Kintsugi Heroes
Shannan Mondor · 73 min
Born into four generations of addiction and abuse, Shannan Mondor hit rock bottom at 44 drinking six bottles of wine a day — then chose to break the cycle forever and turn her pain into a platform that has since kept people alive.
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Shannan Mondor was born into four generations of addiction and abuse. Her father lost his childhood at twelve and turned to alcohol to numb the pressure of raising his siblings. When Shannan was two or three, he took his own life. Her oldest brother then became the source of her trauma, physically and verbally abusing her throughout her childhood, telling her she was dumb, stupid, and would amount to nothing. By grade twelve, she was so depressed she couldn't graduate. She spent her adolescence planning her own death.
At forty-four, Shannan was drinking six bottles of wine a day, waking each morning with flashbacks to childhood trauma she couldn't verify. A psychiatric nurse friend told her directly that she was going to kill herself. That stark moment broke through her denial and led to eight weeks in treatment. She emerged determined, but transferred her addiction to competitive bodybuilding instead. A year later, triggered at a wedding in New York City, she relapsed for eighteen months. On August 17, 2019, she woke up and decided to stop forever. She realised she had to break the cycle for her children and their children.
Shannan began sharing her story on social media during COVID, not knowing that people were staying alive because of her daily posts. The weight of that responsibility pushed her to tell the whole truth. She wrote a book, created a podcast, and built a community of people around the world who refuse to be alone with their struggles. She learned to love herself, invested heavily in her own growth, and now speaks with the conviction of someone who has chosen to become the leader her younger self desperately needed. Her children see drinking as neither positive nor desirable. Shannan lives in her end result every day, teaching others to do the same.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses abuse & exploitation, addiction & recovery and suicide & self-harm prevention, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available: • Blue Knot Foundation (complex trauma): 1300 657 380 · blueknot.org.au • 1800RESPECT (family, domestic & sexual violence): 1800 737 732 · 1800respect.org.au • SMART Recovery Australia (addiction): smartrecoveryaustralia.com.au • ReachOut: au.reachout.com • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au
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