Let's Talk About It | WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guests: Aimee, author of the blog Biddeford Bachelorette. Mandy returns to update us on how she is still being plagued by her ex years after the divorce and his way-too-short prison term for domestic violence, and how...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guest: Donna Kaz. Donna talks about being swept off her feet by the late actor William Hurt who terrorized her for three years. Donna is a feminist activist and the author of Unmasked: Memoirs of a Guerilla Girl on Tour.  T...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guests:  Olivia and Jeannine. Olivia, 24, talks about being swept off her feet by an older man who was more established in her credit union work field and how the jealousy and control swept in as soon as they were...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guests: Melody Rose Paul, author of Savaged to Wellness and The Road to Recovery and Melissa, who barely survived the violent rampage of her ex who was out on bail when he committed this. Melody is a Mi’kmaq...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guests: Gail and Natasha talk about lingering control and abuse of the children once you physically escape the abusive partner, and 83-year-old Mary Lou reads poems documenting her growing understanding of the 43 years of abuse she a...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guests: Denisse, Fullbright Scholar and Harvard Kennedy School graduate Lian, law school graduate Topics include: Emotional abuse, post-separation abuse, wanting to kill yourself because of the abuse. About the host: Patrisha McLean...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guest: Donna Kaz. In Donna’s memoir Unmasked: Memoir of a Guerilla Girl on Tour she relates being terrorized by the serial domestic abuser William Hurt. Topics include: What is it like when your abuser is an artist admired around the...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guest: Christie, beauty pageant director Topics include: Multi-generational abuse, how they don’t change, family enablers. About the host: Patrisha McLean is the founder/president of Finding Our Voices, the grassrroots survivor-power...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guest: Jennifer Greenmith and Anonymous. A woman survivor of domestic abuse in the orthodox Jewish community and another in the Christian community talk about how religion played a key factor in trapping them and keeping them trapped...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guest: Shelly Edwards-Jorgensen, author of the memoir Beautiful Ashes, talks about growing up with a charismatic, violent father and her healing journey after he killed her mother and burned their house down. More information can be...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean and Clara Shneid, Kathryn Brunhaver, Suzie Assam from DocSong Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guest: Andy escaped the domestic abuse in his home when he left for college but now feels guilty for leaving his mom behind in it. Topics include: Alcohol, mother/son rela...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guest: Amy Burns. How she thought her ex would protect her because he was a police officer but he ended up terrorizing her and her son, and how nothing happened when she reported him to his bosses at the Maine State Police. Topics in...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guest: Tiffany Engelhardt. Because her first same sex intimate partner relationship felt so right, it was easy to overlook the red flags. Topics include:  Weaponizing children, dysfunctional court system, abuse specific to...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guest: Rebekah Lowell, illustrator and author of the middle grade book The Road to After, talks about how the man she met at 17 kept her and their two children captive for 10 years. Topics include:  Terrorizing, Isolation, havin...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guests: Elizabeth Garber and Sue Garrett of with readings by poets Linda Buckmaster, Ellen Sander, Marjorie Arnett, Kathleen Robinson and Karin Spitfire. All from Belfast, Maine Topics include:  Charismatic and controlling fathe...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guests: Hannah, Mandy, Lori, and Sarah talk about police response to the domestic violence and how this impacted their safety as well as their children’s. Topics include:  Lax sentencing, mental illness. About the host: Patrisha...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guests: Dr. Kerry Roarke talks about how she was the breadwinner yet he controlled the money. Elizabeth Garber reads her poem about her abusive father. Topics include:  Financial abuse, coercive control, parental abuse. About th...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guest: Jackie Lee McLean, musician daughter of the host of this radio show talks with her mother about the abuse in the home while she was growing up. Topics include:  How domestic abuse impacts each family member differently, n...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guest: Hannah Topics include:  Mental Illness, Family Court dysfunction, Leniency for Perpetrators. About the host: Patrisha McLean is the founder/president of Finding Our Voices, the grass roots survivor-powered non profit...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: “Just A Bully” co-written with Patrisha McLean and Nora Willauer in a collaboration with DocSong. Performed by Willauer. Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guest: Amanda Fitzsimmons Topics include: Impact on children, court dysfunction, inaction of police and judge. This episode is spo...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: “Just A Bully” co-written with Patrisha McLean and Nora Willauer in a collaboration with DocSong. Performed by Willauer. Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guests: Nicky and Kathi. These best friends and business partners discuss how they each were lured and trapped into dangerous rela...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: “Just A Bully” co-written with Patrisha McLean and Nora Willauer in a collaboration with DocSong. Performed by Willauer. Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guests: Rhonda and Ashley talk about how they were controlled and tormented in similar and different ways by husband/father and ho...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production assistance: Alex Wilder Music: “Just A Bully” co-written with Patrisha McLean and Nora Willauer in a collaboration with DocSong. Performed by Willauer. Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guests: Molly Eddy, Lindsay O’Brien and Carissa Carney. When there are no bruises it is harder to see, but feels just as...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Technical assistance: Alex Wilder Music: “Just A Bully” co-written with Patrisha McLean and Nora Willauer in a collaboration with DocSong. Performed by Willauer. Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guests: Jeannine Oren, Amber Hatch, Olivia Chilles, Patrisha McLean, Milli, Autumn Saldena, Bekah Marti...

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Technical assistance: Alex Wilder Music: “Just A Bully” co-written with Patrisha McLean and Nora Willauer in a collaboration with DocSong. Performed by Willauer. Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Guests: Jessica Scata and Sicily Siracusa. Topics include: The silence of family and community, how friends can help, the link b...