WHEN DATING HURTS

This is part two of a two-part story with Anna Astwood. Anna is a survivor of teen dating violence. It happened about 25 years ago, but she has lived with it every day since. As a survivor herself of sexual assault and teenage dating violence from the ages of 12 to 18 years old, she knows the pain, the trauma, the guilt of what relationship violence brings. Most importantly, she knows the healing...

This is part one of a two-part story with Anna Astwood. Anna is a survivor of teen dating violence. It happened about 25 years ago, but she has lived with it every day since. As a survivor herself of sexual assault and teenage dating violence from the ages of 12 to 18 years old, she knows the pain, the trauma, the guilt of what relationship violence brings. Most importantly, she knows the healing...

You will find many lists of warning signs if you google them. You can also see a list of warning signs on the WhenDatingHurts.com website, if you like. Danielle's story has many warning signs of a toxic relationship that will show up throughout. Listen to her interview and learn where she made mistakes. Danielle's story underscores that breaking free is never easy. It can take multiple attempts. F...

A couple of years back, I was interviewed by David Keck of the Process of Healing podcast. David Keck was the unfortunate victim of a hate crime. It is not hyperbole to say it was a miracle he survived this. David has taken his personal tragedy, and his sympathetic outlook on life, to help others and bring hope, healing, and education to individuals who have endured personal trauma. This WHEN DATI...

This will be our third interview with Mindy. She is a survivor who first appeared in the WHEN DATING HURTS Podcast 18 months ago. During our first interview together, Mindy used a created name (Becca). Back then, she had very recently broken away from her abuser of eight years. Mindy was determined to stay away from him, and a year and a half later, she is successful. Six months after our first in...

This is part two of a two-part story with Sarah. This story comes with warnings. There are of graphic descriptions of violence, use of adult language, and other disturbing depictions. So, please proceed carefully. We pick up where we left off with Sarah and part one. Things will become much worse. Sarah will have plenty of reasons to break up with Johnnie, but when she does break away, she weakens...

This is part one of a two-part story with Sarah. This story comes with warnings. There are of graphic descriptions of violence, use of adult language, and other disturbing depictions. So, please proceed carefully. Sarah lives in the Midwest. From the time she was young, she was denied attention from her parents. Her mother was alcoholic. Her father not only used drugs, he manufactured them. Sarah...

This is part two of a two-part story with Katie. Be sure you are ready to hear this story. As it proceeds, you will be hearing about horribly abusive physical violence and actual torture... Trigger warnings need to be expressed due to both the content and graphic descriptions. Katie's Story When Katie met Mark, he appeared as this attractive guy playing amazing bass fiddle in a rockabilly band. Sh...

This is part one of a two-part story with Katie. Be sure you are ready to hear this story. As it proceeds, you will be hearing about horribly abusive physical violence and actual torture... Trigger warnings need to be expressed due to both the content and graphic descriptions. Katie's Story When Katie met Mark, he appeared as this attractive guy playing amazing bass fiddle in a rockabilly band. Sh...

This is part three of a three-part story with Paula. Our interview with Paula is strong and descriptive. You will immediately notice Paula's voice has been distorted so she could speak freely and cannot be recognized. We apologize that some parts may be difficult to understand. At the time of our interview, Paula was speaking from Melbourne, Australia. We spoke for 2 1/2 hours which has been edite...

This is part two of three parts with Paula. Our interview with Paula is strong and descriptive. You will immediately notice Paula's voice has been distorted so she could speak freely and cannot be recognized. We apologize that some parts may be difficult to understand. At the time of our interview, Paula was speaking from Melbourne, Australia. We spoke for 2 1/2 hours which has been edited into th...

This is part one of three parts with Paula. Our interview with Paula is strong and descriptive. You will immediately notice Paula's voice has been distorted so she could speak freely and cannot be recognized. We apologize that some parts may be difficult to understand. At the time of our interview, Paula was speaking from Melbourne, Australia. We spoke for 2 1/2 hours which has been edited into th...

This is part two of two parts with Molly. Growing up, Molly's mother had little interest in her. So living at home was rarely a positive experience. Molly felt used by her mother when it benefitted her mother's constant need to put on a show outside of the home. In her 20s, she met John. He was handsome, he was fun, and he seemed to be bringing Molly the interest and love she never saw at home. Sh...

This is part one of two parts with Molly. Growing up, Molly's mother had little interest in her. So living at home was rarely a positive experience. Molly felt used by her mother when it benefitted her mother's constant need to put on a show outside of the home. In her 20s, she met John. He was handsome, he was fun, and he seemed to be bringing Molly the interest and love she never saw at home. Sh...

This episode was created for educational and dramatic purposes only. Some of the voices are computer generated. What if Kristin Mitchell could speak to us today? That is what this episode explores. Kristin would tell us what she didn't know about dating abuse and domestic violence in the days leading up to the moment she was violently murdered by her ex-boyfriend in June 2005. She would tell us wh...

This is part two of a two-part interview. My interview with Anna, who lives in Perth, Australia, had been in the works for nearly one year. But what motivated us to making our interview now was a case against her ex-partner which finally landed in a court room. Our interview was made only days after she testified as a witness against this serially abusive and violent man. Anna will also tell us ab...

This is part one of a two-part interview. My interview with Anna, who lives in Perth, Australia, had been in the works for nearly one year. But what motivated us to making our interview now was a case against her ex-partner which finally landed in a court room. Our interview was made only days after she testified as a witness against this serially abusive and violent man. Anna will also tell us ab...

There is little chance we will ever get an abuser to join us on this podcast and do a recorded interview. But, we have heard enough about the minds of abusers to have insights into what we would hear. It would be the justification of actions taken purely to gain control over another person. It would be a relentless pushback. That is what you will find in this episode. This episode, our fourth in t...

Lola Reid Allin is such an amazing woman. Growing up, her father discouraged her from becoming anything more than a woman who followed a very stereotypical lifestyle in support of men. Lola fell in love with the idea of becoming a pilot. Her father had the same desire when he was a young man, but did not achieve it. Lola's father didn't handle it well when she succeeded where he had not. Her deter...

Our guest is Dr. Diana Ponsky MD FACS, a double board certified in facial plastic and head and neck surgery, carrying certification from the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology. She has over 18+ years of experience in cosmetic surgery of the face. Dr. Ponsky has become drawn to humanitarian work. She’s performed free procedures for F...

PART 3 Barbra Walker’s story takes time to tell. For that reason, it is presented to you in three parts. This is part three.  Trigger Warnings!!! Barbra Walker’s story of abuse comes with serious trigger warnings about its content and descriptions. There is much to be learned from listening to her telling of what happened, but it contains potentially distressing material. Ms. Walker had never told...

PART 2 Barbra Walker’s story takes time to tell. For that reason, it is presented to you in three parts. This is part two.  Trigger Warnings!!! Barbra Walker’s story of abuse comes with serious trigger warnings about its content and descriptions. There is much to be learned from listening to her telling of what happened, but it contains potentially distressing material. Ms. Walker had never told h...

PART 1 Barbra Walker’s story takes time to tell. For that reason, it is presented to you in three parts. This is part one.  Trigger Warnings!!! Barbra Walker’s story of abuse comes with serious trigger warnings about its content and descriptions. There is much to be learned from listening to her telling of what happened, but it contains potentially distressing material. Ms. Walker had never told h...

I interviewed Heather Glogolich a couple of years ago. At that time, she was a police lieutenant. Today, she is a police captain with the New Jersey Institute of technology in Newark, NJ. Nothing has held her back in her amazing career. Heather is also a motivational speaker, an author, a victim advocate, and a domestic violence survivor. Everything she has attempted, she has succeeded in. I want...

This story was first published a couple years back. I re-released it because it's full of helpful information. Susan Saurman is a survivor on several levels. Abused by her father when she was young, she also needed to heal from the day he murdered her dear mother. This is part two of a two-part story that spans decades. Susan has not let anything deter her from her mission to use her family's trag...