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Published on:

6th Nov 2025

The Truth About Adversity No One Talks About — Caitlin Cogan Doemner | Ep. 465

I lost my brother to suicide and my dad to cancer only eighteen months apart. Those were the hardest moments of my life and they changed everything. Grief stripped life down to what actually matters and forced me to grow in ways I never expected.

This episode is a raw look at loss, healing, and the hard truths that shape you when life breaks you open. If you’re navigating grief or heavy emotions, this will help you feel less alone.

In this episode you’ll learn:

💔 The truths grief forces you to face

⏳ How loss changes you over time

⚡ Why life moves faster than we think

🗣️ The cost of avoiding important conversations

🤝 Why relationships matter more than anything

🧩 How to cope without numbing the pain

🔥 Why adversity can become a turning point

👉 A powerful reflection on grief, meaning, healing, and the courage it takes to rebuild your life after loss.

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About the Podcast

University of Adversity

Real stories and tools to help you grow through adversity, burnout, and reinvention.

University of Adversity is a show about the moments that change us — especially the ones we didn’t ask for.

I’m Lance Essihos, and I sit down with athletes, bestselling authors, doctors, entrepreneurs, spiritual teachers, and everyday warriors to have real conversations about adversity — the kind that strips away the surface and forces us to face who we really are.

We go deep into the mindset shifts, emotional breakthroughs, and practical tools that helped them rebuild. Not just to survive, but to come back stronger, clearer, and more aligned.

This isn’t motivation.
It’s what happens after the breakdown, when you’re trying to put the pieces back together and make it mean something.

If you’re in a season of uncertainty, burnout, or reinvention — this show is here to walk with you.

We don’t just talk about getting through the hard times.
We talk about who you become because of them.

About your host

Lance Essihos

As an experienced veteran with adversity, Lance has faced some of life's most difficult challenges. Grinding his way through the hockey ranks to traveling the world as a bartender. Through his personal battle with drugs and alcohol for well over a decade, the tragic loss of his brother to suicide followed by the great loss of his father to cancer only a year later, Lance realized he had hit rock bottom. In the darkest of days, he made a promise to himself that he would create a new life, one that would make an impact and inspire the masses, leaving the world in a better place than he found it. Lance has made it his mission to facilitate the message of positive change through adversity and encourage people to see the light through the darkness of life's worst moments.