Grief changes everything. It’s the kind of pain that steals your breath and reshapes your world, a weight that never fully lifts. For Stephanie Wiley, that pain runs deeper than words can express. She suddenly lost her teenage son, the boy who never missed a chance to say “I love you,” to fentanyl poisoning.
In the aftermath of unimaginable loss, Stephanie found healing in an unexpected place: her kitchen. What began as therapy, a way to cope with grief one cookie at a time, has grown into her purpose. Baking has become her business, her mission, and a tribute to her son’s memory, helping raise awareness about the fentanyl epidemic along the way.
In this episode of Grieving Out Loud, Stephanie shares her powerful journey as she reflects on the struggle to find help for her son’s substance use disorder, the fleeting joy of his recovery, and the heartbreak that followed. Through it all, she has found a way to keep his spirit alive by spreading warmth, sweetness, and hope to others who know the ache of loss.
Click here to visit the Tommy’s Cookie Co. website and purchase your cookies!
Tommy with his mother, Stephanie Wiley 
Thomas Saliamonas (known by all who loved him as Tommy) 
Tommy 
Tommy with his older brother, Peter 
Peter and Tommy 
Tommy, Stephanie, and Peter 
Stephanie with young Tommy 
Tommy Mountain biking 
Tommy 
Young Tommy 
Tommy 
Tommy with his grandparents 
Tommy, forever 18 
Tommy’s High School graduation 
Tommy’s Cookie Co. 
Tommy, forever 18
If you enjoyed this episode, you may like the following:
- Choosing Love After a Hate Crime Took Her Son and Father
- Surviving the holiday season while grieving
- What a mother wishes she knew before losing her son to fentanyl
MEET THE GUEST
Stephanie Wiley
Stephanie Wiley is the founder of Tommy’s Cookie Company, created in honor of her son, Tommy, who died from fentanyl poisoning in 2020. What began as a way to cope with grief has grown into a mission rooted in love, awareness, and hope. Through her cookies, Stephanie raises awareness about the fentanyl crisis, works to break the stigma of addiction, and keeps her son’s spirit alive by spreading warmth and kindness to others.
