My Son Was Doing Fentanyl at 16… I Had to Let Him Go to Save His Life

Rise Above with Kevin Lanning · Apr 14, 2026 · 1h 22m

Brenda Zane was a successful advertising executive living what looked like a normal life—until her son’s addiction turned everything upside down.

From early warning signs to marijuana at 13… to running away, arrests, and eventually fentanyl use—this is the raw, unfiltered reality of what families go through when addiction takes over.

In this episode, Brenda shares:

The moment she realized her son was in real danger

Sending him to wilderness therapy at 16

The chaos of addiction—jail, running away, and near-death experiences

The heartbreak of setting boundaries and “letting go”

How she turned…