Philly McMahon is a multi All-Ireland winner, a successful businessman, an author, an educator, a father, a husband ,a son and brother. In this episode me and Philly share the deeply personal story of having a family member struggle with addiction.  Our stories share similarities; we both lost our brothers, to heroin addiction and we chat about the societal stigma, tough love, the lack of services for support and recovery, and the impact of addiction on families.  Since his brother's death Philly has been a voice for change in social awareness and understanding of addiction. Philly is a passionate and knowledgeable activist, calling for a more compassionate and rounded approach to policy relating to addiction, mental health and recovery services in Ireland. Philly's story is one of triumph in the face of adversity and loss, he is a huge inspiration to me, and our time together really helped me to reframe my own thinking around addiction.  I read Philly a new poem 'The Last Conversation We Never Had' - this chat is raw, and intensely moving. New episodes of Everybody Is A Poem every fortnight.  Subscribe here https://headstuffpodcasts.com/register to listen to bonus show ‘Behind The Lines’ with Jan and her book ‘What Day Is It? who gives a f ck’  Follow Jan on Instagram @jbgoodtome  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices