On this episode of State of Minds, Hoppy Kercheval sits down with West Virginia native and Appalachian Kid author John Boyle for a deeply personal conversation about childhood trauma, addiction, faith and the long road toward healing.

Growing up in Preston County, Boyle says he endured years of violence and abuse inside his childhood home—experiences he would carry with him long after he left. He discusses how that trauma affected his education, relationships and adult life, eventually contributing to years of insomnia, perfectionism, alcoholism and struggles he didn't fully understand.

By age 36, Boyle's drinking had become life-threatening. Facing liver failure and unable to stop drinking on his own, an invitation from a friend to attend church became the beginning of a profound change in his life. Boyle shares how rediscovering his faith gave him the strength to seek treatment, where he says he finally received the diagnosis that helped him begin making sense of what he had experienced.

Now more than a decade sober, Boyle explains why he decided to confront his past publicly in his book, Appalachian Kid. What began as a story he was afraid to tell has become a way to reach others struggling with addiction, trauma and experiences from their own childhoods.

Hoppy and Boyle also explore forgiveness, the stigma surrounding mental health, the complicated relationship between childhood trauma and adulthood, and why healing doesn't necessarily mean forgetting what happened.

It's a candid conversation about surviving the past, finding faith and purpose, and using one person's story to help others realize they aren't alone.

Watch this powerful edition of State of Minds.