Healed-ish

Promise, known as Eve Was Framed, was raised in charismatic Christianity where speaking in tongues, prophecy, mission trips, and supernatural experiences were a normal part of life. She eventually attended Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM) and expected her faith to continue growing. But when Promise began studying the Bible more deeply in hopes of answering questions from her atheist f...

Carley grew up as the daughter of a youth pastor and has many fond memories of church, faith, and family. But when she was young, her parents sat her down and told her that her father had an emotional affair and would be leaving the church. Little else was said, and life moved on. Years later, Carley discovered that the truth was far more complicated. In this episode, she shares what it was like t...

Did purity culture leave you with more questions than answers about your body? In this episode, I sit down with Azriél Patricia and Dr. Ashley Jeanius for an honest conversation about women's health, anatomy, and all the things many of us were never taught. We discuss purity culture's obsession with hymens, debunk myths about virginity, explore birth control options, break down the menstr...

Bailee was raised as a pastor's kid in the Pentecostal church, where speaking in tongues, prophecies, and miraculous healing were part of everyday life. She was taught that God always wants to heal, so when her father was diagnosed with cancer, her family fully expected a miracle. After he passed away, she began to question some of the beliefs she had been taught. In this episode, we talk abou...

*Content warning: emotional abuse, animal abuse* Ashley, co-host of Praise Be To Pod, didn't grow up deeply religious. After attending youth camps as a teenager, she dove headfirst into evangelical Christianity and even encouraged her own parents to become more involved in church. Eventually, she found her way into charismatic Christianity, where she experienced speaking in tongues, witnessed...

Michael Passons spent years as a member of Avalon, one of the most successful groups in Christian music. In this episode, he shares his journey from breaking into the industry and rising to fame, to navigating life as a gay man in a world that taught him his sexuality needed to be changed. Michael opens up about undergoing conversion therapy, the impact it had on his mental health, and the pressur...

In this episode, I’m joined by David from Deep Drinks . After a powerful encounter with God, he became a youth pastor at just 19, but being pushed out of ministry led him into a season of questioning everything. We talk about his experience with OCD, including intrusive thoughts and compulsions to confess, and what it looked like to finally seek treatment. Then we dive into his deconstruction, inc...

In this episode, I’m joined by David from Deep Drinks . After a powerful encounter with God, he became a youth pastor at just 19, but being pushed out of ministry led him into a season of questioning everything. We talk about his experience with OCD, including intrusive thoughts and compulsions to confess, and what it looked like to finally seek treatment. Then we dive into his deconstruction, inc...

In this episode, I’m joined by author and artist Stephanie Stalvey to talk about growing up in the church, navigating purity culture, and what it looks like to begin questioning the beliefs you were taught. We also talk about how becoming a mother shifted her perspective on God, identity, and love, and why some of those beliefs no longer felt aligned with the life she was living. Stephanie’s graph...

When Jeremy Steele was a growing up, a woman at church told him God wanted him to become a pastor. From that moment on, he devoted his life to Christianity, eventually attending seminary, becoming a youth pastor, and spending 12 years working inside a megachurch system. In this episode, Jeremy shares the bizarre and harmful youth group culture he witnessed, including a game involving frozen spoons...

Part 2 of 2 Krys shares her experience attending Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, where she and her brother were deeply involved in the community and on the worship team. What began as a calling eventually became something much more complicated. In this episode, she opens up about the moments that didn’t sit right, including being discouraged from speaking about racism and social issues, an...

Part 1 of 2 Krys shares her experience attending Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, where she and her brother were deeply involved in the community and on the worship team. What began as a calling eventually became something much more complicated. In this episode, she opens up about the moments that didn’t sit right, including being discouraged from speaking about racism and social issues, an...

April Ajoy joins me to talk about growing up in Christian nationalism, where fear of the rapture, politics, and faith were deeply intertwined. She shares what it was like to be raised believing the end of the world was always around the corner, including a moment where she thought she had been left behind. We talk about her experience singing on conservative TV, making campaign videos, and the tur...

Bethany Joy (a past Healed-ish guest) joins me to react to some wild and messy Reddit stories. We get into purity culture and a husband who said his wife’s virginity didn’t matter, a destination wedding dilemma, and what to do when someone calls themselves your husband’s “work wife.” We also talk about whether it’s ever okay to tell your sister she brought her situation on herself after a series o...

Micki grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness after her mom joined when she was a child. From going door to door and studying The Watchtower, to missing out on birthdays, holidays, and normal milestones, her life was shaped by strict rules, purity culture, and fear of the outside world. At 35, everything started to unravel. After falling down a Reddit rabbit hole, Micki began questioning what she had alway...

David Archuleta joins me to talk about his new memoir and everything that shaped the person he is today. We get into what it was like growing up in the LDS church, the pressure he faced from his dad at a young age, and how that carried into his experience on  American Idol . David shares how much of his life felt like it was being lived for other people, and what it took to start questioning that....

Content warning: This episode includes discussion of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Bethany was raised in IBLP, the same belief system associated with the Duggars, where teachings like the “umbrella of authority” shaped her understanding of marriage and submission. As one of eleven children, she was expected to help raise her siblings and follow strict gender roles. When she met her ex-husban...

Content warning: This episode contains mentions of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Bethany was raised in IBLP, the same belief system associated with the Duggars, where teachings like the “umbrella of authority” shaped her understanding of marriage and submission. As one of eleven children, she was expected to help raise her siblings and follow strict gender roles. When she met her ex-husband,...

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of physical & spiritual abuse, self harm, and suicide. Mia was born and raised in the LDS church and experienced childhood sexual abuse that deeply impacted her mental health. As she struggled with self harm, an eating disorder, and thoughts of ending her life, her bishop referred her to a therapist she was told she could trust. She saw him fo...

*Scroll for CW* Get ready for Trauma Tuesday! Scarlet is a content creator known for sharing her trauma through dark humor, and her stories have gone viral for a reason. In this episode, she opens up about growing up in an abusive home where her brother was treated like the golden child, while she was constantly dismissed, excluded, and targeted. From her mom giving away their family pets while th...

Jordan as a Jehovah’s Witnesses, where his childhood revolved around church meetings, strict rules, and going door to door to share what he believed was the truth. In this episode, he shares what it was like growing up in that environment, from confessing sins to elders to the belief that they are the one true religion, including teachings like the 144,000. We also talk about some of the more surp...

Mattie Mae Motl is a Bible scholar who specializes in gender and sexuality, and her work sits right at the intersection of faith, doubt, and curiosity. In this episode, Mattie shares what first sparked her deconstruction and the moments that led her to question some of the beliefs she once held about the Bible. We talk about the tension of studying scripture deeply while also confronting the fact...

Cora Lakey has been documenting her healing journey on TikTok after choosing divorce during a season when she thought she and her husband would be trying for a baby. She knew it was the right decision, but that didn’t make it easy. In this episode, she shares what it was like to hold both certainty and heartbreak at the same time, and how painful it was when her ex mother in law, someone she truly...

In this Q&A episode of  Healed-ish , I’m answering your most frequently asked questions about religious trauma, purity culture, and deconstruction. We talk about faith, healing, unlearning fear, and navigating life after high-control religion. And yes, we also address the very important question of how good the Disney World burger actually was. - Brandon’s Band: Desert Sky - https://open.spoti...

In this episode of  Healed-ish , I’m joined by my husband Brandon for the first time! Brandon was raised Catholic in a small church and has only positive memories of his faith. He was never threatened with hell, taught purity culture, or taught to associate love with fear or obedience. His experience with religion is very different from mine. We met just a few months after I left an abusive marria...