Trauma Uncensored

Brooke welcomes Lindsay, Melanie, and Michelle back for a frank panel on what it really takes to begin again after grief and harm. They name the difference between chasing a “new normal” and telling the truth about a life that changed, and how fear, guilt, and shame collide with hope when you choose to move forward. Lindsay describes IVF after her son Christian’s death, a miscarriage, and the fait...

Brooke welcomes Marla Grant, a longtime grief guide who has lived what she teaches. Marla shares the neonatal loss she could not fully grieve until decades later, the years with her daughter Nicole and the shock of her relapse and death, and the very different work of grieving her son Ryan after suicide. Together they name why grief is not a straight line, why comparing pain helps no one, and how...

Brooke sits down with Pearl to share the day her son Matthew died and the years that followed, from the midnight dread she could not shake to the morning she saw a headline about a single-car crash and recognized her family’s vehicle. Pearl recounts calling hospitals, then the morgue, and learning there had been no next-of-kin notification before an organ donation call arrived. She traces the inve...

Brooke sits down with John Kinzie , a Florida firefighter-paramedic who worked Logan’s crash and later became a close family friend. John traces how cumulative loss, the crash, and job culture pushed him toward heavy drinking, the December 2018 night he checked into a hotel intending not to leave, and the moment he chose help instead. They talk frankly about stigma in fire and EMS, why some clinic...

Brooke welcomes licensed professional counselor Christopher O’Riley to unpack how mindfulness helps a chronically stressed nervous system, and why ten minutes can truly change your day. Christopher shares his path from a chaotic adolescence into a daily practice that ended substance use before age 20, then led to clinical training and decades in addiction and trauma care. Together they talk about...

Brooke welcomes her cousin Katie Swisher , whose road to motherhood includes infertility, four miscarriages, and a micro-preemie who redefined hope. Katie traces the early losses and how joy drained out of every positive test, then the day a routine scan became an admission and bedrest. Hannah arrived at 25 weeks, 4 days , just 1 lb 10.8 oz and 12 inches , followed by 117 days in the NICU where al...

Brooke welcomes her friend Heather Luna to share how years of depression led her toward inner child work and Kundalini yoga, and why practical nervous system tools changed her life. Brooke sets the table for new listeners and explains the heart behind Trauma Uncensored before introducing Heather’s background in yoga therapy and trauma-informed practice. Heather traces the arc from persistent depre...

Brooke welcomes Marie Cat Bass, a Tennessee horse trainer and nutritionist, for a candid story about survival and repair. Cat traces early years of physical and verbal abuse, the night she called 911 at eighteen, and what it cost to start over on her own. She talks about mother wounds, boundaries that took a decade to build, and the ripple effects of divorce, co-parenting, and a public detour when...

Brooke sits down with Peggy Davenport, a widow reflecting on the day everything changed and the slow, determined work of building a life afterward. Peggy shares the moments leading up to her husband’s sudden passing, the shock of holding that reality, and the unexpected “signs” that helped her get through the early weeks. She talks about community rallying around her, returning to their catering b...

Brooke opens her first panel as solo host and gathers Mel, Michelle, and Lindsay to talk honestly about the holidays after grief and change. They trace how traditions shift, why permission to do less can be lifesaving, and what it takes to rebuild connection without pretending everything is fine. Lindsay shares the ache of celebrating with surviving children while honoring the one who is missing,...

Brooke shares what is changing on the show, including hosting some conversations solo, and why this season asks all of us to slow down and go deeper. Then Mel returns with the kind of honesty that makes you lean in. What really happens when you push yourself back to “normal” too soon. How do you know when stabilization has to come before the deeper work. Announcements and updates will always be sa...

Andres and Brooke welcome Lindsay Hernandez for a candid conversation during Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Lindsay shares the story of her son’s birth at 34 weeks, the frantic minutes in the O.R., and the autopsy findings that revealed VATER syndrome and a trachea that did not connect to the lungs. She speaks to the paralysis of those moments, the shock of leaving the hospital without...

In Part Two with Michelle Bandy Davis, the conversation moves from history to hard-won clarity. She recounts how early abuse and neglect set patterns that echoed into young adulthood and marriage, then describes the slow weave of control, the rupture that followed, and the moment everything collapsed into a forced psychiatric hold. From there, the story turns toward rebuilding: naming financial ab...

⚠️ Content Disclaimer : This episode contains open and emotional discussion of childhood trauma, abusive relationships, sexual abuse, parental betrayal, and emotional breakdowns. Please listen with care. In Episode 24 of Trauma Uncensored , Brooke and Andres sit down with a powerful guest Michelle Bandy Davis whose story unfolds slowly—and then all at once. What begins as a conversation about life...

⚠️ Content Disclaimer: This episode includes discussions of emotional boundaries, family trauma, and terminal illness. Listener discretion is advised. In Episode 23 of Trauma Uncensored , Brooke and Andres dig deep into the messy, often misunderstood topic of boundaries—how they’re formed, how they’re violated, and what happens when we go too long without them. Brooke reflects on how the dynamic w...

⚠️ Content Disclaimer: This episode contains open discussion of emotional setbacks, guilt, shame, loss of a child, grief processing, and long-term healing. Listener discretion is strongly advised. In this vulnerable installment of Trauma Uncensored , Brooke and Andres return to the mics to unpack a painful truth: even after years of healing work, trauma can still catch you off guard. Brooke reflec...

⚠️ Content Disclaimer: This episode contains detailed discussion of grief, medical trauma, the death of a spouse, parenting while grieving, PTSD, and emotional regulation. Listener discretion is advised. In Episode 21 of Trauma Uncensored , Brooke and Andres are joined by longtime friend and special guest Mel Jordy , who shares the deeply personal story of losing her husband Leon after a sudden me...

⚠️ Content Disclaimer : This episode contains discussion of child loss, grief anniversaries, trauma recovery, emotional triggers, and personal accountability. Please listen with care. This special episode of Trauma Uncensored was recorded to release on Logan’s angel date—marking the anniversary of his passing. What starts as a reflection on grief evolves into something deeper: a raw conversation a...

⚠️ Disclaimer: This episode includes candid discussions of trauma, grief, and therapeutic drug use. Listener discretion is advised. In this raw and revealing episode of Trauma Uncensored , Brooke opens up about what a full day of ketamine therapy actually looks like. From what time she wakes up, to the moment she’s hooked up in the starry Sagittarius Room, we follow her step-by-step through a trea...

⚠️ Content Warning: This episode discusses grief, loss of a child, mental health struggles, suicidal ideation, and the insensitive things people sometimes say in the face of tragedy. Please listen with care. What do you say to someone when their world has shattered? In this episode of Trauma Uncensored , Brooke and Andres take a raw, unfiltered look at the clichés, comparisons, and unsolicited adv...

⚠️ Content Disclaimer: This episode contains open discussion of child loss, spiritual confusion, faith and religion after trauma, survivor’s guilt, and strong language. Please listen with care. This episode is for anyone who’s ever asked: Why me? Brooke and Andres dive into the spiritual wreckage that comes after trauma — especially when that trauma is the death of your child. Brooke shares her co...

⚠️ Content Disclaimer: This episode includes discussion of addiction, alcohol use, medication access, trauma responses, and coping mechanisms rooted in grief and survival. Please listen with care. In this raw and reflective episode, Brooke opens up about the slow unraveling that led to her stopping drinking — and why that wasn’t the end of the struggle. She talks about the difference between survi...

⚠️ Content Disclaimer: This episode includes discussion of sibling loss, childhood grief, trauma recollection, therapy for kids, and emotional healing. Please listen with care. In this special episode, Brooke and Andres are joined by a long-awaited guest: Mallory — Brooke and Jordan’s daughter, and Logan’s younger sister — who just turned 14. Together, they reflect on: What Mallory remembers from...

⚠️ Content Disclaimer: This episode includes detailed discussion of child loss, suicidal ideation, physical shutdown due to trauma, abuse, self-harm, and the emotional collapse leading up to Logan’s death. Please listen with care. This isn’t the story of the crash — it’s the story of everything that came before it. In this powerful and long-awaited episode, Brooke shares the painful truth she’s ne...

After nearly nine years of healing, Brooke took a trip out West for one reason: to finally pause. In this episode, she shares what happened when she stopped pushing through pain, disconnected from family obligations, and prioritized herself for the first time in her adult life. From quitting smoking and alcohol to diving deep into breathwork, ketamine therapy, and spiritual healing, Brooke opens u...