The Raising of a Rebel: Overcoming Addiction, Finding Wisdom, and Inspiring Others with Author and BrandFace Founder, Tonya Eberhart

In this episode of Beyond the Pen, Host Maccabee Griffin sits down with BrandFace founder and author Tonya Eberhart about her father’s memoir “The Raising of a Rebel: 12 Turning Points from a Child of Alcoholics. They discuss the impact of growing up in the 50s in a family of moonshiners and alcoholics and how this normalized life of swirling chaos impacted his viewpoints on parenting his children. Tonya’s father, Gene Odom, shares his journey from drug and alcohol addiction to the triumphant recovery from generational trauma that helped him and his children find success in their own lives. Join us for a candid, humorous, and inspiring conversation while learning the importance of understanding our own stories can move us forward on this episode of Beyond the Pen.

Some of the things we discuss in this episode are:

• Introduction of guest Tonya Eberhart and her memoir, “The Raising of a Rebel.”
• How being brought up with alcoholics and moonshine runners impacted Tonya’s father’s views on parenting
• Discussion on sibling rivalry and how Tonya and her younger brother fought but were protective of each other
• Overcoming generational trauma and mental health issues within the family
• The impact of basketball on the family and their entrepreneurial mindset
• Normalization of drug and alcohol addiction within Tonya’s father’s life
• Inside jokes and father-daughter bonding moments
• Exploring the purpose of memoirs and their significance
• Fun character creation improv and learning more about the author
• Overcoming writing Kryptonite and hearing quotes of inspiration
• What’s next for Tonya and her upcoming projects
• Shameless self-promotion and where to find Tonya’s book

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Maccabee & Marccella Podcasters

Maccabee is a husband of 19 yrs, father of two boys, Army vet, voice actor, writer, and podcast co-host of Beyond the Pen. Growing up in the theater and working as a voice actor, script analysis has been a critical skill he's been perfecting over the years. This skill has allowed him to look past what the author wants you to see and discover the truth between the words and the printed paper. Every story is unique, and so are the authors.

Marccella, a self-proclaimed bookworm, is an advocate for authors and their unique voices. Since learning to read at aged 6, Marccella could be found in the library with her nose in a good book. As an avid reader, Marccella recognized that there was untapped potential in the author community and was decidedly committed to creating valuable spaces to have conversations with writers of all genres. As a result, Marccella united with Maccabee (her brother from another mother) to further her vision of expanding the reach of authors and their audience.