How does a man like Jake find himself with only six months to live? Friends and family give us a glimpse into Jake’s past—a childhood that seemed ordinary until everything changed. His descent started early, having been introduced to drugs in middle school and running the trade by high school. But when his mother is diagnosed with cancer, his world shatters, and drugs become his escape. What begins as a way to numb the pain soon pulls him into a high-stakes world of addiction, dealing, and danger. As his choices drag him deeper into a world of crime, the stage is set for the shocking events to come. Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, cancer and terminal illness, criminal activity, death & dying, suicidal ideation, emotional distress & mature content. Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one-week early and all episodes completely ad-free. Just Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices . . . . . Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien Co-created by Jake Haendel Original composition by Michael Marguet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the content warning and intended audience for Blink?
Blink is intended for mature audiences as it discusses topics that can be upsetting, such as drug use, sexual assault, and emotional and physical violence. Content warnings for each episode are included in the show notes. Resources for drug addiction and domestic abuse can be found in the show notes and on our website, blinkthepodcast.com.
The testimonies and opinions expressed by guests of the show are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of myself or affiliates of this podcast. Jake Handel has never told his full life story before. Many people meet Jake and they hear of his diagnosis and his recovery. He's really the poster child for perseverance, medical miracles. He has an unbreakable spirit.
Jake's life is pretty different now that he's on the other side of this disease. He's relearning to speak, feed himself, walk, and many of the people that were in his life before aren't anymore. But his life is certainly not lonely. Before knowing Jake, I noted how friendly and popular he was in our apartment complex.
I vividly remember watching Jake stroll past me on his way to celebrate his birthday with a very large group of friends, all of them dressed in matching tracksuits. So an unbreakable spirit and an unbreakable sense of humor. Fast forward a few months and Jake and I are recording for this podcast.
Our meetings and the podcast recordings were often interrupted by neighbors wandering by waving to Jake. And actually one time as we were wrapping up, Jake was interrupted and asked on a date. So life has dealt Jake many horrible, horrible hands, but his exuberance and his dedication to being happy is what draws people to him. For many, his friendship is their drug.
He's even dedicated much of his time to start a business called Ahoy, an app which allows users to discover how accessible businesses and other locations will be for them, allowing individuals with particular accessibility needs to access their cities with the confidence of knowing whether a place will actually work for them.
But obviously, I met Jake as he was recovering from surviving this deadly disease. And I'm still left with the question of how this seemingly cheerful and altruistic guy ended up in this heroin-induced coma with relatives attempting to kill one another around him. And so I'm asking myself, who the hell is Jake Handel? This is Blink. I'm your host, Corinne Vien.
I'm Jake Handel. This is my story.
Prior to Jake's birth, we found out that Jake's mom was pregnant with him. Varda figured out, oh my God, she's going to be due around our wedding.
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Chapter 2: Who is Jake Haendel and what is his story?
Then his personality totally changed. He became depressed as a four-year-old because they got divorced when he was four. And I know they got him therapy and everything, but still, I think that's when the downward spiral began.
Four or five years old, I remember my parents, my mother and father, just fighting a lot, having these big blowouts. And I would really hate it. It would really upset me to the point where I would start to run away or I'd clog my ears, hide in my room, and I would start to run away. And I would just, like, kind of take off my bike and, like, go chill in the woods or something.
And, like, wait for them to cool off and then come home. They would just fight a lot. We went to, like, some breakfast place in Framingham, Mass. And, you know, they sat me down and they were like, we're going to get a divorce. I shouldn't have been that surprised, but for some reason I was. And I was like, no, no, like, don't do that. Like, what can I do to like, I don't want to.
I don't want us to be separate. And I was like, is it my fault? You know, and they were like, no. And it was kind of like presented to me like, no, it's going to be a good thing. Like, you're going to have two homes and two birthday parties, two reasons to celebrate, which, you know, I was kind of like, that wasn't important to me.
But then both my parents remarried two people that already had children from the age of like seven. I had all these like step siblings and got along with them really well. And it was it was exactly like it was presented.
Jake got the two homes, the two birthday parties and a lot of siblings to celebrate with. His mom's new husband, Eli, became a very big part of his life.
I met Jake because I started dating his mom. I went to a party at their house and she catered it. The food was good and, you know, I thought she was pretty gorgeous. And so I asked her out. Well, it wasn't quite that easy. Somehow this mutual friend set me up with a different girlfriend of hers who was good friends with his mom. And I went out on a date with her, but I wasn't really into her.
And so I told her that I was kind of into Marjorie. And so she was gracious and told Marjorie. And I guess Marjorie thought that it would be good to go out with me because she actually called me and said, so? Like, so when are you going to call? You know? And so then we started going out. And Jake was like four. And I had two kids who were six and four. And things moved along pretty quickly.
And then we wound up moving in together and getting married and having another kid. She had a three-bedroom house. There were two big bedrooms upstairs and a little bedroom downstairs. She had one big bedroom. Jake had the other big bedroom. And then my two kids shared the little one. That's the way it goes, you know. And then we got married and bought a house and went from there.
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