Sexual Assault Survivor Stories

In the grand scheme of this podcast, my goal has always been to provide a platform for victims and survivors to tell their stories of rape or sexual assault in a safe environment, to help bring justice to victims and survivors of rape or sexual assault, and to provide my listeners with insights, education, and guidance to help survivors on their healing journey. Additionally, I've endeavored to he...

Some might find this episode and think, "This is a shameless plug for Dave's wife's cousin." But the honest truth is, that is not my intention at all! I ran across my wife's cousin's Facebook page and saw that she had started a new business. "She" is Tiffany Thomson. The thing that caught my eye was that Tiffany, who I haven't seen since about 2005 or so, had updated her Instagram profile picture...

Activation and discretion warning: These notes and this episode contain explicit and graphic descriptions of kidnapping, physical assault, and rape. Caution and action are required. This episode is not for children. Please use extreme discretion in listening to this episode and if you are activated or triggered and need help, call the national sexual assault telephone hotline at1-800.656.hope; tha...

Being in the US Army Reserve requires discipline. And commitment. And top-notch performance. If you fail at any of these there can be serious consequences…including being discharged. One of the requirements is that during "battle assembly" (weekend training) you have to be there; if a Soldier fails to attend on a consistent basis, they can face that discharge. Such was the case of then Sergeant Ma...

If someone is serious about attempting to fulfil a significant, meaningful, and overwhelmingly difficult objective, the effort can often-times feel ineffective, even pointless. Having this type of purpose-filled lifegoal can be exhausting and often will end in frustration long before even a small dent can be made in the predicament. Especially if that objective is being fueled by a large accumulat...

Activation warning: this episode contains explicit and graphic descriptions of attempted suicide, physical assault, sexual assault, and rape. Discretionary caution is strongly advised. This episode is not for children. Please use extreme self-care in listening to this episode and seek immediate help through the national suicide hotline by dialing 988 if you are emotionally activated or triggered b...

Last Wednesday I was just sitting at my desk working on this podcast, and out of the blue I got a text from my good friend and former SASS Podcast guest, and Trauma-informed Peak Performance Specialist, Arci Grey! Arci wanted to schedule a phone conversation with me…which I did. We scheduled the call for Thursday…and it wasn't just a friendly, catch-up call, she was excited to tell me about a FREE...

Last week's episode featured a series of guests who, during their episode interviews, chose to recognize and celebrate the SASS format, its purposes and successes, and the healing benefits of being part of this podcast. I took clips of those episodes and compiled them into a succession of the comments that they made about the show. The episode was such a hit, and I received some great feedback and...

64. Dave Markel: The 2023 Year-end Episode of Sexual Assault Survivor Stories. 2023 has been an amazing year of growth for Sexual Assault Survivor Stories. It's terribly sad that there is a need for this podcast to exist in our world. Yet, it's a blessing to provide this platform for victims and survivors who willing to share their stories of rape and sexual assault. These narratives not only help...

Episode 63 original contents have been deleted.

Episode 62 original contents have been deleted.

One of the most difficult components of the sexual assault/rape healing journey is mustering the courage and strength to tell someone else your story. It can be formidable. Daunting even. But many psychologists and sociologists agree that talking about ones own sexual assault or rape experience can help in processing one's emotions, provide a community of survivors that support each other, and cre...

Just a quick announcement explaining why there's not a full episode this week, and to express my gratitude to you, my listeners! Don't forget to Start By Believing…because we all know someone whose life has been affected by rape or sexual assault. https://markel-consulting.com https://startbybelieving.org https://safeinharmsway.org #thrivivors #thejanbrobergfoundation #janbroberg #safeinharmsway #...

This episode is short but packed full of information. I wanted to clear up some confusion that has been brought to my attention regarding the differences between "rape," and "sexual assault." I won't go into those differences here; you'll have to listen to the episode to find out what those idiosyncrasies are. And the other topic of this short episode is what it truly means to Start By Believing,...

It's never easy to talk about a child being sexually assaulted by another family member, a family member who is an older brother, who knows better, who manipulates, strangles, and holds down his younger sister is even more atrocious. No one wants to talk about that. But talking about is what we need to do to help put an end to this wreckage. Ruthie Uhl is willing to tell her perspective. With her...

Activation and discretion warning: this episode contains explicit and graphic descriptions of sexual assault and suicidal ideation. Caution and action are required. This episode is not for children. Please use extreme discretion in listening to this episode and if you are activated or triggered and need help, call the national sexual assault telephone hotline at 1-800.656.hope; that's 1-800-656-46...

Activation and discretion warning: this episode contains explicit and graphic descriptions of sexual assault and rape. Caution and action are required. This episode is not for children. Please use extreme discretion in listening to this episode and if you are activated or triggered and need help, call the national sexual assault telephone hotline at 1-800.656.hope; that's 1-800-656-4673. When you'...

Activation warning: this episode contains explicit and graphic descriptions of sexual assault and rape. Discretionary caution is strongly advised. This episode is not for children. Please use extreme self-care in listening to this episode. If you are activated or triggered and need help, call the national sexual assault telephone hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). Here it is. The hard part. This is...

54. Alan Manwaring: Ready to Tell His Story! My good friend and colleague, Alan Manwaring, has been guesting on Sexual Assault Survivor Stories for several episodes now, describing his take on the importance and impact of this show from his perspective as a survivor of childhood sexual assault. He has also given his own opinion on how crucial it is for victims and survivors to have a platform to t...

Activation warning: this episode contains explicit and graphic descriptions of physical assault, sexual assault, and rape. Discretionary caution is strongly advised. This episode is not for children. Please use extreme self-care in listening to this episode and seek immediate help through the national sexual assault telephone hotline if you are activated or triggered by calling 1-800.656.HOPE (467...

Activation warning: this episode contains explicit and graphic descriptions of attempted suicide, physical assault, sexual assault, and rape. Discretionary caution is strongly advised. This episode is not for children. Please use extreme self-care in listening to this episode and seek immediate help through the national suicide hotline by dialing 988 if you are emotionally activated or triggered b...

Activation warning: this episode contains explicit and graphic descriptions of attempted suicide, physical assault, sexual assault, and rape. Discretionary caution is strongly advised. This episode is not for children. Please use extreme self-care in listening to this episode and seek immediate help through the national suicide hotline by dialing 988 if you are emotionally activated or triggered b...

WARNING: This episode is explicit and detailed in the descriptions of attempted suicide, self-harm, rape, and sexual assault. It is not appropriate for children, and extreme discretion is advised in keeping the listening audience restricted to only appropriately aged and emotionally capable persons. If you are activated and are having thoughts of suicide and need immediate help, call the National...

WARNING: This episode is explicit and detailed in the descriptions of attempted suicide, self-harm, rape, and sexual assault. It is not appropriate for children, and extreme discretion is advised in keeping the listening audience restricted to only appropriately aged and emotionally capable persons. If you are activated and are having thoughts of suicide and need immediate help, call the National...

In June of this year, I was contacted by true-crime author, Jamie Collins, who sent me a press release about a new book she was publishing, I am Abigail. The press release was extensive, but for an explanation about the book, here is just a portion of the release that I received: Written in the first person from Abby's perspective, I AM ABIGAIL is the result of an intense creative collaboration, a...