/)

Every morning at 6:45am, Baylee would get the same text from her fiancé, Jared.

He would meet her in the parking garage before work, walk her inside, give her a hug, a kiss, and remind her that she was loved. It was a simple routine they never thought twice about. Until one morning, that text never came.

In this episode of the Rollercoaster Podcast, I sit down with Baylee Barnes as she shares the heartbreaking story of losing her fiancé to suicide and the phone call that changed her life forever. Just weeks before this conversation, Baylee was planning a future with the man she loved. Then, without warning, everything changed.

Together, we talk about grief, suicide loss, men's mental health, faith, healing, and the invisible battles so many people fight behind closed doors. Baylee courageously opens up about the signs she never saw, the guilt so many loved ones carry after loss, and how she's finding the strength to keep moving forward one day at a time.

If you've ever lost someone, struggled with mental health, or wondered how to support someone through unimaginable pain, I hope this episode reminds you that you're not alone.

In this episode:
Coping with suicide loss and grief

Men's mental health and hidden struggles

Finding hope after tragedy

Faith, healing, and resilience

How to support someone who is hurting

Key Moments:
0:00 - The Morning Everything Changed
3:06 - The 6:45am Text That Never Came
7:30 - "Bailey... He's Gone"
12:43 - Why She Shared This Story So Soon
16:04 - A Video That Changed Everything
20:45 - Their Final Vacation Together
23:27 - Feeling Defeated vs Finding Hope
28:24 - Crying in the Sauna & Cold Plunge
31:27 - The Powerful Note Everyone Should Write
34:27 - A Message for Anyone Considering Suicide
36:14 - The Three Words That Could Save a Life
37:18 - The Reason to Stay One More Day

Connect with Me:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tyler.hall/

Connect with Baylee Barnes:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baylee0821/

What do you do when a doctor tells you that you have 15 months to live and less than a 10% chance of surviving the next two years?

In this episode of the Rollercoaster Podcast, I sit down with Doug Cartwright, a sales coach, entrepreneur, and one of the most spiritually grounded people I've ever met, who was diagnosed with Grade 4 Glioblastoma, the deadliest, most aggressive form of brain cancer, just weeks before we recorded this conversation.

Doug walks us through the symptoms that were dismissed as anxiety, the emergency brain surgery that saved his life, and the vision he had that completely changed how he sees death, faith, and what it means to truly live.

If you've ever faced a moment that shattered your sense of the future, this conversation will stay with you.

Please consider supporting Doug’s GoFundMe linked below:
https://gofund.me/27a96d9ed

Key Moments:
0:00 “I Thought I Was Going to Die Today”
5:38 Waves of Panic & Impending Doom
9:03 He Thought He Had DPDR Disorder
14:09 The Phone Call That Saved His Life
18:45 “My Life Will Never Be the Same”
21:36 Living Like Every Day Could Be His Last
25:18 The Power of Saying I Love You
29:12 Brain Cancer Became His Greatest Test
33:10 Can You Keep Your Heart Open in Hell?
38:32 How to Change Without Trauma
41:14 The Experimental Cancer Vaccine in Germany
43:02 The Truth About Death Nobody Talks About
44:13 The Message He Wants to Leave Behind

Connect with Me: 
IG: @tyler.hall (https://www.instagram.com/tyler.hall/)

Connect with Doug Cartwright:
IG: doug_cartwright (https://www.instagram.com/doug_cartwright/)

What happens when the person trained to save lives loses someone they couldn’t save?

In this episode of the Rollercoaster Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Marlon Rollins for one of the most powerful conversations we’ve ever had about suicide, grief, trauma, mental health, and healing. Dr. Rollins spent years working as a crisis director and mental health professional helping people through suicidal crises, until the unthinkable happened. His sister, Amber, took her own life, leaving behind a 13-year-old daughter who was the first person to find her.

This conversation explores the devastating reality of suicide loss, survivor’s guilt, depression, addiction, firearms, trauma, parenting, social media, and why so many people suffer in silence. We also discuss suicide prevention, warning signs, purpose, connection, and the urgent mental health crisis impacting children, teens, veterans, nurses, and families around the world.

If this episode moved you, please share it with someone who may need it.

Key Moments:
0:00 The Call That Changed Everything
6:02 The Coroner Called Me Next
12:48 The Suicide Prevention Grant
18:40 His 13-Year-Old Niece Found Her
23:35 “Losing My Sister Was a Gift”
30:31 Learning to Heal Himself
36:11 The Suicide Myth We Believe
42:42 She Heard the Gunshot
49:19 Did His Sister Plan Her Suicide?
56:32 Suicide in Kids Is Exploding
1:00:54 Why Community Saves Kids
1:07:24 Find a Bigger Why
1:14:13 Do People Regret Suicide?
1:20:17 Why Suicide Keeps Increasing
1:24:39 Mental Health Is Finally Changing

Connect with Me: 
IG: @tyler.hall (https://www.instagram.com/tyler.hall/)

Connect with Dr. Marlon Rollins:
IG: @drmarlonrollins (https://www.instagram.com/drmarlonrollins/)