Dalton Mills , narrator of Marked for Life, also shares the same hometown of Middlesboro, KY, with Cody and the Coots family. In this episode, he offers a "crater's-eye" view of the unique town, sharing his perspective on the serpent handlers and how actually they are perceived by the people of east Kentucky. Want to hear more about this subject? We have a podcast called Alabama Astronaut at alabamaastronaut.com detailing the recording session that Cody described in Episode 30 of Marked for Life...
Sep 08, 2024•12 min•Ep. 33
Cody mounts a defense for the people of the faith. Even with years of sinning copiously, he noticed many of the faithful remained steadfast and pure, particularly one man from Alabama who lived his faith to perfection: watching no TV, "doctoring" for nothing, and clean shaven. He also had no Facebook, too. Some of the revered believers, however, reports Cody – the ones who performed all the signs – were actually full of the devil all along. "Not everything that shines is gold," he concludes abou...
Aug 25, 2024•11 min•Ep. 32
Cody returns after two years to compose a final chapter of this memoir, Marked for Life . "I thought writing this book would be like therapy," he said. "But then, I got my eyes off God."
Aug 18, 2024•26 min•Ep. 31
Cody explains his beliefs, and how they are properly demonstrated. (At one time, he "learned" how to do them, manufacturing miracles. But this way, Cody says, the Signs are accomplished to edify God...) Cassy is pregnant. But Cody, though excited, gets a bad feeling one Thursday when she goes to the doctor for a checkup...
Aug 11, 2024•11 min•Ep. 30
A stranger, an artist and ex-fundamentalist preacher from Alabama, is interested in Cody's Signs-following songs. He reaches out. "These have never been documented before," the stranger says. "Would you and Cassy mind singing a few into my handheld recorder?" A relationship begins. It leads to a Nashville-produced album of Cody and Cassy, called the "Coots Duo." (For more, the Alabama Astronaut Podcast features Abe Partridge, Ferrill Gibbs, and characters from Marked for Life in a music-related ...
Aug 04, 2024•23 min•Ep. 29
Cody tires of life in Middlesboro. He tells Cassy, "Let's move in with your folks in Berea." So they do. Freshly settled, a snake attacks Cody in the snake room out back. Meanwhile, a global pandemic threatens the region. It begins stretching out to every holler in east Kentucky.
Jul 28, 2024•11 min•Ep. 28
Cody rages outside the church, and it's all Shelton's fault he can never be saved! Afterward, Cody and his friends caravan. They pray for him at his house. Somebody speaks in tongues; another lays hands on Cody's shoulder. Another picks up the family bible from where it lay on the floor, there blocking "Nina" from entering the den. "Miracles," writes Cody, "happened that night."
Jul 21, 2024•9 min•Ep. 27
Out-of-work Cody Coots is barely scraping by. Now, he turns to the one trade he knows best: snake trading in the great state of Kentucky, USA. He also tries ridding the household of Nina by making a deal with the devil. "I want some of what you've got, Devil," says Cody. Of course, such a deal always comes with a price. One season of torment ensues until a voice says, "Cody, you and Cassy will go to Church Saturday, and Cassy will give her heart back to God."...
Jul 14, 2024•10 min•Ep. 26
Cassy moves in with Cody, only to find an unexpected houseguest: "Nina." Together, the newly minted duo drives the streets of Middlesboro escaping Nina, staying out until daybreak, staying far away from home for as long as they can. Meanwhile, Nina gets worse day by day...
Jul 07, 2024•12 min•Ep. 24
Cody is determined to do what is best for him regardless of what some people might say, like his bosses. He spends the week at Cassy's house. "Try to salvage your marriage, Cody," they tell him, but it's easier said than done. He can't stop dreaming about Cassy in his life. Reflecting on his past mistakes, Cody then shares a vision of how one can free oneself.
Jun 30, 2024•11 min•Ep. 23
Cody's home life is such a mess, he gives himself a haircut – it's something he does when at his wits' end. His wife walks in on him and he declares his time is over with the church – his allegiance to Christianity is done. And that's when the fighting really starts. It's Thanksgiving Day. The kids see everything.
Jun 16, 2024•7 min•Ep. 23
Cody takes a vacation from work, and decides to revisit the House of Horror. As he strolls through the devastation of his former home, he also strolls down memory lane. Though ghosts inhabit this place, Cody attempts to make peace with them all.
Jun 09, 2024•11 min•Ep. 22
Cody gets word that his mother Linda Coots is looking for his sister, Trina. "For some reason," she explains, "Trina is not answering her phone." Meanwhile, Cody continues to express feelings toward Cassy. He asks her to drop everything and come be with him. "I have done so much to disappoint my family," Cassy explains, standing in the church parking lot. Cody calls Andrew for advice.
Jun 02, 2024•11 min•Ep. 21
Cody's sinning reaches a fever pitch. Snakebitten in the snake room while feeding a rattler, he's visited by members of the church who congregate by his bedside to pray faithfully. Then, in walks a girl named Cassy. When Cody sees her, he thinks, "Lord? If I'm dying from a snakebite, it's ok if she's the last thing I see before waking up in hell!" Marked for Life is on Apple , Spotify , and our podcast Homepage ....
May 26, 2024•13 min•Ep. 20
Cody has words with Pap and leaves the church – again. This time, out of spite, he takes the church instruments with him. "Let's see if they can run the church with just one guitar!" he growls, leaving. "I was an evil, spiteful man back in those days." Cody is gone again, then back again, in and out of church. That is, until a new member named David walks through the church doors...
May 19, 2024•9 min•Ep. 18
Cody outsmarts a prostitute on a Middlesboro mountainside. Pimps can set traps, stealing everything from unwitting "Johns." But Cody will not be robbed, beaten or killed. He knows the land too well. Most importantly, on Top of the World , he will not be discovered by the people he loves most.
May 12, 2024•10 min•Ep. 17
Cody goes to the doctor, and after showing her his set of brass knuckles, she gives a troubling diagnosis. Does it slow Cody down? Also, he encounters a sneaky "street walker," who leaves him no options. What does he tell his wife? Also...the voices in Cody's head grow louder.
May 05, 2024•15 min•Ep. 16
The Signs-following faith considers any "backslider" a "sinnerman." As Cody rages against his church, the terms easily apply. Cody said it best at the beginning of the series. "I was told since childhood," he explained, "'Cody? You should give 110% to serving God! And, don’t be a hypocrite! 'But, if you do choose to serve the devil, then you should give him just as much effort!' "Well, that’s exactly what I did," he said. His trip to Greensboro is a perfect example of a sinnerman "backsliding" w...
Apr 28, 2024•11 min•Ep. 15
Cody is life-flighted to the intensive care unit of the University of Tennessee Hospital. When the doctors wake him, his feel pain so excruciating, Cody welcomes the relief of death. "This hurts so bad!!!" he scribbles on paper. "PLEASE DOPE ME UP 'TILL I PASS OUT!!" Then, a stranger – a kind nurse – shows Cody and his wife a great kindness... The very next Sunday, Cody's back in church. Will he keep his faith this time? Will he return to the backsliding life? Will he ever handle a serpent again...
Apr 21, 2024•8 min•Ep. 14
The reckoning comes. This time, it's all captured on camera by a multimedia company from London. It was why Cody kept away from snakes for months on end, fasting, and attempting to purify himself. When tragedy strikes, Big Cody Wynn jumps in. Cody now faces a choice: to live or to die.
Apr 14, 2024•11 min•Ep. 14
Cody arrives with the caravan, but in the church parking lot, two fellows with "bad reputations" await. Cody, urged by the congregation to run off the "hypocrites," knows he is definitely lead pastor of Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name now, and there's no doubt about it. It begins a season of battling church issues (marital and relationship problems primarily) until the point he can take it no more. Cody decides to get away, down to South Carolina. This initiates a string of trips to snake s...
Mar 31, 2024•13 min•Ep. 13
The wake continues. "Outlaw," a notorious local drug boss, arrives at the funeral home to pay his respects to Jamie Coots, the Signs-following preacher who died from a snake bite. Meanwhile, worshippers press Cody. Can they bring snakes inside the parlor? Cody realizes he is now the church leader. They also ask about bringing torches inside for worship. Does Cody allow snakes inside the building – breaking his father's promise to Bill, the Coroner?...
Mar 24, 2024•17 min•Ep. 12
The story of a snakebite that unites Middlesboro continues. Cody and his buddies tend to Jamie Coots, the beloved preacher bitten by one of a gob of rattlesnakes he held in a Middlesboro, Kentucky worship service. "My face is on fire," the preacher said, slumping to the floor of the church restroom. Cody knows the trouble his father is in.
Mar 17, 2024•15 min•Ep. 11
Cody's life changes forever on a cold day in February. Tragedy strikes the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church, and Cody knows he must take charge. But does he know how?
Mar 10, 2024•8 min•Ep. 11
Cody and his dad Jamie are laid off from work, but they spend quality time together traveling the country and hunting snakes. One "National T.V. Program" is more than willing to fit the bill, only if the two will travel to warmer climes to hunt snakes for a film crew. In Tennessee, a series of cops pull the Coots' over, all under the guise of illegal window tint. Cody knows this has nothing to do with tint. It has everything to do with the Coots family serpent boxes, which are all filled with ra...
Mar 03, 2024•19 min•Ep. 10
One night, up to no good, Cody starts Messaging people on Facebook. It's a risk, but it's a good thrill. Soon, his wife bursts into the room. His heart skips a beat. "What have you been doing in here, Cody??" she yells. "Who were you Messaging online?!" Cody, ashamed, blocks the computer screen, but realizes it's futile. His wife is laser focused. The other woman on Facebook must have notified her. Needless to say, the two go "straight to fighting."...
Feb 25, 2024•7 min•Ep. 9
Cody's down-spiraling. “There I was,” he says, “18 years old and a blaster in the coal mines.” Jamie demands he stop sleeping around, or else, get married. He subjects Cody to a verse from First Corinthians: “I say therefore to the unmarried and widows ," it reads, "It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn .” Stop fornicating, Cody is told, or excommunication from the family church is looming. There is a third...
Feb 18, 2024•14 min•Ep. 8
Andrew and Cody emerge from the snake room. Andrew's arm desperately needs attention. With every step, he deteriorates. Cody knows rattlesnake bites are nothing to play with. He also knows his friend is in for a long, hard ride. When Jamie walks downstairs to find Andrew suffering in the La-Z-Boy, he says, "Oh, Andrew. Are you scared, Son?" "Yes sir." "Well, then," the man says, "we should already be at the hospital by now."
Feb 11, 2024•15 min•Ep. 8
A rattlesnake slithers in the woods, and by divine help, Jamie knows where to find it. He pulls it from some weeds. God says, "Take it inside the house, not the snake room." Jamie obeys. Here is the story of an emerging friendship between two prominent, Signs-following preachers: Cody Coots and his friend Andrew Hamblin.
Feb 04, 2024•11 min•Ep. 7
Cody is haunted by his secret sins, so he runs to the altar to pray. His father sees this and kneels by his side, taking his son's hand. Together they call upon The Lord for salvation. Cody knows he must change his ways. He must stop cussing. He must stop listening to country music. And, he must give up rock n' roll forever. He will even shave his "bad attitude" mohawk. Most importantly, he must stop sleeping around. "Pap" begs Cody to go to college, but Cody will follow in his father's footstep...
Jan 28, 2024•10 min•Ep. 6
