"When Addiction Meets Extortion"
This episode covers mid-November through early December 2023, opening with two powerful journal entries from July 4th that show Amy's conflicting emotions—deep love for Gary's son and grief over leaving, followed by unexpected empathy for Gary's inability to self-reflect. As Thanksgiving approaches, Gary escalates his fake suicide threats while holding Amy's irreplaceable client files hostage in a Houston storage unit. The central crisis occurs when Amy retrieves the files only to discover them thrown into a construction trash bag—original wills, trust agreements, and attorney notes destroyed and disorganized. Her explosive text response catalogs the full scope of Gary's sabotage of her 20-year legal career. Gary then demands Amy bring him fentanyl in exchange for her remaining belongings, immediately adding meth to the order. Amy executes a dangerous plan: using the meth to keep Gary distracted while packing her possessions through the night with friend Luke's help. The episode's turning point comes when Amy, back in Austin, realizes she used drugs from the same bag as fentanyl. For the first time in her addiction, she flushes her remaining stash, choosing self-love and sobriety. Gary's response reveals he never believed her vulnerability was real, demanding more drugs and maintaining his delusion that her genuine love "wasn't real."

Phoenix, B*tch.
Suggested Resources for Narcissistic Abuse Awareness and Recovery

Guidance & Education from Therapists and Mental Health Professionals
● Dr. Ramani https://www.youtube.com/@DoctorRamani
● Surviving Narcissim https://www.youtube.com/@SurvivingNarcissism
● Prof. Sam Vaknin https://www.youtube.com/@samvaknin

Narcissistic Abuse Educators and Recovery Coaches
● Synful_ https://www.youtube.com/@ResilientAF
● Love and Abuse https://www.youtube.com/@LoveandAbuse
● Understanding Narcissim https://www.youtube.com/@Understandingnarcissism
● The Virtual Couch https://www.youtube.com/@TheVirtualCouchPodcast
● Claire Auden https://www.youtube.com/@claireauden

Content from “Self Aware Narcissists”
● Mental Healness https://www.youtube.com/@MentalHealness
● Raw Motivations https://www.youtube.com/@RawMotivations
● The Bat Wolf https://www.youtube.com/@The_Bat_Wolf

Other Helpful Content Creators
● Jefferson Fisher https://www.youtube.com/@jeffersonfisher
● Jimmy on Relationships https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyonRelationships
● Therapy Jeff https://www.youtube.com/@TherapyJeff
● Beyond Bitchy Podcast
● Lisa Bilyeu https://www.youtube.com/@LisaBilyeu
● Conflictish https://www.youtube.com/@conflict-ish
● Mel Robbins https://www.youtube.com/@melrobbins

Self-Help Resources
● The Gottman Institute https://www.youtube.com/@TheGottmanInstitute
● CPTSD Foundation https://cptsdfoundation.org/
● Lethality Assessment Questions for First Responders https://shamelesssurvivors.com/lethality-assessment-screen/

Amy’s Spotify Playlist “Narcissistic Abuse”
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4HMgAmeH3u1NjgKNdQxKo3?pi=EyN_jRs6R7ChK