The Survivors Podcast
Surviving Life, Death and Everything In Between
Survival isn’t just about staying alive—it’s about finding the strength to rebuild, reclaim, and rise.
That’s the foundation of The Survivors Podcast, where three-time suicide loss survivor, author, crisis counselor, and mental health advocate Lisa Sugarman joins Natasha J. Layton—a multiple suicide attempt and loss survivor, advocate, sexual abuse survivor, and former member of the FLDS polygamy cult—to change the way we talk about suicide, survival, and mental health.
Through raw, unfiltered conversations, Lisa and Natasha explore the realities of surviving trauma, grief, abuse, mental illness, and everything in between—with honesty, hope, and humanity. Their unique perspectives—one shaped by profound loss, the other by unimaginable adversity—create a space where the hardest stories are told with compassion, courage, and vulnerability.
By opening up the conversations we’ve been taught to bury, The Survivors invites listeners into a safe, stigma-free community to reflect, connect, and heal. Together, Lisa and Natasha push past stigma, challenge everything we think we know about survival, and reveal that life after darkness can be filled with meaning, connection, and hope.
Subscribe now and join the conversation about surviving life, death, and everything in between.
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- season 1
- season 2
- bonus episodes
Hot Flashes & Hormones: Real Talk on Surviving Perimenopause & Menopause
Episode Summary This episode of The Survivors dives into surviving perimenopause, men...
Invisible Grief: When the World Keeps Spinning After Loss
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide, sexual abuse & trauma and may be triggering....
A Reflection on Pride Month: Coming Out, Living Authentically & Finding Your People
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide, sexual abuse & trauma and may be triggering....
A Mother’s Loss Part 2 — Finding Purpose After the Unthinkable with Alli Skrbek
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide, the loss of a child & substance abuse and ma...
A Mother's Story Part 1: Alli Skrbek Talks About Her Son's Suicide
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide, sexual abuse & trauma and may be triggering....
When the Old You Dies: Navigating Identity After Loss
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide, sexual abuse & trauma and may be triggering....
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Hot Flashes & Hormones: Real Talk on Surviving Perimenopause & Menopause
Episode Summary This episode of The Survivors dives into surviving perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause through candid personal stories. Lisa and Natasha cover commonly missed symptoms—sleep disruption, brain fog, mood changes, joint pain, urinary changes, and surprising signs like itchy ears...
Invisible Grief: When the World Keeps Spinning After Loss
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide, sexual abuse & trauma and may be triggering. Episode Summary In this episode of The Survivors, we explore what it feels like to carry the invisible weight of loss while the rest of the world keeps moving around you. Whether you're grieving the death of a lo...
A Reflection on Pride Month: Coming Out, Living Authentically & Finding Your People
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide, sexual abuse & trauma and may be triggering. Episode Summary In this conversation, Lisa and Natasha explore the themes of Pride Month, identity, and authenticity. They talk candidly about the significance of coming out, the essence of pride, and the evoluti...
Meet The Survivors
Lisa Sugarman
Lisa Sugarman is an author and three-time survivor of suicide loss. A passionate mental health advocate, she serves as a crisis counselor with The Trevor Project and as a storyteller with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), where she uses her lived experience to help others find healing through connection and community.
She's the Founder of The HelpHUB™, the most inclusive and comprehensive free online destination for mental health resources, tools, treatment options, crisis hotlines, and content designed to support the diverse needs of every community. Lisa is the author of Surviving: Finding Hope After Suicide Loss (2026), How to Raise Perfectly Imperfect Kids and Be OK With It (2019), Untying Parent Anxiety (2017), and LIFE: It Is What It Is (2014).
Lisa is also a facilitator for Safe Place, a virtual support group for survivors of suicide loss hosted by Samaritans Southcoast in Boston, where she also serves as a board member. She is a contributor to the Mental Health Television Network (MHTN), and her writing has appeared in Calmerry, Healthline Parenthood, Grown & Flown, TODAY Parents, Thrive Global, LittleThings, The Washington Post, and Psychology Today. A former nationally syndicated columnist, Lisa continues to write widely on topics of suicide, grief & loss, and mental health and wellness. Lisa lives and writes just north of Boston. Learn more at TheHepHUB.co.
Natasha J. LaytonNatasha Jeffs Layton is a speaker, advocate, and mother whose life has been shaped by survival in every sense of the word. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse and a former member of the FLDS polygamist cult, Natasha broke free from a system designed to silence her. She has endured multiple suicide attempts and is a suicide loss survivor, having lost five brothers to suicide, losses that have fueled her purpose and her voice.
As co-host of The Survivors, Natasha shares real, unfiltered conversations that explore the raw and often hidden realities of grief, trauma, and recovery. Her presence on the podcast is not just about sharing stories, it’s about shifting the culture of silence and shame surrounding mental illness, suicide, and abuse. Through deep connection and fearless honesty, she invites others into the kind of healing that can only happen when we speak the truth out loud.
“Healing doesn’t happen in silence. It happens when we tell our stories out loud.”— The Survivors
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